← Straight Shooter with Stephen A.
Straight Shooter with Stephen A.
Full Show: Micah Parsons slams Lebron's exit from social media. P Diddy's freedom delayed.
01:04:49
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- [00:00]
Hunter
Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide and every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now it pays to Discover. Learn more@discover.com credit card based on the February 2024 Nielsen report.
- [00:29]
Greg Rosenthal
What's up everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal and I'm teaming up with the King of Spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJs mock drafts to my top 101, free agents will have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents starting on March 6th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [01:00]
Stephen A. Smith
Oh, there's a lot to talk about. There's a lot to talk about. Dana White is so pissed off he doesn't want anything to do with politics another day in his life. Diddy showed up in court again. Trying to get out, trying to get out. Plus, my man Greg Anthony got a lot to say about the NBA. And of course we got to touch on LeBron James too, because a few athletes have had a few things to say about him deciding to step off of social media. Is that really about LeBron or is it about Bronny? The Stephen A. Smith show in the house. Let's get it. What's up everybody? Welcome to the latest edition of the Stephen A. Smith Show. Coming at you as I love to do at least three times a week over the digital airwaves of YouTube. Thanks again to all of my followers and subscribers. Appreciate the love and support. We've NOW eclipsed over 932,000 subscribers, over 7,000 subscribers over the last 36 hours or so. Can't thank y'all for the love and support enough. Keep it coming and I'm going to keep on coming. As always. If you want to continue to like and follow the show, just click on the bell to get notified for all of our new content. And you too shall be the latest member of the Stephen A. Smith show family. And while you're doing that, please make sure to get a copy of my New York Times best selling book, Straight Shooter, now in paperback. All right, Straight Shooter, A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes Again, now in paperback. Just go to straightshooterbook.com to get yourself a copy. Once again, that's straightshooterbook.com a New York Times bestseller. A great, great gift for around Christmas time. Trust me on this. It'll work for you. It'll work for you. Let me get to a few subjects before I get to my man Greg Anthony talking about the NBA stuff. And I get into LeBron and everything else. I got this stuff to get on my mind. First up, we gonna get started with the latest on Sean Diddy Combs, currently being held by the feds, awaiting trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges. Today, Sean Diddy Combs and his legal team will appear in court for his latest attempt to get out of federal custody on bail. At the time of this taping, there is no decision that has been made. I predict he gonna stay right where he at.
- [03:13]
Greg Anthony
Now.
- [03:14]
Stephen A. Smith
Maybe that's me stepping out front. I want to emphasize I'm not rooting for it. I don't know about his guilt or his innocence other than what he did on court, on video to his girlfriend Cassie Ventura that he beat up in a hotel hallway. Okay. Other than that, I know nothing about what is going on with Sean Diddy Combs. I'm not wishing the worst or the best for him. Let the evidence allow us to determine that. But we're going to talk logically about what's transpiring with his situation. Right now he's trying to get out on bail. This is like the third attempt where he's going to try to do it. They've nixed it two other times. I'm predicting they're going to do it again. I know just recently they raided his cell. And when they raided his cell and confiscated some material where he wrote some stuff down, the defense attorneys representing Diddy took it to the judge and obviously the judge overruled it and made sure that whatever they obtained was inadmissible and more importantly, probably had to be returned. Here's the deal. Those little victories, and they are victories because it curtails you from being able to use that evidence against him. Still doesn't negate a bigger point. To let him out on bail. You have to take into consideration the the potential ramifications. You got to take into account why he's in jail in the first place. When you look at the Southern District of New York and the case that they put forth against him with these bevy of allegations, understand that one of the things they were saying is that he would intimidate witnesses, that if he's out of jail and he has access to a phone at his discretion, access to his people at his discretion, access to emails, access to iPads and laptops and all of this other stuff, that he could potentially influence potential witnesses. They're not going to let that happen to me. If he's granted bail and he's allowed to have that kind of access because he's a citizen that's roaming free because he's let out of jail, that's going to drastically impede and hamper their case, and they're going to do everything they can to make sure that that does not happen to me. If he's able to pull this off, he shouldn't have been there in the first place. They shouldn't have been allowed to get him in jail in the first place. The fact that they were allowed to, combined with the fact that he was