← The Stephen A. Smith Show
The Stephen A. Smith Show
Full Show: ESPN NBA Insider Shams Charania discusses trades, trade rumors, injury updates, and draft projections.
00:32:53
Loading summary
Transcript75 lines
- [00:00]
Stephen A. Smith
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:04]
Shams Sharania
The best kind of help is the kind you don't even have to ask for. Like your friend pulling up on moving day with a truck, a speaker and snacks ready to go. Well, that's the energy you get with AT&T's new guarantee. If there's ever a network interruption, they make it right by giving you credit for a full day of service proactively credit for fiber downtime lasting 20 minutes or more or wireless downtime lasting 60 minutes or more caused by a single incident impacting 10 or more towers. Restrictions and exclusions apply. See att.com guarantee for full details. AT&T Connecting Changes Everything welcome to the.
- [00:49]
Lex Borrero
You vs you podcast. I'm Lex Borrero inviting you to go beyond the titles and the accolades of the world's most successful entertainers. Each week we take off the cape and get real about the inner battles, childhood stories and and the moments that shaped our guests. Get inspired to become the best version of you. Listen to you versus you podcast on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [01:24]
Shams Sharania
What's up everybody? Welcome to the latest edition of the Stephen A. Smith show, coming at you at the very least three times a week over the digital airwaves of YouTube and of course, iHeartRadio. As always, I'd like to pause and take a moment to thank my subscribers and followers and listeners and what have you because of the support that you give the show. Courtesy of millions of download over iheartradio over the last few months and a subscriber base on YouTube that has now eclipsed over 1.25 million. Can't thank y' all for the love and support. Enough. The show just continues to grow and grow and grow. It would not happen if it were not for you guys. Really, really appreciate it on behalf of myself and my team. Can't thank y' all enough. Keep the love coming and I'm gonna keep on coming as usual. To be notified of all of our newest content, just click the bell in the right hand corner and you too shall consider yourself the latest member of the Stephen A. Smith show family. And while you're doing that, please make sure to pick up a copy of my New York Times best selling book, Straight Shooter, A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes now in paperback. Just go to straightshooterbook.com to get yourself a copy. Once again, go to straightshooterbook.Com to get yourself a copy. Whole bunch of stuff to get into. In light of everything that's been happening since the NBA Finals ended on Sunday night. It's been less than 48 hours, I'm sorry, less than 72 hours rather since that happened. But it hasn't stopped trades from taking place. It hasn't stopped new, new teams requiring new players. It hasn't stopped the scuttlebutt about what's going to transpire as the NBA drafts approach tonight. All of those things are things that we got to talk about, things that we got to consider, take into consideration. And who better to talk to than the ultimate NBA insider himself? When there is news to be broken, this brother is the one who usually breaks it. I'm talking about Mr. Shams Sharania, my teammate at ESPN right here on the Stephen A. Smith show for the very, very first time. What's up, Shams? How you doing? Big time. How's everything going?
- [03:14]
Stephen A. Smith
I say everything is great. I'm just honored, grateful to be on making my debut on your show. You know, I, I, I love watching your show. You have your daughter on. You're talking about Pokemon characters. So I'm just glad to be a part of the mix here.
- [03:25]
Shams Sharania
I appreciate it, man. And before we even get started, congratulations, you, you had big time shoes to fill, succeeding Woj himself, Adrian Wojnarowski, you did an outstanding job. You're the elite guy in this business. You did an absolutely fabulous job for us. And I'm honored and proud to call you a teammate at espn. Before I get into any of these questions, how was your first year at espn? Break it down for us. How, how much did you it, it's.
- [03:52]
Stephen A. Smith
Been a rolling, I mean, to me and, and Stephen, you've lived it for so long, but like the platform, how many eyeballs it reaches, that was definitely something that I found, you know, eye opening. But even more than that, what I love personally is like I could break news at any given moment. Like the Luca Donches trade happened at 11:12pm is when I sent that tweet out. I was on TV 20, 30 minutes later. I know you, you got rung up that night as well. So I just love the fact that you can break news at any given moment and be on TV at any given moment. And obviously the platform is great and I love the people you know, working with you and Malika and the Countdown crew and the Hillary guys of the world. Like there's, there's just so many great people and I'm just honored and glad and hopefully every day just making everyone I work with proud and making my family proud as well.
- [04:34]
Shams Sharania
Man, we love working with you as well. You really are great. You're a great person and you're a great professional man and you're young too, you know, so you got a long, you got a long time in this industry and you're already a superstar in it. Let's get to the latest news obviously broken by you. When we think about Jrue Holiday just getting moved moved from the Boston Celtics, I'm looking at first things first. Why did that happen? Explain our audience. Why did that happen and who's considered the biggest beneficiary off this deal being made with the Portland Trailblazers.
