NBA analyst Bill Simmons is finding himself in hot water once again over comments he made on the air. Simmons is known lover of Boston and it was a rough week for the city's sports fans. The Boston Bruins lost in the Stanley Cup Finals. Doc Rivers left the Boston Celtics for the Los Angeles Clippers. Now, the Celtics have traded away two future Hall of Fame players in exchange for some bench players and draft picks. Simmons is not taking it well. The ESPN personality called out Rivers for his move and now the two are not exactly friendly anymore.
The tense moment occurred during the NBA Draft when reporter Shelley Smith told Rivers that Simmons believes he quit on the Celtics. Simmons explained himself.
"The truth keeps changing. I mean he's given different quotes about this. He didn't know. He did know. He kinda knew. He wanted the trade to happen. He was coming back. He needed a year off. When he sticks to a story, I'll believe the truth," Simmons said.
Simmons essentially begged the coach to own up to what he did and admit what he did. The Celtics are looking to rebuild and Simmons believes that Rivers wanted no part in a team that might not be a contender for some time.
Rivers' response was short, "I would like to call him an idiot, but I'm too classy for that." Rivers said that Simmons does not know that truth about the whole situation and should not speak unless he is aware of all the details. Needless to say it was an awkward and great moment of live television.
Rivers has said that he was set on coming back to the Celtics after getting sick of trade negotiations, but just hours later was informed he would be leaving for the Clippers. He was noncommittal from the start of the offseason about what his future with the team looked like, resulting in the blockbuster move.
"I think what drove it a little bit was my indecision of whether or not I was going to coach or not. I've gone through that the last two or three years," Rivers said. "Danny and I started talking about other situations, and Danny brought up this and I thought it was something he should look into if he thought it was good for him."
Needless to say, Rivers and Simmons are not exactly best friends right now. Most of the Celtics fans might feel the same way as the announced, but what is done is done.