denied bail not once, but twice, and these allegations continue to grow and grow and grow. I'm talking about allegations, not evidence, not proof, per se, but allegations. The fact that they continue to mount does not put him in the greatest situation at all. Now, y'all can decide whether you want him out or you don't. That's your opinion. Ain't gonna influence the courts, but you can decide. We can stand right here on this show. Are we being fair to him? I think this show has been very fair to him. I think a lot of things have been going on. There's been no decision on the bail yet. There's been no decision. Let me be very, very clear about that. So the judge ruled no decision will be made until next week. Okay, we're fine. We're fine with that. My question to y'all out there right here on the Stephen A. Smith show, should he be granted bail based on the accusations the Southern District of New York has levied against him? Homeland Security raided his homes in both Miami and Los Angeles. When they arrested him in New York, they knew he had come to town to turn himself in. They still showed up at the hotel waiting for him to roll up in the hotel lobby before they sent them out in cuffs with a little perp walk to boot. They're not playing, and they believe their case against them is pretty damn strong. We had both Eli Hoenig and Ryan Smith, cnn, and espn, respectively, legal analysts in their own right, come right on this show and explain that there's a whole mountain of evidence against him, and it doesn't look very, very Good. He could still plead out or he could potentially win the case. But it looks daunting to say the least. Which means that they believe somewhere along the way there's an element, if not a bevy of truth attached to the litany of allegations that have been thrown upon him. Under those circumstances, do you all believe that Sean Diddy Combs should be released on Bailey until his trial in the spring? Before you answer that question right on the Stephen A. Smith Show, I would ask this. Do you believe that if he is granted bail that he will do absolutely nothing to communicate with and potentially influence witnesses scheduled to testify against him? Or do you think he'll just sit at home and chill and do nothing with his life on the line? I'm just asking. I'm just asking. It's a legitimate question. Take it into consideration. Let's move on to topic number two, because I think it's important to bring this up as well. We gotta get into politics for a second where there's been a shocking turnaround in some people's eyes anyway from a high profile Donald Trump supporter who would happen to be named Dana White. The UFC president now says he wants absolutely, positively nothing to do with politics. After being one of the biggest and loudest supporters of the President elect, White was asked by the New Yorker about politics Saturday night at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden, where Trump and some of his cabinet picks attended as well. By the way, I was there too. Not with them, but I was in the building. Look at this quote from White right here where he said this about being a political pundit, quote, I'm never fucking doing this again. I want nothing to do with this shit. It's gross, it's disgusting. I want nothing to do with politics. End quote. Ladies and gentlemen, you might think this far fetched, it's far reaching. It's something that you make front page news and all of this other stuff. All Dana White expressed is how most of us feel about Capitol Hill and the politicians that reside there. We can't stand them. I'm not talking about individualism. I'm talking about the apparatus. I'm talking about the structure. I'm talking about our government and how corrupt it has become because of their behavior, salacious and otherwise, against one another, and how unproductive they've been to the betterment of American society as a whole because of it. Dana White wasn't getting political. Dana White was supporting his friend. Donald Trump has been a friend of Dana white spanning nearly 40 years. Donald Trump was one of the Original supporters of the ufc. That's how far back he and Dana White go. Dana White has said on numerous occasions that Donald Trump assisted in helping the UFC become what it ultimately became, which was a multi billion dollar establishment. You damn right he was going to stick out his chest and help Donald Trump, because Donald Trump held him before he became who he is now. Fair enough. We all do that. All of us. At least we should. But I'm gonna tell you this. When you go a step further and you dig deeper into what Dana White had to say about politicians and politics, and when he says the world is dirty, think about this. This man is associated with a pugilistic sport. This man has to sit a course from promoters, he has to sit a course from fighters, he has to lawyers, and he has to negotiate deals. Things like that get ugly. His sport has been compared to a sport of boxing where you got promoters ruined in the sport because they refuse to give us the fights that we want to see, when we want to see it. And still, in the face of all of that and all the unsavory behavior he's been associated with throughout the years, this brother said, politics is disgusting. It's disgraceful. It's this, it's that. You know how bad you gotta be to hear that from Dana White? That's what we're dealing with, with America. And this is what I'm talking about. When I brought up Morning Joe the other day. I don't have any axe to grind with Morning Joe. Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski have always been cool with me. I'm simply saying, in the interest of fairness, when you call somebody a racist and you have no problem with their name being associated with Hitler or with Nazis, as they did not have a problem with Donald Trump, associated Donald Trump with such a thing, how do you then go to Mar a Lago to speak with him and then come back over to airwaves and don't tell us what the hell you said? What you say? I got one of my producers here, my man Galen. Been a producer for years. Yo, Galen. What's up? If the man or his wife called Donald Trump such a thing, should they not have said, hey, we're sorry, or we meant everywhere we said, shouldn't the audience have had the right to know that? That's what I'm talking about. That's why I mentioned them, because you got to be consistent. You got the same politicians. We're listening to Representative Clyburn. When Neil Cavuto on Fox brought up Nazis having Donald Trump's name associated with Nazis and asking was that not out of line? And Clyburn had no problem with it. Well, here's the problem. Now that he's the president elect and the Republicans have the Senate and the Republicans have the House and the Republicans have the Supreme Court, how are you going to do business? How are you going to get anything passed? How are you going to serve your constituency and make their lives better? If your incendiary rhetoric made it worse to do business with the other side, are we not going to be grown ups? That's what I'm talking about. You've heard me say a lot of things. I didn't vote for them. You heard me say that. You heard me talk about childishness. You heard me talk about his unwillingness to galvanize and bring people together. You heard me talk about those things. You didn't hear me bring up racists. You didn't hear me bring up Hitler or Nazis. You didn't hear me bring up stuff like that. It's counterproductive, it's unfair, it's irresponsible when you know that if he wins, you're going to have to do business with him. That's the problem with this binary system we're living in. People get ugly and uglier and uglier because they want their way devoid of compromise. And then when you lose and find out you have to compromise, you don't know what to do. But isn't it time to ask if at least half this country was wrong on how it conducted themselves? You can feel differently all you want to and vote in a different direction. That's your right as an American citizen. But when you engage in vitriol, particularly of the irresponsible kind, you cut yourself off from the ability to do business on behalf of the people you purport to represent. And where does that leave you? With a president you don't want. But at least half the country said it wants. Which means most of the country told you to go kick rocks. Facts are facts. Coming up, LeBron James steps away from social media. Now athletes are reacting to it with their own opinions. I've got some thoughts on that as well. But first we'll talk some NBA where the Cavs reign supreme in the Eastern Conference and the Golden State warriors to the top of the West. Without Klay Thompson, I'll break it all down with the one and only Greg Anthony, NBA and tnt. He's up next right here on the Stephen A. Smith Show. Don't go away. Okay, everybody, you know what time it is, right? It's. It's time for Stephen A. Sports Picks. Do y'all know how great this time of year is, especially for somebody like me? I mean, we got the NFL on Sundays and Mondays, we got college football on Saturdays, and then we got NBA games every day in between. It couldn't possibly get any better than that. Or could it? Get ready, because it's about to With Prize Picks, the largest fantasy sports platform in all the land with over 3 million members. You see with prize picks, you choose two, three or even up to six of your favorite players from any of the sports you love to watch. And then you pick more or less on that player's projected stats for the game. Choose Jalen Hurts, Shador Sanders and Anthony Davis all in the same entry. And then sit back, watch and chill and get this. Sign up with code SAS and prospects will give you $50 instantly when you play your first $5 lineup. You don't need to win your lineup to receive the $50 bonus, by the way. It's guaranteed. All you have to do is play a $5 lineup of prospects and you'll get $50 instantly. Now let's see the winning picks for today. Okay, I'll be picking for this weekend's college football games. First up, Colorado, led by the one and only Prime Time Deion Sanders. Their quarterback, the Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shador Sanders going up against the Kansas Jayhawks. More or less the 320 and a half yards pass. And look, I have to say more because I'm watching the speed on Colorado. I'm watching Travis Hunter, I'm watching Shador Sanders ability to throw the football. I'm watching them put up points and bunches. I'm even watching a running game that was non existent last year show up this year in a better offensive line. You damn right I'm going with more than 320 yards passing because Shedor Sanders puts the ball up in the air. He goes for it and he's accumulating big numbers. That's why he's one of the candidates for the Heisman as far as I'm concerned. Even though he ain't leading his teammate Travis Hunter and the brother probably is going to be the first quarterback taken in the upcoming NFL draft. Stay tuned. We'll see about that.