- [05:05]
Stephen A. Smith
Stephen A. There's two sides of this situation. I think the easier side is the Portland Trailblazer side. To them this is an aggressive move. Drew Holliday still is known as an elite defender, a veteran player. I mean two time champion, six time all defensive team member. It's hard to throw shade on Jrue Holiday's name. The issue that the Celtics had when they were discussing Drew Holiday deals though that he had three years massive numbers on his contract left. And so for the Celtics they had a payroll approaching $500 million next season. And so I've been reporting it for weeks. I know me and you have talked about it for the better part of even before the playoffs started. Win or lose in the playoffs this past season, the Celtics were going to make some major changes and that was going to start with players like Jrue Holiday and we saw it last night when they reached agreement with Portland and so that allows them to shed some money. Anthony Simons is an expiring contract. If they keep him, he's the guy that they like. He's the guy that can score the ball obviously 19 points a game, five assists a night. You know where you're going to get from Anthony Simons, he's younger than Jru Holliday as well from Portland. This was an aggressive move and I know Chauncey Billups, their general manager, Joe Cronin. They're excited about bringing Jew Holliday in. Steven we saw the second half of last season. I don't know if many people did but the trailers had a top five defense. Taunton Bills had that team playing above.500 basketball in the second half of the year. So we'll see how that goes. But for the Celtics essay, this is the start of a very active off season. Christoph Porzingis they're engaged in multiple conversations about trading him. The Celtics prefer not to trade Jaylen Brown and Derrick White but listen the offers that they're getting right now and the conversations are going to be had. Does it reach the value? And that's the question. So you're looking at a lot of potential movement around the Celtics and last night was just the start of that shams.
- [06:51]
Shams Sharania
Are you telling me there's a whole bunch of people out there as suitors for Jaylen Brown even though he's in the midst of a $304 million contract?
- [06:59]
Stephen A. Smith
There are multiple teams that have significant interest in Jaylen Brown and you think about for sure the contract is steep. I understand it. But listen, there are teams, especially in today's NBA, especially in the Eastern Conference. And now what we're seeing in the Western Conference too, it's an arms race in the West. So even if you're a team that's meddling in the playoffs, you're trying to get there, you're trying to make a swing. And I think what we're going to see now in both conferences is a lot of activity.
- [07:27]
Shams Sharania
On my day job on ESPN, first take every weekday morning from 10am to noon today I brought up Kristaps Porzingis and how that's a tricky situation, not because he's injured but because he's been ill. And by being ill and people in the Boston Celtics and himself not being able to pinpoint exactly what has ailed him, I said that's going to be difficult for a lot of teams to embrace to stomach to be willing to pull off a deal to acquire him when you can't even figure out what's been wrong with him. What do you have to say to that?
- [07:58]
Stephen A. Smith
There's a lot of research being done. Stephen A. Like the three to five teams that are inquiring on Christmas, Trezingis making offers on frameworks for Christoph Porzingis. These are all conversations that they're having as well. And they're doing the research. They're reaching out to Christophs Porzingis, his representative Jeff Schwartz at XL Sports, trying to see what is going on exactly with Chris Os Porzingis. And so the the rationale overall has been and what I've been reporting is that he was dealing with essentially after effects. He's been dealing with a bunch of side effects from what was a viral illness in March. And again it's his body, it's on him and obviously the Celtics doctors and they've been in the midst of it. So the Celtics know better than anyone what was going on with the Cristofers, Brzingis. But there's going to be a team that's going to trade For Chris Das Porzingis, whether it's this week, draft week or free agency week next week, that will do it. That feels like they're comfortable with how his health is because he, he does have a market. Stephen A. Of about three to five teams.
- [08:55]
Shams Sharania
Quick answer to this. Jayson Tatum with the Achilles tear. Tyrese Halliburton with the Achilles tear. Damian Lillard with the Achilles tear. The, the, the age, the advancement of technology in today's world. Some people have speculated that it is possible, at least in the case of Lillard or Jason Tatum, that they could be back at some point in time during the playoffs. Are any of those teams Boston, Milwaukee, Indiana? I sincerely doubt Indiana is in this case since this just happened to Tyrese Halliburton. But are any of those teams anticipating we'll see any of those guys for the 2025, 2026 NBA season?
