Stephen A. Smith fired back at Draymond Green over the four-time NBA champion's comments about him following his suspension for striking Phoenix Suns center Jusef Nurkić. Smith appeared to proceed with an abundance of caution when addressing Green and the controversy that he'd found himself in with his two suspensions when he spoke about it on his podcast in mid-December.
“We want to see you at your best, and the best way for you to do that is to get yourself mentally and emotionally back to where you need to be. That's how we got to indefinite.”
Smith then spoke about Green on a February edition of NBA Countdown warning him to be careful of his conduct because the punishment could get worse.
“When you hear Nurkic say what he said during his post-game press conference. He hasn’t learned anything. He’s gonna do it again. I take back everything I said about second chances. I want Draymond to be careful. Only because other players are going to assist in creating or elevating that narrative that has plagued him. You can compete. You can get after it. But at the same time, be very careful. Because, the second any kind of slip-up happens again, the hammer will come down.”
Green was recently featured on the latest edition of The Big Podcast with Shaq where he spoke with O'Neal about his feelings on Stephen A. Smith. Per Green, he “lost respect” for Smith.
“Stephen A. Smith really pissed me off, and the reason he pissed me off was because he hit me, and he's like, ‘Yo, it's been hard for a lot of us to talk about you these last few days.' You know, for me, I'm like, okay. It's been hard for me to watch. I'm watching it because I want to see everything that everybody has to say. But the thing that pissed me off is, you tell me it's been hard for y'all to talk about me. Stephen A., anytime I meet someone and they say something about you, it's never like, ‘Yo, I like him. He cool.' It's always like, ‘Man, f*ck you. That dude, he a character, he's this, he's that.' And I always say back, I actually know the guy. The guy is actually a cool dude. You can take what you want from the TV screen. I actually know the guy. He's a cool dude.”
Green continued, “And then you get the opportunity to talk about me. And listen, I know you got a job to do. I know you gotta do your thing and say what you gotta say. But at not one point did you say, well y'all are saying this. Person is, and this person need help. Now, I know the person. Say what you want about the basketball player, that's fine. But I know the person. But to sit back and see those that claim to know and appreciate me as a human being, just flow with the narrative because it was easy to do. I lost a lot of respect for a lot of people.”
Smith is never one to shy away from controversy, especially if someone invokes his name. He responded in kind on First Take this morning.
“Draymond Green just went on a national podcast with Shaquille O'Neal, my brother, and said that he lost respect for me. Well, I've now lost respect for him. I love this brother. I got mad love for Draymond Green. I have an abundance of receipts where I can show you and Molly, you can be a testament to this. How many times have I spoken up for Draymond Green? It's been countless times.”
Smith continued, “For you to go on a podcast…now listen, Draymond and I'll never hate him. I'll never have anything but love for him, but I don't respect what he did. You know, my number, you've spoken to me before. Why am I hearing about it on Shaq's podcast? It would have been nice for Shaq to follow up and say, ‘Yo, It's Stephen A you're talking about. This brother always defends you.' It would have been nice for Shaq to do that, but that's, you know, he does what he does. And, and, and, and you know what, he's not a journalist like I am. So I get that. I understand that. Just like, I'm not a Hall of Fame all-time great like he is. I understand that. I'm simply saying the important point to point out is, you know, we talk about being men. I'm not hard to find. Draymond could have called me up. Draymond could have had a conversation with me. I don't need to find that out on Shaq's podcast.”
Stephen A. Smith makes passionate Inside The NBA plea
Stephen A. Smith has chimed in on the discussion about Inside The NBA possibly concluding its airing if Turner Sports forfeits NBA broadcast rights after the 2024-2025 season. It seems they are on the verge of losing those rights.
Per the Sports Business Journal, the NBA is nearing a partnership deal with NBC, joining Disney/ESPN and Prime Video. This week, Disney, NBC, and Amazon are in the final stages of media rights negotiations with the NBA, working on written contracts and finalizing details. If NBC does ultimately get the NBA, they will do weekly “Basketball Nights In America” broadcasts on Sunday nights after the conclusion of the NFL season.
Smith believes that NBC needs to do what they need to do to secure the services of Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O'Neal.
“I don't know everything in life, but I know television, and I know that I don't give a damn what network you are. If you have an opportunity to have Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kenny Smith together, you do not break that up. I don't give a sh*t what anybody says. You keep that together. You don't mess with it at all, ever. They gonna have Sunday night basketball. Let them be your Sunday night basketball. Bring all three of them with you.”
Smith didn't mention Ernie Johnson because it's been reported that Ernie will stay with Turner even if the company loses NBA rights, per an early May report by the Sports Business Journal.
“Now I say three instead of the four because Ernie Johnson's a lifer,” Smith said. “He's been at TNT and TBS and all of that for years. Basketball is not the only thing he does. He is a multi time Emmy Award winner. He is the standard. So I am in no way suggesting that it should just be those three and not Ernie. I'm just saying, everybody is saying they can never see Ernie leaving. He'll probably retire. But of course, if you can keep all four, you can keep all four.”
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