Snapshot · The Bill Simmons Podcast
Zach Lowe recalled a period where the NBA salary cap stayed flat at roughly $58 million for three or four consecutive years, a similar dynamic to current second-apron pressures.
Where this was said
At 32:26 · chapter starts 19:43
Bill Simmons opens the basketball segment noting he's been getting texts, calls, and emails from people across the league since the trade. Zach Lowe delivers the verdict: no one can be found who thinks it was good for Boston, and the working consensus is that the bridge burned between Jaylen Brown and the organization beyond recovery — perhaps for reasons 'we may not fully understand but may one day fully understand.' Bill Simmons, fresh from a shower in which he genuinely tried to argue Paul George was undervalued, reads five Clipper-era stats in succession — 23-6-5, 39% from three, 8 All-Stars, 3.43 threes per game. Lowe's response is devastating: 'That was one of the sadder one-minute segments in the history of the Bill Simmons Podcast.' He clarifies that the Celtics are not secretly coveting Paul George — they know exactly who he is, a third/fourth option who fits Mazzulla's system. Lowe adds that a high-level rival front office executive told him that only 3-4 organizations in the league could execute this trade without 'immediate cataclysmic blowback' — and Boston barely qualifies. Both hosts also note the unusual dynamic of a new ownership group (Bill Chisholm's consortium) making a cost-cutting trade rather than the typical splashy new-owner buy-in.
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Four days after the Jaylen Brown trade, the consensus across the NBA is unanimous: nobody thinks it was good for Boston. The return was surprisingly low even accounting for known skepticism about Brown's value, and the only explanation that makes sense is the bridge was burned past the point of no return.
Despite finishing 6th in MVP voting and earning All-NBA honors, Jaylen Brown's trade value was depressed primarily by his massive salary and analytical skepticism within the league.
Bill Simmons spent his morning shower compiling Paul George's actual career stats — five Clipper seasons at 23-6-5, eight All-Stars, an MVP third-place finish in 2019 — trying to convince himself Boston secretly covets George. Zach Lowe's verdict: 'That was one of the sadder one-minute segments in the history of the Bill Simmons Podcast.'
Over his 5 seasons with the Clippers, Paul George averaged 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists on 39% from three with 3.43 three-pointers made per game.
After returning from a 25-game drug suspension, Paul George averaged 21 points per game on 42% from three in his last 10 games of the season.
Despite months of meticulous preparation, Starter Story's initial launch attracted zero users — a humbling reminder that building alone guarantees nothing.
A single Reddit link post quickly drove 100 visitors to the Starter Story website, igniting the founder's belief in social traffic.
After reformatting content as a native self-post (no direct link spam), the post exploded with hundreds of upvotes and thousands of readers.
By posting again and again with the native-content strategy, the founder's posts repeatedly hit Reddit's front page, reaching millions of readers.
Before Reddit banned his domain, the founder converted his viral traffic into an email list of tens of thousands — a self-owned audience independent of Reddit.
Redditors eventually organized a petition to ban starterstory.com posts, effectively ending the Reddit growth channel — but the email list was already built.
The Reddit attention strategy ultimately served as the foundation for a million-dollar business, proving that free distribution channels can replace paid marketing.
The key tactic was keeping content fully on-platform (no direct link spam), then adding a small link at the post's end for users who wanted more.
With a thriving email list and a self-owned audience, the founder quit his six-figure New York City salary job to go all-in on Starter Story.
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