- [09:33]
Stephen A. Smith
Iris Halliburton is not expected to return all of the 2025, 26 season. I'm told it's likely he is out for all of next year and that a lot has to do with the fact that this just happened the final week of June. And so this is a long, long rehab, as you know, Stephen covering it for so long, 10 to 12 months. And that's usually, you know, the 10 months is really on the early side for these athletes, especially superstar players, the level that they want to come back at. Jason Tatum also, similarly, he had his, I think, what, in May. So this is this situation with Jason Tatum where, you know, Kevin Durant, Tyrese Halliburton, Jason Tatum all had their surgery within one to two days after the Achilles tear. All had it with the same doctor, Dr. O' Malley at the hospital special surgery in New York City. They did it all for a reason. And that reason was the quicker you do it, the, the better and more healthy you'll be back when you are ready to be back. The better, the stronger that Achilles area will be. That was the goal with it. That doesn't mean he's going to be coming back soon. Remember, we remember when Kevin Durant got back, he had missed, I think like 14 to 16 months because of the COVID situation and the time gap between when he actually made it back on the floor the following season in 20, 20, 21. So I expect Jason Tatum to take his time, Tyres Halburn to take his time. The one question that I have is the Damian Lillard situation. He had his injury in April. Of course, there has been some optimism that potentially he could be back within that eight to ten month period. But again with these surgeries with this type of injury, I'm always leaning toward the side of caution than a guy rushing himself back.
- [11:11]
Shams Sharania
Well, since you bring up Damian Lillard, how about this? What's the situation with Giannis Antetokounmpo? I know he hasn't officially requested a trade. I know that Milwaukee was leaving stuff up for grabs. Wait, you know, they're at his mercy obviously, but with Dame expected to be out for a considerable amount of time with them not being in possession of any first round picks over the next five years with the changes that you see taking place within the Eastern Conference and within the NBA period. What's the latest on Giannis and his desire to stay in Milwaukee or him contemplating departing from them by asking to be traded elsewhere?
- [11:44]
Stephen A. Smith
It's a lot status quo right now. Stephen A Ons and Didokounmpo and what has transpired The Bucs lost in the first round for the third straight year. I reported the week of the draft lottery NBA draft combine that Jonathan is open minded and considering other options outside of Milwaukee. He has not requested a trade yet, but he remains open minded from my understanding, the Bucks for their part C they're fully operating like Giannis Antetokounmpo will be back. That's their messaging to other teams to free agents when they're going to go out and sell other free agents come July 1st and sell their own free agents. It's that Yan and De Campo will be back and that's the only way they can operate. But Yanis Andokounmpo will be giving them. He's been there for 12 years. He's going to let let them operate in free agency, operate at the draft, see what moves they can make to get this team better. One thing about Giannis is that he's always played things close to the vest when he signed his two extensions. Stephen A no one has known about it since. He's literally signing the paperwork and in this day and age, usually agreements get out and guys are finalizing deals. It gets out. It's always gotten out when he's literally signed the paperwork and that's pretty rare for a player in today's day and age. So with him, I don't expect this to be something that's going to be tied to the draft. I don't expect this to be tied to free agency. He's going to allow the Bucs to operate, see what they can do, see how they can make this team better. They have their own decisions to make but this is someone that has said on the record he wants to compete for a championship. The moment he feels like in Milwaukee they're not competing for a championship, he's going to look around. He has said that on the record that he would be. But now that moment has come. And so I think over the next couple weeks, let's see what the Bucks can do. They only have one first round pick they can trade. They have a few second round picks they can trade. They don't have the high value tradable contract as well. And that's going to be a problem in the trade market.
- [13:34]
Shams Sharania
Hold on. Sean's hold on right there. By the way, I got to pay some bills. I'll be back with you in a moment. But by the way, before I even do that, you're breaking news right now. Sean's the New Orleans Pelicans are trading CJ McCollum, Kelly Olenek, Olenek and future second round pick to the Washington Wizards for Jordan Pool, Sadiq Bay and the number 40th pick. That's what sources just tell you. So even while you sitting here with me, talking to me Sean, you breaking news. That's just what you do. That's just what you do. More of Sean Sharania in a minute after I pay these bills. All right everybody, listen up. With all the big time sports action that's happening each and every day, the Stephen A. Smith show wants to make sure you are taking advantage of it all. That's why we partnered with Prize Picks, the best place to win cash while watching sports. The app is really easy to use, you know, to create a lineup, all you have to do is pick more or less on a few player stats, choose from any of your favorite players all in the same entry, then sit back and watch. The list is endless. You can play prospects in over 440 states, including California and Texas. Best of all, Prize Picks will give you $50 in lineups. When you play your first $5 lineup, win or lose, you'll get 50 bucks in lineups. Just use promo code SAS and download Prospects now. Again, download the app and use code SAS to get $50 in lineups instantly after your first $5 lineup. Prize picks hey, hey. Run your game.
