Bill Simmons has a bone to pick with the Golden State Warriors.
No, he’s not still upset that the Dubs beat his beloved Celtics to win a title last season. He actually has a problem with how the Warriors haven’t done enough to help the team win more this year.
On an episode of his eponymous podcast published Thursday, Simmons began his segment on Steph Curry and the Warriors with a proclamation about the team’s postseason prospects.
“I don’t think they have it this year,” he said. “And believe me, I am very careful about saying stuff like that, especially in this era when little sound bits and tweets and whatever can just get thrown in your face.”
Simmons was reacting to Wednesday night’s Warriors-Clippers game, where Curry exploded for 50 points in a loss. Simmons, a longtime Clippers season ticket holder, said Curry is “the best he’s ever been” and blasted the Warriors’ front office for “wasting another apex prime Curry season” by not getting him more help.
“They had a chance here to do right by Steph and to really go all in on somebody who has four rings — same amount as LeBron, same amount as Shaq, one behind Kobe and Duncan, two behind MJ — and he’s as good as he’s ever been,” Simmons said. “They had a chance to make a big move, to load up, and even if it was somebody like Jakob Poeltl, that would’ve been a huge difference.”
The Warriors’ roster construction has faced its fair share of scrutiny this year, particularly for young players soaking up valuable roster spots while they’re still unplayable. Simmons notes that Curry, despite having every reason to, has famously not publicly taken issue with how the team’s been set up around him, when other star athletes — specifically LeBron James and Aaron Rodgers — would have aired out their teams publicly.
This isn’t to say that the Warriors would be in a better spot if Curry went to the media to complain about his teammates. But the front office has perhaps escaped the white-hot spotlight that could come with frittering away a Curry season like this. It’s a great deal for the front office, but a pretty bad one for fans and Curry.