Longtime followers of Bill Simmons’ work likely remember his three-man weave podcast episodes featuring NBA insiders Marc Stein and Ric Bucher.
But while Stein has remained a regular — albeit infrequent — guest on The Bill Simmons Podcast in recent years, the same can’t be said for Bucher, who has largely been absent from Simmons’ shows since the Sports Guy left ESPN.
And according to Bucher, that’s not a coincidence.
On the latest episode of his own podcast, On The Ball with Ric Bucher, the longtime NBA reporter threw some shade at Simmons for his recent speculation regarding the Sacramento Kings following the firing of head coach Mike Brown. And in doing so, he also revealed why he stopped appearing on The Ringer founder’s podcast after previously being a mainstay of what was then known as The B.S. Report.
“My former ESPN colleague, Bill Simmons, took note of the Kings’ loss to Detroit. And as Bill is wont to do, immediately threw out a trade idea, as if Mike Brown’s firing is an indication that the Sacramento Kings are ready to start over,” Bucher said. “He suggested that the Houston Rockets should be putting on a full-court press to get the Kings to deal them De’Aaron Fox.
“I’m certain it’s not the worst suggestion that Bill has ever made. Once upon a time, he, Marc Stein and I would do a regular podcast together called ‘the three-man weave’ when we were all with ESPN. It generally consisted of Bill suggesting various wild and outlandish moves and Stein and I explaining why they were either A. Not feasible, B. Not smart or C. Not feasible nor smart.”
So why did Bucher stop going on Simmons’ show?
“After Bill left ESPN, he actually invited me onto his podcast at one point. And I said, ‘I’d be happy to’ if he would also come on mine. And I never heard from him again,” Bucher said. “And that’s kind of the way it works with Bill from my experience. If you can do something for him, he is very excited to work with you. If it comes to him doing something that would be more of a benefit to you, crickets.”
While it was inevitable that Bucher would stop appearing on Simmons’ podcast as frequently as he previously did once they were no longer working for the same company, it was somewhat curious that he stopped going on the show altogether post-ESPN. Now it appears we at least have one reason why — although some of Bucher’s comments suggest there’s more to their apparent bad blood than an ignored request for a home-and-home podcast appearance.
[On The Ball with Ric Bucher, H/T Bill Simmons Reddit]
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.