- [15:01]
Lex Borrero
Welcome to the youe versus you podcast. I'm Lex Ferreiro and every week we sit down with some of the biggest names in entertainment to talk about the real stuff, the struggles, the doubts, and the breakthroughs that made them who they are. We go deep exploring childhood trauma, family overcoming loss, and the moments that shape their journey. These honest conversations are meant to take the cape off our heroes with the hope that their humanity inspires you to become a better you and therefore see set you free to live the life of your dreams. Here's a sneak peek.
- [15:32]
Shams Sharania
I'm trained to go compete.
- [15:33]
Stephen A. Smith
I'm trained to be like harder. But sometimes that mentality stops you from.
- [15:37]
Shams Sharania
Stopping and smelling the flowers in your own garden.
- [15:39]
Lex Borrero
Is it wrong to want more?
- [15:41]
Stephen A. Smith
We migrated.
- [15:42]
Shams Sharania
Our family migrated here.
- [15:43]
Stephen A. Smith
I'm like second generation.
- [15:50]
Lex Borrero
Listen to you versus you as part of Michael Tuda Podcast Network available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [16:01]
Joseph Reeves
Show me how good it can get today, God, and show the rest of the world what we already know it can't get. No better than being hella black, hella queer and hella Christian. My name is Joseph Rees. I am the creator and host of Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian, a fully black, fully queer, fully human, fully divine podcast that explores society, culture and the intersections of faith and identity. Listen to hello Black, hello Queer, hello Christian to hear conversations about what it means to sound the way you look.
- [16:32]
Shams Sharania
I think what I've had to make.
- [16:34]
Stephen A. Smith
Peace with is that every iteration of.
- [16:35]
Shams Sharania
My voice is given to me by.
- [16:37]
Stephen A. Smith
God and I love it.
- [16:38]
Joseph Reeves
Books that validated our identity.
- [16:40]
Shams Sharania
The library now for me is a safe space as someone who is writing books that they're trying to take off.
- [16:46]
Joseph Reeves
A shell and how we as black queer folks relate to our Christianity. Listen to Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast.
- [17:06]
Shams Sharania
Thoughts about the Kevin Durant deal that landed him in Houston. Some people look at the Rockets and they say, hey, they got a pretty is a pretty good deal for them. Phoenix should have gotten more. You're talking about Jalen Green, you're talking about Dylan Brooks. You're talking about the 10th overall pick and about five second round picks. A lot of people thought they should have gotten more. My attitude is as great and phenomenal as Kevin Durant is. He is 36, approaching his 37th birthday and you're the Phoenix Suns. You recognize that. And Miami obviously didn't necessarily have a better deal on the table, which we'll get into in just a second. Your thoughts about Houston doing this deal and and what the belief is by everyone out there in terms of what Houston possesses because of it and what Phoenix possesses because of it.
- [17:48]
Stephen A. Smith
This was clear in Houston and around the league. This is a win. Now move for The Rockets, they put their chips into an extent. They didn't give up a lot of their chips that they maybe valued more, but they, they put in the number 10 pick, which has a ton of value. Jalen Green, 20 point per game score at the age of 23. And Dylan Brooks brought a culture fit to the, to the Rockets that I think we, we, we should commend him. And Fred Van Vliet helped Ime Udoka turn the culture around there. So on paper, that's not a ton, I guess, to give up for Kevin Durant. But listen, this is Kevin Durant turning 37 to me. And when I talk to scouts, when I talk to people around the league, he fits seamlessly to this team like he's a number one option on any given night. When you need a shot, we need it. We need a play to be made. Kevin Durant gives you that in a way that they felt like they didn't have last year in the playoffs and, and so on that alone, this takes the Rockets to a whole nother level. And, and to me, amen Thompson, how much he rises, that's going to be an even bigger focal point of whether this team can really make a run to the, to the title. Is Alper and Sengun going to make strides as well? Because Kevin Durant, we know what Kevin Durant's going to do. He's going to put up 25 to 27 points. He's going to score, you know, score that amount. He's going to shoot 50, 40, 90, most likely or somewhere close to it. We know what he's capable of, what he's going to do. And when they need shots, when they need playmaking, they have that. And I think what Kevin Durant loved the most about the Rockets is that they have these young athletic guys that are going, you have the Atari Easons, Jabari Smith's the world. Reed shepherd, who didn't play much last year, could get an opportunity now moving forward. You have Amen Thompson, you have Alper and Sengun. He's excited. My understanding is to go and play with this young, energetic team when he can kind of be the old head and just slide in there and do his thing. And you know very well Ima Udoka is a large presence in Houston and he's a large presence around the NBA and that's someone Kevin Durant has a lot of respect for. They cross paths in Brooklyn, cross paths at Team usa and that relationship, I think, will pay dividends for the Rockets as well.
