Bill Simmons left ESPN earlier this year. (Getty)
The Wall Street Journal reports that Bill Simmons will sign with HBO, proving the months of rumors true. Simmons will host a weekly television show on the network along with a regular video podcast. This should excite fans of Simmons’ ESPN podcasts such as the BS Report. He is also expected to collaborate with HBO Sports, though the specifics have not been released.
Fans of his infamous ESPN podcasts or NBA Draft insight have been wondering where Bill Simmons would end up next. ESPN declined to renew his contract and made a statement that Simmons will not contribute to ESPN anymore during the remaining months of his deal. For the NBA Draft coverage, in particular, Jay Williams filled his role. Grantland, though founded by Simmons, has continued its daily operations without him.
Jay Williams provided a much different style than Simmons. Williams has experience playing at Duke as well as the NBA. While Simmons used a lot of humor and sarcasm Williams provided more of a traditional analyst role on the broadcast.
Simmons had previously remained silent since ESPN announced they would not retain him. However, he has remained active on social media. For example, he responded to the DeMarcus Cousins rumors on Twitter:
Top-2 things Vivek can do to make Kings fans loathe him: 1) trade Boogie to the Lakers; 2) claim that he fixed Game 6 of 2002 WCF Finals.
Former colleague Jalen Rose offered this heartfelt goodbye to Bill Simmons at the beginning of one of his NBA playoff podcast episodes:
As Awful Announcing mentioned, Simmons was certainly missed on ESPN’s draft coverage. He added humor and insight to the broadcast while ESPN’s 2015 NBA Draft coverage seemed to play it safe.
Fans will be anxious to see what Simmons will bring to HBO. He will likely have more room to bring his honest opinions than he did on ESPN. No word yet on a specific start date for Simmons.