Bill Simmons on Luka Doncic and Trae Young

I did it, Bill. It me, The Aggregator, and I aggregated the shit out of you.

Look, this isn’t exactly fair to Bill. I mean the quote above is a direct quote from the most recent episode of ‘The Bill Simmons Podcast’ and I think Simmons would stand by it, but he also followed it up immediately by saying “I think what’s cool about this situation is that Trae Young is also really, really good!” This was in no way a Trae Young hate-fest. He likes both players, he just likes Luka more.

Simmons has been critical of the Luka/Trae trade since it happened, and honestly I hope this is something he never stops talking about. I want the constant comparisons, I want to stoke this rivalry. Trae v. Luka. Hawks v. Mavericks. Migos v. Post Malone. Bring it on.

Simmons went into some additional detail regarding his thoughts on Doncic:

I do look at who looks like they’re a level higher than they were last year, and Doncic has really, really jumped out to me… This guy has hit every checkpoint I want him to hit. I feel like he can go by anybody whenever he wants. And the Porzingis thing is really fun to watch. I like watching the little high screens stuff and how [Doncic] drives to the basket and then Porzingis is doing these late cuts down the middle and he’s finding him. I think they have a chance to be really special together.

And on the Hawks future thought process:

I do think Luka is gonna come back to haunt Atlanta a little bit down the road. In a way like ‘Oh man. We traded the rights to this guy and he’s now a two-time MVP’. But what they ended up with is pretty great.

Simmons goes on to describe Trae Young as being a perfect fit for the city of Atlanta, a city who hasn’t had an NBA star quite like this since Dominique Wilkins. Josh Smith is livid.

If our sister site Peachtree Hoops is ever considering a name change, they should consider the one Simmons tossed out based on Young’s potential defensive abilities:

A Pathway to Being Average: The Atlanta Hawks Blog.

Listen to the full episode below, or at theringer.com which, so I’ve been told, is a damn fine website.