- [19:45]
Shams Sharania
What about the noise? People are Making about Phoenix that Dylan Brooks and Devin Booker is one thing, but that Jalen Green in all likelihood isn't going to stay there because that's not the ideal match with him and Devin Booker. The Phoenix Suns haven't said that. I'm not implying that. I'm just saying fans out there that have been talking about rumors and stuff like that have brought that question mark up. Have you heard anything about that being a legitimate question mark as to whether or not Jalen Green will stay in Phoenix because of his pairing with Devin Booker and how that might not be.
- [20:17]
Stephen A. Smith
Ideal on these two sides? We're discussing the framework and it really got got down the line middle of last week and then over the last 24 hours, Friday, Saturday into Sunday, when it just became Miami and Houston kind of going back and forth, competing against each other to an extent. But that was the question. The Jalen Green fit and on paper you have Jalen Green, you have Bradley Beal and you have Devin Booker. And there were questions, natural questions. But I think at this point you make this trade and the Suns are making this trade with Jalen Green in mind for next season. They're making it with him and Devin Booker as a high powered backcourt. You still have Bradley Beal though, and he's got two years, upwards of 100, 100, $110 million on his contract. So they internally need to figure out how that will play out with Bradley Beal. Is there a bench role for Bradley Beal? Is there a starting role for him? Do you play those three guys together? That's the question for, you know, all of them. Josh Barstein, CEO Brian Gregory, their general manager, Jordan, not their new head coach. That's what they've got to figure out the next couple weeks.
- [21:16]
Shams Sharania
Shams. I've heard that they're so disgusted with Bradley, Bill, they couldn't give him away fast enough. You know, he obviously is one of only two players in the NBA that has a no clause, otherwise they would have been gotten rid of him. And then you're hearing that Matt Ishbia, the owner for the Phoenix Suns, is literally strongly contemplating sitting him down. Whether it be letting him stay at home or do something to force him to get the hell up out of Phoenix. What have you heard about Bradley Beal and the Phoenix Suns?
- [21:47]
Stephen A. Smith
I think going into this summer both of those sides were going to have conversations about his future because clearly last off last season they included him in plenty of trade talks around the league. They were trying to figure out is there Bradley Beal home to Get Jimmy Butler. That was their goal, is to go get Jimmy butler in a 3, 4 team trade that sends him to Phoenix because they felt they needed that alpha personality that now they kind of look at Dylan Brooks as similar. He's an alpha guy now. Jimmy Butler, Dylan Brooks all NBA all star player Jimmy Butler. Dylan Brooks obviously has done a lot of good things in the league, but Jimmy Butler is a star. But they are excited about Dylan Brooks. But yeah, I mean, there's no question that'll be a conversation the Suns are going to have to have with Bradley Beal. What's the fit there? He's going to probably want to have that conversation as well, to figure out just exactly where he's at with that situation. But there's no doubt, Steven, there were a lot of conversations. If you're Bradley, you're listening to all these conversations and you're the one with the no trade clause, I do wonder how he feels.
- [22:46]
Shams Sharania
Let me go back to the state of Texas with the Dallas Mavericks have extended Daniel Gafford, their big man there, which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned. But I'm also hearing some noise that Kyrie Irving is not happy because the Dallas Mavericks obviously have talked to him about extending him, but the offer isn't as exorbitant as he would like. What, if anything at all, are you hearing about Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks at this particular moment in time?
- [23:13]
Stephen A. Smith
So right now it's, it's, it's 1 9, it's 120 East Coast Time. He's got a player option that he's got to decide on by the end of the day for $43 million. And so the sides, like you said, they've been discussing what does it look like if you, if there's an opt out and then a new extension, a two, three year framework deal, what does that look like? And if there's no deal that happens between now and that opt out deadline, opt in deadline, it'll be because Kyrie Irving feels whatever the Mavs have offered is well below his market value in his mind, from my understanding and, and they have made offers as of this moment. Again, things can change. We're still hours away from that deadline. But as, as it stands right now, all the Mavericks offers have been below that $40 million per year threshold. They have not gotten to $40 million per year. He's at 43 on his player option. So if you're Kyrie Irving and they're coming in well below that 43 million do. And if he decides to just opt in and play out the year, he would then be slated for free agency in 2026. So this is a massive question right now in the NBA. Stephen A. This is something, you know, I'm tracking pretty heavy right now. But there's no doubt if there is no deal today, it's because if there's no long term deal, it's because Kyrie Irving has deemed that they had just offered well below market value.
- [24:34]
Shams Sharania
Well, clearly they were going to do that. I knew they were going to do that the second he went down with his ACL injury. There was no doubt about that. But I will say this, this when.
