The Bill Simmons Podcast
A Rare NBA Sea-Change Season, the Haliburton What-Ifs, and a 2020 Redraft With Ryen Russillo
25 May 2025
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons is joined by Ryen Russillo to discuss what the NBA teams may look like next year (1:43). Then, they react to OKC-Timberwolves Game 3 and discuss Bill’s theory that something has shifted with the NBA this season (30:38). Finally, they discuss Tyrese Haliburton, have a quick 2020 redraft, and predict one wild move this summer (01:05:20). Host: Bill Simmons Guest: Ryen Russillo Producers: Chia Hao Tat and Eduardo Ocampo #ULTRACourtside could get you closer to the game! michelobultra.com/courtside ENJOY RESPONSIBLY ©️ 2025 ANHEUSER-BUSCH, MICHELOB ULTRA®️ LIGHT BEER, ST. LOUIS, MO. The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Full Episode
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Coming up, a little Memorial Day weekend basketball talk with Ryan Russillo next. We're also brought to you by the Ringer Podcast Network, where we have new rewatchables coming for you on Monday night. It is the last episode of Big Ass 7 News Month. We did Heaven Can Wait. It was me and Van Lathan and Chris Ryan. So that's coming Monday night.
And you can watch it on the Ringer Movies YouTube channel as well. You can watch all the videos and clips from this podcast on the Bill Simmons YouTube channel, or you can watch it as a video podcast on Spotify. Ryan Russillo is next. We taped this. Sunday morning before the Pacers next game three. So it's coming up next. First, our friends from All right, we were recording this.
It is a little past 11 in the morning Pacific time on Sunday. We are not doing this after Pacers Knicks because it's Memorial Day weekend. And sometimes real life takes over the podcast schedule. I don't know what to say, but Ryan Rosillo is here. We have a bunch of fun stuff we're going to talk to.
We're going to be able to talk about these playoffs, even not knowing what's happening in game three tonight, which started out pretty shocking with the Pacers taking a 2-0 lead. I'm going to start here, Rosillo. Indiana and OKC, if that ends up being our finals.
What's interesting, big picture, is you could argue each of those teams is the team you would want to be for the next four to five years in their conferences. And I think the OKC is a pretty easy argument for the West, unless you want to throw San Antonio at me.
But for Indiana, the fact that we are now, I don't know, two plus games in the conference finals, the thought of them being the team you would most envy in the East was like 50 to one odds, I would say in January. How did we get here?
Look, the Thunder thing, you're right, whether it's roster or the flexibility of what all these future draft picks are going to be. And, you know, look in the future draft pick stuff. Sometimes it's like, oh, that didn't work out. And then there's like a pick in 2029 and you go, oh, my God, I can't believe that ended up happening. and you're going to have to sell me a little harder on the Pacers.
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