- [17:20]
Greg Anthony
That.
- [17:21]
Stephen A. Smith
We'll see about that. Next up, Kansas signal caller Jalen Daniels facing the Colorado defense more or less than 2001 1/2 passing yards. I'm going to go with more because even though Colorado's only lost two games on the year. They've been very impressive with their eight wins. Give them a lot of props and what have you. Their defense does tend to break a little bit, if not a lot. Warren Sapp being there coaching that defensive line. They get into the quarterback better. Major props to them for that. But the reality is is that they still bend a little bit too much at times. So I can see more for this particular question with Jalen Daniels as well. More than 2001 1/2 passing yards Last up, we got Ohio State quarterback Will Howard playing the Indiana Hoosiers. More or less than 244 and a half yards passing. I'm going to say less on this one. Let me tell you why. Number one, Indiana's been very impressive. They're undefeated. Remember, they hadn't won more than eight games in the season since 1967. So the job that's being done there is something to be noteworthy is to be impressed and impressed upon and recognized. But in the same breath, going up against Ohio State, I'm just looking, I'm sorry, going up against Indiana, looking at this guy, Will Howard, I haven't been overly impressed with Ohio State's office this year. It just hasn't moved me. I mean, I've watched them be competitive. I've watched them win most of their games. They're the Ohio State for crying out loud. But for some reason I think in this particular game he's not going to throw for this many yards. So I'm going to go with less. Okay, let's recap before I get on out here. Shador Sanders more. Jalen Daniels more. Will Howard less. That's what I'm going with for this particular day. But stick around because I always get to more eventually. Whenever I'm talking about prospects.
- [19:06]
Hunter
Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. And every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now it pays to Discover. Learn more@discover.com credit card Based on the February 2024 Nielsen report, I'm Hunter, host.
- [19:36]
Rich Kleinman
Of Hunting for Answers on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Join me every weekday as I share bite sized stories of missing and murdered black women. And in America, there are several ways we can all do better at protecting black women. My contribution is shining a light on our missing sisters and amplifying their disregarded stories. Stories like Tameka Anderson as she drove toward Galvez. She was in contact with several people talking on the phone as she made her way to what should have been a routine transaction. But Tameka never bought the car and she never returned home that day. One podcast, one mission. Save our girls. Join the search as we explore the chilling cases of missing and murdered black women and girls. Listen to Hunting for Answers every weekday on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [20:41]
Stephen A. Smith
Welcome back to the Stephen A. Smith Show. It is my honor and privilege to have my next guest to talk about the NBA. We used to work together at ESPN on NBA Shoot Around. That's what it was called then. Obviously he's moved on to bigger and greener pastures. Tnt, the NBA, the whole nine, calling games all over the place, being the astute, expert basketball analyst that he is. He's my buddy, the one and only Greg Anthony. What's up, big time? How you doing, man? How's everything?
- [21:10]
Greg Anthony
STEPHEN A. I'm doing good, brother. No complaints, man. Just enjoying the start of the season.