- [24:42]
Stephen A. Smith
He, when he, before he had that torn acl, I'm talking to teams around the league and the consensus was, was that he was going to be in line for a contract in the, in the range of 50 to 60 million dollars per year on a three or four year deal. That's what he was on track for. That's what his numbers justify, that's what his leadership, everything he's brought to Dallas justified. But then he has a torn acl and clearly in the Mavericks eyes so far in these conversations the value has not gotten back to that point.
- [25:11]
Shams Sharania
Well, I think what he was targeted for, he was absolutely justified. I think he's been outstanding in Dallas, he's been outstanding leader as well. Players throughout the league love him. He's not a cancer or considered a cancerous effect inside of a locker room. They don't believe that at all. So I definitely believe he deserves his money in that regard. Also, the biggest argument for him sham should be you wouldn't have let go of Luka if you didn't know you had me. There's no way on earth you would have let go of Luka Doncic if you know you had me. So that's a story for another day. Just a couple more questions. Cause I know you got a busy schedule and I really, really appreciate your time looking at it. You know, I'm not gonna let you get out of here without asking about my New York Knicks. What the hell is going on? I mean all of these coaches they're asking about, I mean everybody, it seems like they've asked for permission to talk to every damn body, including Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks, obviously email you doka before he got his extension. Even Quinn Snyder. I'm losing it.
- [26:05]
Stephen A. Smith
So Billy Donovan, Ema Udoka, Quinn Snyder, Chris Finch, Jason Kidd, all for five. They requested permission on all five of those coaches. Some of them are going to end up with contract extensions. And I will say a lot of people, I put out IME Udoka's deal and he signed a very big contract extension. He's got an eight figure deal annually. Obviously well deserved there. That was in the works well before the Knicks reached out. That's why when the Knicks reached out, it's like everyone in the league knew Eme Udoko was going to get the bag. So that's kind of surprising in that way. Very unorthodox. I have never seen them, I've never seen an NBA team operate like this. But again, they felt like they had to do their due diligence. Let's see who's out there. Let's see who we could potentially slither our way in in their homes to see if we can talk them into coming to the Knicks. So now where it's at is they interviewed Taylor Jenkins and Mike Brown last week until they interviewed Mike Annori, the Minnesota Terminal's lead assistant this week. And Mike Annorie served as an essentially an acting head coach for the Timberwolves last year in the playoffs. A lot of people think he's, he's destined to be a head coach at some point in the league. So this is not a no name or guy in the NBA. But again, you just fire Tom Thibodeau, a guy that led you to the conference final for the first time in 25 years. He's as big name of an NBA coach as you're going to get. And you're look, you know, these are the, the options. There's no knock on any of these three. Taylor Jenkins, Mike Brown, very, very well regarded in NBA circles. Mike and Nori very well regarding NBA circles. But we're, we're at the NBA draft week and there's still no head coach. I think the way they're operating right now is they're going to be patient. Let's see what the market is. We're not in any rush. Let's talk to the candidates. I think there could be even more interviews in the next few days.
- [27:45]
Shams Sharania
This makes it a mess as far as I'm concerned, but that's me talking, not you. Last question. This draft, this NBA draft, it's all about Cooper flag and everybody else. We all know he's going number one to the Dallas Mavericks. Is there anything that we should be looking forward to for this upcoming NBA draft outside of him?
- [28:03]
Stephen A. Smith
Of course there's a Cooper flag one Dylan Harper, by all accounts on my end, number two to the Spurs. The spurs feel like at Six foot six, his frame, what he brings on both ends of the floor. Positionless basketball, as we saw in the NBA Finals with the Thunder and the Pacers, that's in right now. And they feel like even though they have Stephan Castle and dear Fox, he'll fit right in there. But the draft starts at 3, 4, 5, and I would say what people can prepare for. I think there's going to be a lot of movement this year in the draft. I think there'll be picks flying across the board. Could be, you know, as early as the top six could be in the lottery. I just, I'm hearing so many conversations that start really at pick three, four down. And a lot of teams are telling me even when we get to the pick, we're not just making a selection, we're listening to a bunch of teams making calls. And so I think that will be a theme of the draft as well.
- [28:51]
Shams Sharania
Any particular team in the draft we should be keeping our eyes on more than anybody in terms of movement.
- [28:57]
Stephen A. Smith
Utah is interesting to me at five. Toronto's interesting to me at nine. Oklahoma City's got a few picks in this draft. What do they do with those picks? Brooklyn's got a few pick in these drafts. What do they do there? They're teams that are going to, you know, those are particularly teams that could even consolidate, look to potentially add all their picks up, move up high in the draft. And then what does Philadelphia do? A3. We know Daryl Morey is always going to be opportunistic, but, you know, the likelihood, probably you keep that pick at three. You know, you draft BJ Edgecomb a Ace Bailey. So we'll see what they do at three, and then depending on who falls, I think four or five is just waiting to see which dominoes fall. Does Philly surprise everyone? Take Ace Bailey and then that kind of will shake up the draft. So I think there's a lot of unanswered questions right now.
