A Crazy NBA Month With Zach Lowe, Plus Taylor Sheridan on Building a TV Empire and the Problems With Hollywood

Episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast · June 29, 2026 · 2 h 45 min

Bill Simmons and Zach Lowe debate Jaylen Brown trade rumors, the LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges trades and LeBron's future, then Taylor Sheridan discusses his prison book and TV empire.

Summary

In the first part of the episode, recorded live on Netflix, Bill Simmons and Zach Lowe discussed the NBA offseason. Simmons argued that the Boston Celtics mishandled Jaylen Brown's situation by including him in a failed Giannis Antetokounmpo offer, defended Brown as one of the league's 15 best players, and proposed a trade sending Brown to Denver for Jamal Murray and Cam Johnson. Lowe countered that once Boston pursued Giannis, a Brown trade was the only logical path, and noted the difficulty of moving Brown's large contract.

The pair split on Charlotte's trade of LaMelo Ball to Minnesota for Naz Reid and picks. Simmons called it a Hail Mary by the Timberwolves given Ball's injury history and lack of playoff experience, while Lowe graded it roughly a B for both teams and predicted Minnesota would be good. Both praised Charlotte's front office, particularly after the Hornets traded Miles Bridges to Phoenix for Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neal and an unprotected 2033 first, a deal Simmons derided for the Suns. They also discussed Miami's Giannis acquisition, a hypothetical Ja Morant trade, and LeBron James's possible landing spots, both favoring Golden State as the most fun destination.

In the second part, Taylor Sheridan described how a friendship with a former career criminal turned gym owner led to their co-written book on surviving prison. He explained his screenwriting principles, including never letting dialogue tell what the camera should show, criticized studio development executives as justifying their jobs through notes, and credited his productivity to promoting crew from within. He discussed conceiving Landman, planning shows for about five seasons, Kevin Costner's original three-season plan on Yellowstone, Sicario's five-act structure, and how quitting Sons of Anarchy pushed him from acting to writing.

