Podbit · The Bill Simmons Podcast
Once the Celtics put Jaylen Brown in the Giannis sweepstakes, there was no going back. Simmons argues the mistake was not immediately opening Brown to all bidders at once, because now that teams know he must be traded, the market has already soured.
Where this was said
At 4:21 · chapter starts 1:15
With Brown's trade market assessed, Simmons runs through the realistic landing spots. He quickly dismisses New Orleans (Murphy, Poole, and picks may not even get a yes), Portland (Jrue Holiday and Kamar Young is interesting but doesn't move the needle publicly), and Houston (who has inexplicably told teams they're not interested). The centerpiece of the segment is the Denver proposal: Murray and Cam Johnson for Brown and Hauser, saving Denver $10M annually while giving Boston a healthy, versatile star [1] — Bill Simmons "Swap Murray for Brown, throw in Cam Johnson, save Denver $10M, and suddenly both teams look better. Boston gets a healthy young star and 3-…" 25:05 . Simmons argues Denver could reload with that savings, re-sign Peyton Watson, and build a bigger, deeper team around Jokic. Lowe pushes back, noting Denver would be left with virtually no proven rotation guards and a significant offensive adjustment, but ultimately agrees the trade has real merit for both sides. The question, they agree, is whether Denver has a long enough meeting about it — because they're at a genuine franchise crossroads.
The Celtics went 56-23 in the 79 games Jaylen Brown played last season without Tatum, finishing second in offensive rating.
The Celtics went 56-23 without Tatum, with Brown as their only reliable scorer. His 29-point nights, elite durability, and willingness to take on every tough defensive assignment make him a top-15 player — and yet teams won't give up a prospect for him.
Jaylen Brown has logged nearly 26,000 regular season minutes and almost 5,000 playoff minutes over 10 years, making him one of the most durable stars in the league.
Swap Murray for Brown, throw in Cam Johnson, save Denver $10M, and suddenly both teams look better. Boston gets a healthy young star and 3-guard flexibility. Denver gets bigger, deeper, and can still run everything through Jokic.
The proposed Jamal Murray and Cam Johnson for Jaylen Brown and Sam Hauser trade would save Denver approximately $10 million annually.
Thomas's wife deferred her CrossFit career — she's in the global top 1% of athletes — to put him through law school debt-free. He wants her to chase the dream now; she wants the emergency fund and house down payment first. On a $200K lawyer income with no debt, the opportunity cost is just a few months of slower saving.
Underground calisthenics battles are exactly like UFC meets a rap battle — 150 people crowded around a circle, fighters walking out with masks and chains, nicknames like 'Extra Money' vs 'Calisthenics the Prince,' and people throwing money and betting. The battle set: 100 burpees, 50 muscle-ups, 75 dips, 75 squats with a 65-pound dumbbell. This is the next big spectator sport.
Rico Verhoeven controlled the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion for approximately 10 rounds — and had his appeal upheld when officials admitted the fight was stopped after the bell. The result was never overturned. Rogan calls it either incompetence or corruption, and argues the money behind Usyk made an upset politically inconvenient.
Rogan lays out a blunt case: boxing's 3-judge system is structurally broken, and the judges know who the promoter wants to win. Glory's 5-judge format is the right model. Corruption doesn't have to be conscious — just knowing Usyk is the cash cow is enough to tilt the scales.
With the Usyk-Wilder fight stalling and Fury-Joshua coming too late, the real fight the world wants is the rematch. Rico is a free agent. Usyk vacated his belts. The story is unfinished and both Rogan and Rico know it. His Excellency Turki Alasheikh already called for it ringside — the question is money.
Rico texted Jason Statham during the Canelo-Crawford fight. Statham showed Rico's highlight videos to promoters. Two days later, Rico was on a call about fighting Anthony Joshua. When Joshua pulled out, Rico pitched Usyk himself — Undisputed vs. Undisputed. Usyk said yes in two weeks. The whole thing started with one text.
Every heavyweight who faced Usyk tried to move to the right — straight into his power hand. Rico and Peter Fury identified the obvious solution: move left, away from the left hand, and smother him with size. It sounds simple. Nobody had done it. That one adjustment was the foundation of 10 dominant rounds.
MMA fans boo when fights go to the ground. They love stand-up. Kickboxing is pure stand-up. Yet it barely exists in America while boxing and MMA are enormous. Rogan's diagnosis: no promotion machine. If the UFC got behind kickboxing the way they've built MMA, it would explode. The talent is there — the storytelling machine is not.
A nation of 17 million people gave the world Ramon Deckers, Peter Aerts, Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef, Rob Kamen, Ernesto Hoost, and Rico Verhoeven. Rico's theory: the country is so small that every gym shares knowledge freely. In the US, you need a flight. In Holland, you drive 40 minutes and spar the national champion.
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