Bill Simmons Rapidly Backtracks After Saying 'F--k Jalen Green'

Bill Simmons made a rapid backpedal after comments he made on his most recent podcast. After he ripped Houston Rockets rookie Jalen Green on the Bill Simmons Podcast, local Houston site Chron.com (not to be confused with the Houston Chronicle) wrote about it. Simmons fired back quickly:

Simmons was discussing the first round of the NBA playoffs when his picks for the league's All-Rookie team came up. He claimed Green wasn't on his first team, then said, "F--k Jalen Green, I don't care you're scoring 40 points and your team's 19-60."

Here's the clip:

I'm sorry, he might be semi-joking there, but he said it and was making a serious point. He meant it. Backpedaling now looks pretty weak, even when you consider his disdain for "aggregators." You can also tell in the moment he realizes he may have gone too far because he pivots to almost praising Green. It's a really odd segment.

Green averaged 17.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 31.9 minutes per game as a rookie. The No. 2 pick from the 2021 NBA Draft was second in scoring among his rookie classmates behind Cade Cunningham (17.4). The Rockets wound up 20-62. It's worth noting that Cunningham's Detroit Pistons were 23-59 while he was putting up his numbers, but one would presume Simmons had him on the first-team. But no one has ever accused Bill of employing sound logic.

If Simmons didn't want to put Green on his All-Rookie team that's fine, but saying "f--k Jalen Green" is a horrible look. Did he not expect to be called out for it? An NBA awards voter referring to a player in that way is going to raise more than a few eyebrows.