The Bill Simmons Podcast
Luka’s Revenge, NFL QB Roulette, and Tales from 'White Lotus' With Sheil Kapadia and Dave Bernad
Wed, 26 Feb 2025
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons reacts to the Lakers and Mavericks' first meeting since the massive Luka Doncic trade (0:00), before talking with Sheil Kapadia about next season's Super Bowl contenders, Matt Stafford’s future, teams desperate for a QB, free agent buzz, top-10 draft projections, and much more (10:25). Finally, Bill sits down with ‘White Lotus’ EP Dave Bernad to discuss the ambiguous responsibilities of an executive producer, the unlikely origins of HBO’s ‘White Lotus’, stories from making the show, and more (01:11:48). Host: Bill Simmons Guests: Sheil Kapadia and Dave Bernad Producers: Kyle Crichton and Chia Hao Tat The all-new, fully electric Audi Q6 e-tron is a new way to experience driving. Learn more at audiusa.com. 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
Chapter 1: Why is the Luka Doncic trade considered a disaster for Dallas?
The Bill Simmons podcast presented by FanDuel Sportsbook. I am recording this right after Lakers Mavs, just the very top here. Four things I wanted to hit coming off that game. Number one, the Luka Doncic trade is now kind of seeming stupid for Dallas. Oh wait, it was stupid immediately when it happened. This is just a disaster. I can't believe Nico Harrison actually went to the game.
Like they weren't gonna chant thank you, Nico, at him for two and a half hours. If I was him, I would have pretended to have COVID, the flu, bronchitis, I don't know what, but I would not have wanted to be in the building. That's just nuts. All right, three actual takeaways. This is already the best rivalry in the NBA. I'm the most interested in every Lakers-Mavericks game from now on.
We didn't even have Anthony Davis tonight. We didn't have Gafford. We didn't have Lively. There's going to be a version of this game, at least for this season and next season, I would guess, where you have this big Mavericks team with a bunch of size, and then you have this weird Lakers team that's kind of playing small, but they're not small because their front court has 800 pounds of guys.
Then Luka trying to get revenge against his...
his old team and just a lot of different storylines that i think are great i we had this in the 2000s the seeds of it when shaq went to miami but kobe's lakers team wasn't good enough we had the seeds of it when durant went to golden state in 2016 and then there was going to be an okc golden state robbery but golden state was just way better than okc this
has a chance to be a really fun back and forth. Every time they play, it's going to be a fun game like the one tonight. And I'm looking forward to it. I would say for the rest of the 2020s, this is our best bet for an awesome NBA rivalry. Like Boston, Cleveland, maybe that'll get there. I doubt we're going to have all the storylines and the baggage that this one has. I don't know, Minnesota OKC.
Sure, SGA, Anthony Edwards, that'll be great. Can't wait to watch those guys battle, but it's not going to have the baggage in the history of this rivalry. So depending on how long LeBron is able to play at this level, this is the best we're going to do. Could we get this as a 2-7 matchup in the NBA playoffs? So Lakers right now, 35-21. Two seed is conceivable for them.
Dallas right now is the eight seed. There's a bunch of teams tied in between seven and 10. They're getting some guys back soon. If you want to get good ratings, NBA, I would rig a two, seven Lakers Dallas, I think would be the way to do it. Anyway, this is an awesome rivalry.
That was my first takeaway tonight watching this where I'm just like, this is must watch TV every time these two guys, two teams play. Second one is the Lakers who were still, and I talked about on Sunday night, I think they're a wildcard contender. They're not one of the four contenders to win the title, but they might be fifth.
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Chapter 2: Who are the potential Super Bowl contenders for next season?
He doesn't need a fucking writer's room.
But also, this is the thing. Mike, I've been working with Mike for 20 years. Mike is authentically himself. And I think the key to being successful, I think, as a producer or a writer is knowing your strengths, knowing your weaknesses. Mike's weakness is being in a room with writers. And Mike's weakness for him, that's just not how he... approaches the creative process.
And he's not critical or judgmental of anyone else's process. But the thing, he had a mental break. The last time he ran a room, he had a mental breakdown and ended up in a mental hospital. And he talks about it a lot. And that was because of the process. For him, he just doesn't... he doesn't exist in that process.
But why wouldn't people just think of it as a seven hour movie, which is what it is.
Yeah. And of course he, what Mike is saying is anyone can do whatever they want. I just need to do my process. And he was like, I'm never returning to TV. And he returned to TV to do enlightened because HBO said to him, you don't need to have a writer's room. You can do it on your terms.
Yeah.
And that's how I was able to do it. And so I think Mike, um, yeah, I mean, like what he does, I don't know how he does it. And he's again, like it's, he's a genius and,
The two people, I don't know how they do it are him and Taylor Sheridan. Yeah. I don't know. I don't understand how Taylor Sheridan is producing this much content. I don't know. It really does feel like, like I made the limitless joke before, but he really does feel like the limitless, like we're going to find out. Yeah. He found some sort of something.
That or he has an Adderall addiction and he's going to go to rehab at some point in the next five years. I don't know how he does it. Or his body naturally produces Adderall. Exactly. There's something going on with him. But Mike is focused on one thing. He wants to do one thing really well. He doesn't want to spread himself thin.
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