Bill Simmons is leaving NBA Countdown, launching 'The Grantland Basketball Show'

Isn't Grantland partially owned by ESPN?

 

sounds great, Grantland is an amazing website with great reads and podcasts. But ESPN shouldve just let Grantland crew do the countdown show with bill, jalen, zach, jacoby etc.

 

White mamba!

 

As a huge fan of Simmons and Grantland, I don't mind this at all.

 

Losing Bill Simmons is going to kill any momentum NBA Countdown had (if it did have any).

For years I have suggested they anchor the show with Scott Van Pelt. I think he is the right type of set up man to handle that show, much like EJ on TNT. Just build from there.

No SAS. No Stuart BooYa Scott. Doug Collins is a bore to me. I am fine with Wilbon. I assume Jalen will follow Bill Simmons to the grandland show. I like Sage/Doris. They do fine, but prefer SVP over all to steer the ship.

 

B.S. almost left the show? I like Bill, was not a fan of NBA countdown and Simmons and Jalen's interactions were the only silver lining for me. His Grantland material is always good stuff.

 

I'm neutral on Simmons. He's a fantastic writer and thinks about things very practically, even on-air, as opposed to your average talking head who spouts off cliches and things like unrealistic trade proposals, etc.

But he also comes off as a bit full of himself and not very genuine, and he just doesn't have a great TV personality. Much better on print or radio.

 

I hate Simmons. Comes off snobbish and plain annoying. Worse, he's boring. I want to be entertained while being informed. Zzzzzzzz

 

Bring back bill walton

 

That interview with Boogie sold me on Simmons' ability. Interviewing a brick wall and moving on seamlessly when the wall had nothing to say? Impressive, to say the least.

 

Good luck with that... TNT is mostly entertaining, while Countdown was mostly informative... neither managed to do both...

 

Really? I found it disingenuous. Dude was straight up putting words in Boogie's mouth. The whole thing about "remembering who was drafted/chosen ahead of you and using it as a fuel to your fire" was contrived.

 

He was desperately trying to fill in the abundance of blanks Boogie was providing in the interview... Really, he was, simply trying to move Boogie's gears for him, to coax more thought in his answers... it simply didn't take..

If not for that, the entire interview would've been a painfully long yes-or-no questionnaire for the viewers/listeners to endure... with a lot of dead air in-between..

 

I just came in here to say that could not care less either way.

 

How about just Bill Walton? Musing on everything and tying it all in with basketball. I'd watch that.

 

Didn't realize there were so many Simmons haters. I can see how people can be turned off by him but I could care less either way. With that said... to me he seemed pretty knowledgeable and I actually enjoyed his insight.

 

Just don't get fired Bill!

 

Tom Tolbert, Reggie Theus, Tim Hardaway, and Dee Brown would blast TNT.

 

A lineup of Stuart Scott/Stephen A/Bill Walton/JVG.

Get it done!