Chapters

Linked moment · 0:06Skip to 0:06 using a listen link in the info box.
0:06
Intro and Zach's World Cup trip
Simmons previews the episode and Lowe recounts celebrating Croatia's World Cup win in Philadelphia.
2:28
Jaylen Brown trade rumors
Simmons and Lowe debate whether Boston mishandled Brown's situation and what his trade value is.
21:15
Hypothetical Brown trades
The hosts assess possible packages from New Orleans, Portland and a Murray–Cam Johnson deal with Denver.
34:25
LaMelo Ball traded to Minnesota
Simmons criticizes the Timberwolves' deal over Ball's durability while Lowe defends it as reasonable.
53:50
Miles Bridges to Phoenix and Charlotte's rise
The hosts pan Phoenix's side of the Bridges trade and praise the Hornets' assets and roster building.
1:04:26
Miami's Giannis fit and Ja Morant
Lowe questions the Giannis–Bam Adebayo offensive fit, and the hosts debate a Ja Morant for Jalen Green swap.
1:12:53
LeBron James landing spots
The hosts weigh Golden State, San Antonio, the Clippers and Denver as destinations for LeBron.
1:22:48
Wow predictions and Croatia
Lowe predicts a big Denver move, Simmons picks Detroit, and they discuss Croatia's next World Cup match.
1:26:10
Taylor Sheridan's prison book
Sheridan explains how his friendship with an ex-convict gym owner became a co-written guide to surviving prison.
1:40:38
Screenwriting principles
Sheridan describes starting to write at 41 and his rules about showing versus telling and making minor characters matter.
1:53:40
Hollywood executives and his production system
Sheridan criticizes development executives and credits his output to autonomy and promoting crew from within.
1:58:22
Casting and Landman
Sheridan discusses writing for specific actors, pitching Landman to Billy Bob Thornton, and using Demi Moore's character.
2:10:21
Show length, Yellowstone and Westerns
Sheridan says shows should run about five seasons, recounts Kevin Costner's original plan, and defends the Western genre.
2:26:19
Sicario and his acting past
Sheridan discusses Sicario's structure and release, quitting Sons of Anarchy, and roles he lost as an actor.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Zach Lowe
Lowe argues that once Boston's interest in Giannis leaked, trading Brown became the only realistic path.
“Once that gets out, there's no other realistic path for this to happen”
Listen from 4:34 · Giannis Antetokounmpo trade speculation
Bill Simmons
Simmons argues that on-off analytics undervalue Brown's reliability as a durable star carrying the burden nightly.
“I really value the reliability of a durable star who over and over again has to carry this burden”
Listen from 8:00 · Jaylen Brown trade speculation
Bill Simmons
Simmons believes Jaylen Brown is more likely to end up staying with the Celtics than being traded.
“I think it's more likely he ends up coming back to the team”
Listen from 13:30 · Jaylen Brown trade speculation
Bill Simmons
Simmons proposes a trade of Jamal Murray and Cam Johnson for Jaylen Brown and Sam Hauser that would save Denver money.
“Murray and Cam Johnson for Jalen and Hauser. which would save Denver $10 million this year”
Listen from 24:37 · Denver Nuggets
Bill Simmons
Simmons calls LaMelo Ball the least durable good guard of the last quarter century, citing his minutes and lack of playoff games.
“He's the least durable good guard of the last 25 years. Six seasons, 9,400 minutes, zero playoff games”
Listen from 36:24 · LaMelo Ball trade to the Minnesota Timberwolves
Zach Lowe
Lowe believes Charlotte traded Ball mainly because it doubted he could handle playoff-level play.
“I think it really just boiled down to we watch the playoffs and we just don't think he can hang at that level”
Listen from 44:57 · LaMelo Ball trade to the Minnesota Timberwolves
Zach Lowe
Lowe predicts the LaMelo Ball trade will work and Minnesota will be good.
“I think they're going to be good. I think this is going to work and I think they're going to be good”
Listen from 46:56 · Minnesota Timberwolves
Bill Simmons
Simmons argues Charlotte won the Bridges trade on the players alone, before counting the picks Phoenix added.
“So they traded Miles Bridges for Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neal and won that trade”
Listen from 54:25 · Miles Bridges trade to the Phoenix Suns
Zach Lowe
Lowe is skeptical Miami can be a title contender because Bam Adebayo and Giannis overlap offensively.
“I just think at heart, Bam and Giannis are too duplicative on offense”
Listen from 1:05:57 · Giannis Antetokounmpo trade speculation
Bill Simmons Prediction · due Apr 2027
Simmons predicts Miami will win between 43 and 47 games depending on Giannis's availability.
“I think they'll be like between 43 and 47 wins, depending on how much Giannis”
Listen from 1:07:41 · Giannis Antetokounmpo trade speculation
Bill Simmons Didn’t happen
Simmons predicts Anthony Davis will be traded this summer, above all other star trade candidates.
“I would bet my life on the AD trade this summer over all the other famous”
Listen from 1:13:39
Bill Simmons
Simmons contends San Antonio would have beaten the Knicks in the Finals had LeBron James been on the team.
“If he had been in that Knicks series, I think they would have won”
Listen from 1:19:23 · LeBron James free agency
Zach Lowe Didn’t happen
Lowe predicts Denver will make a surprising big move during the week.
“I'm going to say Denver is going to do something big and I don't know what it is”
Listen from 1:23:28 · Denver Nuggets
Taylor Sheridan
Sheridan says his core rule is never to have a character say what the camera should show.
“never have a character tell me something that the camera should show me”
Listen from 1:41:13 · Screenwriting
Taylor Sheridan
Sheridan says he aims to entertain mainstream audiences rather than win awards.
“You're not going to win no Emmys with me, but I'm not trying to win Emmys”
Listen from 1:52:52 · Screenwriting
Taylor Sheridan
Sheridan argues studio executives impose notes and consensus in order to justify their jobs.
“The reason they do it that way is to justify their jobs”
Listen from 1:54:22 · Screenwriting
Taylor Sheridan
Sheridan says Paramount eliminated its development department after four years because he ignored its notes.
“And after four years, they got rid of that department. So all those people got fired because they didn't need them”
Listen from 1:54:40 · Screenwriting
Taylor Sheridan
Sheridan says he deliberately kept Demi Moore's character in the background in season one to set up her takeover in season two.
“You're going to be an extra in this show for seven episodes”
Listen from 2:05:55 · Landman (TV series)
Taylor Sheridan
Sheridan believes TV shows should run about five seasons at most before becoming repetitive.
“For me, five years or six. Five years. Five years max. Because beyond that, now it's just problem of the week”
Listen from 2:10:30 · Screenwriting
Taylor Sheridan
Sheridan says Kevin Costner was originally contracted for only three seasons of Yellowstone before the network pushed to keep him.
“with Yellowstone, Kevin was only supposed to be in the first three seasons. That was in his contract”
Listen from 2:10:51 · Yellowstone (American TV series)
Taylor Sheridan
Sheridan rejects the idea that the Western genre is dead, arguing good Westerns always succeed.
“every time someone makes a good Western, it's a fucking hit. Every time”
Listen from 2:25:07 · Yellowstone (American TV series)
Taylor Sheridan
Sheridan says Lionsgate should have released Sicario like a summer movie rather than as an awards play.
“I think that they decided to make an awards play. And I wouldn't have done that. I would have treated it like a summer movie”
Listen from 2:33:47 · Sicario (2015 film)
Taylor Sheridan
Sheridan credits Sons of Anarchy's poor treatment of him as an actor with pushing him to become a writer.
“thank God that they had so little respect for me that they offered me garbage”
Listen from 2:35:34

