Draymond Green goes after Bill Simmons over Instagram

Feb 20, 2020; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) stands on the court before the game against the Houston Rockets at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Draymond Green will not be getting a podcast on The Ringer any time soon.

The Golden State Warriors star Green targeted Bill Simmons over Instagram this week. Green was unhappy with Simmons’ recent comments about Houston Rockets rookie Jalen Green and reposted an Instagram reel criticizing Simmons.

“How is it that this guy has a voice in deciding if Jalen Green will qualify for a supermax deal?” wrote Draymond. “He clearly says F Him, which sounds very personal btw. But he has a say in what someone else earns? What work has he done in his life that qualifies him to have a say in an NBA players salary? @NBA.”

Simmons, who is an official voter for the Most Valuable Player Award, All-NBA teams, and other awards, caused controversy in a recent podcast with his comments about Jalen. While Simmons maintained that he was doing so lightheartedly (as is often the case with his podcast takes), Simmons said ‘F–k Jalen Green’ during a discussion about why he voted for Pelicans forward Herb Jones for All-Rookie honors over Jalen. That sparked backlash from others even before Draymond’s comments here.

If Draymond’s problem here is that Simmons has a vote despite never having played in the NBA, the issue runs much deeper. Out of 100 media voters for last season’s awards (including Simmons), only six (TNT’s Greg Anthony, Dennis Scott, and Steve Smith and ESPN’s Jon Barry, Mark Jackson, and Jalen Rose) were former NBA players.

Meanwhile, Jalen himself won’t be affected much by what Simmons thinks of him, as All-Rookie selections don’t matter for supermax considerations. Under the Derrick Rose Rule, a player with less than seven years experience is eligible for a max contract worth 30 percent of the salary cap if he makes (a) an All-NBA team, (b) wins Defensive Player of the Year, or (c) wins MVP within certain timing criteria. Thus, Jalen has a lot more work to do and a lot more voters to win over besides Simmons to become supermax-eligible.

Draymond’s larger point may be that it is inane to attach contract eligibility to subjective votes by media members, which is a fair argument. But this is far from the first time that Simmons has created a firestorm with his comments about young players.