Bill Simmons delivered a vintage rant on his podcast Wednesday night, mocking the perpetually disappointing New Orleans Pelicans and newly welcomed-back general manager Joe Dumars for a short-sighted trade in the NBA Draft, which Simmons called \u201cone of the five dumbest trades of this decade.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Simmons wasn\u2019t the only one to rip the Pels (Nick Wright jumped in a short time later<\/a>), The Sports Guy helped push an overlooked trade in the teens to the top of the news cycle Thursday with his rant. When ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania joined\u00a0The Pat McAfee Show\u00a0to debrief on the draft in the morning, he was asked about the Pelicans trade<\/a>.<\/p>\n Charania cautioned patience, acknowledging that New Orleans \u2014 which traded an unprotected first-round pick next year just to move up ten spots \u2014 could be proven right in betting on Maryland forward Derik Queen in due time.<\/p>\n The Pelicans\u2019 social media team, eager for a fight, quickly endorsed Charania\u2019s take. Not content to leave it at that, the Pelicans\u2019 account on X teased that being so \u201crational\u201d would not earn Charania a podcast at Simmons\u2019 company, The Ringer.<\/p>\n This rational take won\u2019t get you a Ringer pod, Shams https:\/\/t.co\/G4PBfbeLTl<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) June 26, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n It was a roundabout, sarcastic way of getting back at Simmons, given that Charania works at ESPN and would never be in line for a podcast at The Ringer anyway.<\/p>\n Never one to shy away from a chance to rag on a woeful NBA decision-maker like Dumars, Simmons quickly responded.<\/p>\n \u201cBookmarking this,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n Bookmarking this https:\/\/t.co\/SxWkllKBRD<\/a><\/p>\n