- [29:42]
Shams Sharania
The insider extraordinary himself, Sham Charania, right here on the Stephen A. Smith Show. I appreciate you, my brother, man. Go back to work, man. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule. Really appreciate. Appreciate it, and I'll see you tomorrow.
- [29:51]
Stephen A. Smith
I say appreciate it. You're the best, man. Thank you.
- [29:53]
Shams Sharania
No doubt.
- [29:58]
Lex Borrero
Welcome to the you versus you podcast. I'm Lex Barrero, and every week we sit down with some of the biggest names in entertainment to talk about the real stuff, the struggles, the doubts, and the breakthroughs that made them who they are. We go deep exploring childhood trauma, family overcoming loss, and the moments that shape their journey. These honest conversations are meant to take the cape off our heroes with the hope that their humanity inspires you to become a better you and therefore set you free to live the life of your dreams. Here's a sneak peek.
- [30:29]
Shams Sharania
I'm trained to go compete.
- [30:31]
Stephen A. Smith
I'm trained to be like harder. But sometimes that mentality stops you from.
- [30:35]
Shams Sharania
Stopping and smelling the flowers in your own garden.
- [30:37]
Lex Borrero
Is it wrong to want more?
- [30:39]
Stephen A. Smith
We migrated.
- [30:39]
Shams Sharania
Our family migrated here.
- [30:41]
Stephen A. Smith
I'm like second generation.
- [30:48]
Lex Borrero
Listen to you versus you as part of Michael Tuda Podcast Network available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast.
- [30:58]
Joseph Reeves
Show me how good it can get today, God, and show the rest of the world what we already know it can't get. No better than being Hella Black, Hella Queer and Hella Queer Christian. My name is Joseph Reeves. I am the creator and host of Hella Black, Hella Queer Hella Christian, a fully black, fully queer, fully human, fully divine podcast that explores society, culture and the intersections of faith and identity. Listen to hello Black, hello Queer, hello Christian to hear conversations about what it means to sound the way you look.
- [31:30]
Shams Sharania
I think what I've had to make.
- [31:31]
Stephen A. Smith
Peace with is that every iteration of.
- [31:33]
Shams Sharania
My voice voice is given to me.
- [31:34]
Stephen A. Smith
By God and I love it.
- [31:36]
Joseph Reeves
Books that validated our identity.
- [31:38]
Shams Sharania
The library now for me is a safe space as someone who is writing books that they're trying to take off.
- [31:43]
Joseph Reeves
Of shelves and how we as black queer folks relate to our Christianity. Listen to Hella Black, Hella Queer Hella Christian on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
- [32:02]
Shams Sharania
That's the man. Sham Sharania. He knows what the hell he's talking about, and you heard what he said. He's keeping his eyes on the Kyrie Irving situation in Dallas and what that could materialize into. Because you got to remember something about Kyrie Irving. This ain't the same dude that was making noise for all the wrong reasons several years ago. He's been a model citizen in Dallas. He's been a spectacular player. There are times that he has led without Luka Doncic on the floor, and the Dallas Mavericks didn't miss a beat. Kyrie is that spectacular of a talent, and by the way, he's universally loved by players around the league. So this notion of him being a cancerous effect in the locker room, nobody's believing that nonsense anymore. Make no mistake about that. Of course you knew that the Dallas Mavericks were going to try to lowball him once he suffered the ACL injury. But the bottom line is injuries are a part of the game, and you have to believe that he's going to come back and his game isn't predicated on his athleticism, playing above the rim and all of that nasty ball handling skills and his ability to dance on you, that can easily return, and I suspect it will. And when you went out the way to acquire an Anthony Davis to unleash or let go of a Luka Doncic, you don't let go of Luka Doncic if it was not for you having Kyrie Irving. You let go of Luka Doncic because you knew you had Kyrie Irving, who, by the way, is a champion. We keep forgetting that the brother's a champion. You got a chip, got a ring, and had a lot to do with LeBron James helping Cleveland erase that curse from 50 of 52 years because this brother averaged 27 in that series. We keep forgetting that stuff about Kyrie Irving. So I think he deserves his bag. And if Dallas doesn't, if they low ball him or whatever, you got to remember the way Kyrie's makeup is all about, he's the kind of person ain't gonna forget it. And so if you lowball him, it ain't like you can come back and play nice at a later date. If you don't treat him right up front, he's gonna have a problem with that. That's just how he is. He's big enough to overcome it, but he's gonna have a problem with it. Okay, so this is new ownership. This is not Mark Cuban. Chances are it's not Nico Harrison, because if it were up to Nico, Nico got a lot of love for Kyrie. Long standing relationship. One's got to believe that's real. Okay, in terms of Phoenix, they had to make the deal for Kevin Durant because you had to make it before the trade, before the draft. You got two