People

In the conversation

Bill SimmonsSportswriter and founder of The Ringer, host of The Bill Simmons Podcast
Zach LoweRinger NBA analyst referenced repeatedly
Taylor SheridanAmerican screenwriter and producer, creator of Tulsa King

Discussed

Jaylen BrownBoston Celtics guard-forward at the center of the hosts' first-team All-NBA case
Jayson TatumBoston Celtics forward returning from injury
LaMelo BallCharlotte Hornets guard named player people gave up on too soon
Anthony EdwardsMinnesota Timberwolves guard
Giannis AntetokounmpoMilwaukee Bucks forward and two-time NBA MVP whose future trade value is the episode's central subject
LeBron JamesLos Angeles Lakers forward cited as a longevity outlier
Jamal MurrayDenver Nuggets guard proposed for second-team All-NBA
Nikola JokićNBA center for the Denver Nuggets known for triple-doubles
Ja MorantMemphis Grizzlies guard
Anthony DavisNBA player who stars in the TBS series Foul Play
Stephen CurryGolden State Warriors guard
Naz ReidForward sent from Minnesota to Charlotte in the LaMelo Ball trade
Kevin CostnerActor who starred in Yellowstone
Billy Bob ThorntonAmerican actor who stars in Landman
Demi MooreActress whose thin appearance at Cannes Kelly criticized
Denis VilleneuveCanadian filmmaker who directed Arrival and Dune
Cole HauserActor who plays Rip in Yellowstone
David E. KelleyTelevision writer-producer cited by Sheridan as a one-man band
Luka ModrićCroatian midfielder

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From the publisher

The Ringer’s Bill Simmons and Zach Lowe go LIVE on Netflix to give their thoughts on the latest Jaylen Brown trade rumors before breaking down the Hornets trades, possible LeBron landing spots, and much more. Then, Taylor Sheridan joins the pod to talk about his new book, ‘How to Survive in Prison,’ before diving into his beginnings in screenwriting, how he works differently from others, and the success of his films and television shows. (0:00) Intro (1:15) Jaylen Brown trade rumors (34:29) LaMelo Ball traded to the Wolves (54:23) Miles Bridges to the Suns and other trade news (01:26:40) Taylor Sheridan on his new book, screenwriting, and more! Host: Bill Simmons Guests: Zach Lowe and Taylor Sheridan Producers: Chia Hao Tat, Eduardo Ocampo, and Chris Wohlers Brought to you by PayPal. Learn more at paypal.com As the Official Beer Sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 26, Michelob ULTRA away $1million in FIFA World Cup tickets and prizes. https://www.michelobultra.com/superioraccess/FIFAWORLDCUP26 MICHELOB ULTRA® FIFA® WORLD CUP 26TM SUPERIOR ACCESS. No Purchase Necessary. Open to US residents 21+. Begins on 12/1/25 and ends on 7/31/26. Multiple entry periods. Visit https://www.michelobultra.com/superioraccess/FIFAWORLDCUP26 for free entry, entry deadlines, and Official Rules. Message and data rates may apply. Void where prohibited. The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit https://fanduel.com/playwithaplan to learn more about the resources and helplines Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 29, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Basketball·TV & Film·Film Interviews