starters. You got a young cat in Jalen Green, who I was not impressed with in the postseason, but overall he is impressive. And he's only 22 years of age. His upside is tremendous. He just has to get some discipline. So we got to know that about him. When you look at Dillon Brooks, he's a Rough Rider. And Devin. And Devin Booker needs somebody like that as a teammate, an instigator, a troublemaker, et cetera. And you got five second round picks. So you were recouping some of the assets that you gave away in acquiring Kevin Durant from Brooklyn years ago. Not all of those assets but some of them and who knows if you'll be able to pull off getting rid of Bradley Beal which clear which Phoenix clearly wants to do. As it pertains to Giannis, there's no indication that he wants to leave. But shouldn't he? Where's Milwaukee going? They don't have their own first round picks for the next five years. They're limited in what they can do and Damian Lillard is a huge question mark. In all likelihood he'll miss next season because of the torn Achilles. Yeah, technology says you could come back sooner than that but when is he going to return to being Dame dollar Chances are it's not going to be until the season after next due to health so I'm just of that mindset. I just don't know if you're Giannis that you want to stick around for that. The Knicks is haphazard. They need a coach. They should have had a plan. This has James Dolan written all over it. I thought it was just Leon Rose, but this has James Dolan written all over it because how the hell do you push Tom Thibodeau out the door and you don't have a damn plan. It's ridiculous. So that's where I'm at with it. That's how I feel about it. No doubt. So we'll see where that goes from there. Boston, just a damn shame. I expect them to be formidable. If, if, if Chris Das Borzigas was healthy with the rest of the team that they have in place, I expect Boston to be able to make some noise. The problem is it's not just Jason Tatum being out with the Achilles tier for the whole season as is anticipated next season. The problem is you don't know what the hell is up with Kristaps Porzingis because he doesn't know what the hell is up with him in his house. So there's a lot of question marks. Meanwhile, Houston's on the rise. Houston's on the rise. Orlando getting Desmond Bain. You got to pay attention to them. Cleveland trying to resurrect themselves and make up for the doldrums they experienced in the postseason. Can't dismiss them. Dallas eventually is going to get back healthy. Luka might be in shape when this season starts with him and LeBron and the Lakers. Okay, San Antonio when Biano what if San Antonio spurs get an additional asset? I mean there's a lot of stuff going on and I can't wait because I think we're going to find out a lot at the NBA drafts. I think a lot of moves are going to be made, at least a few. I really, really think that's going to happen. We shall see. We shall see. That's it for this edition of the Stephen A. Smith Show. I just wanted to give you a special off day edition. Obviously I'm traveling. I'm doing a lot of stuff, you know, as we prepare for the NBA draft. Had a long NBA season, was on the road for the last two months covering Minnesota and okc, then OKC and Indy, going back and forth between Minnesota and OKC in New York. And I mean, it's been real, real hectic. And the culmination is tomorrow night's NBA draft. That's what we're going to do. So I can't wait to get that over with to see what happens. I mean, Cooper Flag's going number one overall. Okay, we know pretty much who the first and the second picks are going to be in the NBA draft after. After that, it's a crapshoot. Gonna be real interesting to see what the Sixers do with the third overall pick. Can Joel Embiid and Paul George get some help other than Tyrese Maxi? Really? Can Tyrese Maxey get the help? But can they get some help? You know what? I'd give up the number three overall pick for an elite orthopedic surgeon that could heal and be than Paul George. I'll tell you that much. I do that, but that's just wishful thinking. Either way you slice it, I'll holl at you. And then next couple of days it's the Stephen A. Smith Show. I'm signing off after giving you this quick one, but I'll be back with more in a couple of days. Don't worry about it. I'm not going away. Talk to you later. Peace and love.
- [38:07]
Lex Borrero
Welcome to the you versus you podcast. I'm Lex Borrero inviting you to go beyond the titles and the accolades of the world's most successful entertainers. Each week we take off the cape and get real about the inner battles, childhood stories, and the moments that shaped our guests. Get inspired to become the best version of you. Listen to you versus you podcast on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [38:31]
Joseph Reeves
Show me how good it can get today, God. And show the rest of the world what we already know. It can't get. No better than being Hella black, Hella queer and hello, Christian. My name is Joseph Reeves. I am the creator and host of Hella Black, Hella Queer. Hella Christian A fully black, fully queer, fully human, fully divine podcast from iHeartMedia to Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
- [39:01]
Shams Sharania
This is an iHeart podcast.