- [21:15]
Stephen A. Smith
I feel you on that, man. It's always great to talk to you. First things first. I mean, when, when you heard. Let me get. Before we get on the court, before we get to news on the court, let's talk about inside the NBA because those are your compadres. Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Ernie Johnson. We heard the news months ago that, you know what they weren't going to be, you know, they lost the NBA deal and this would be their last year. Now we've learned they're going to be carried by ESPN but still being produced in Atlanta by tnt. It's a big, big deal. I love it. I'm happy for us as basketball fans. I'm happy for the public. I'm happy for them. How are you? How did you feel when you heard the news?
- [21:53]
Greg Anthony
Oh, I was excited because, Stephen, you know that that's probably the most iconic sports show in terms of a pregame show we have in America. And it doesn't matter the sport. I mean, football's king, obviously. But there is no show that really resonates more with the fans of sports and more entertaining than what they do on the Inside the NBA show. So the fact that it's going to survive, I think is awesome. The fact that they also get to basically keep everybody employed that's involved with the show in Atlanta, because I know for Ernie, that was a Big deal, right? I think that's also incredible. And listen, it's like you don't have to be a huge basketball fan to be a fan of that show. You know, the chemistry those guys have, the entertainment value you get from that. I have a lot of friends who aren't necessarily basketball fans, but they're fans of that show. So the fact that that's going to continue on, I think is an awesome feat for them. And I think the fans are going to be the biggest beneficiaries.
- [22:55]
Stephen A. Smith
And Greg, listen, man, I had people asking Stephen a. What about you? Whatever. I'm like, I'm gonna be fine. I'm gonna be all right. Don't worry about me. But I know this. But I know this much. For somebody like me who used to do shoot around along with you, we had Kevin Frazier and then the late John Saunders, God rest his soul, we had Bill Lambert and then Tim Legler. I don't know of any basketball fan, any basketball pundit who could have a problem with this. We know that's the A team and that's just a chemistry you don't mess with.
- [23:21]
Greg Anthony
Now, I think you hit it right on the head. Listen, you obviously have a huge vehicle with which and platform with which to. To state your case and offer your opinions on a variety of subjects, but that into its unto itself is a unique, iconic show and what they've established over all these many years. I am glad. Listen, you know how much I love you and appreciate what you do for the, for the sports world in general, but that niche that they've created, I'm glad to hear that they're going to keep it unique because, listen, even as talented as you are, it would be really difficult for anybody to kind of ingratiate themselves within what they do. So, you know, let that be its own independent entity. I think ESPN is going to benefit. I think the NBA is going to benefit and the fans as a whole are going to benefit with the fact that that show is in essence going to stay the same. They're not going to tweak it or change it. That's the beauty of. And I'm gonna wish those guys the best because, you know, all those guys, there's not a better closer group of guys like their chemistry, their, their humility and the fact that they can laugh at themselves, man, like, even for me, like, I, I might miss the game, but I'll still watch their show. You know what I'm saying? I got young kids, so I can't always watch every game, but I Always. I'm gonna be able to tune in and check those guys off. There's never been a time they've been on air that I haven't found myself crying from laughter. And so I'm excited.
- [24:54]
Stephen A. Smith
G A, listen, man, if you. Look, if you're asking about me, hell, I benefit by not being on the show. Could you imagine me being subjected to Charles Barkley and then Shaq and a Fool? I mean, did you see what Shaq and the fool did to me last year in Vegas? It was hilarious.
- [25:08]
Greg Anthony
But look, and that would be weekly. They would get you every week. And I. Listen, you got enough jobs. Let somebody else have a damn job. And something else. Exactly. You're gonna be all right.
- [25:18]
Stephen A. Smith
I am all right. Trust me on that. Let's get to the basketball court right now, because I got to tell you, the Boston Celtics are the reigning defending NBA champions. But the story of the season thus far, particularly in the Eastern Conference, has been the Cleveland Cavaliers. I can't deny it. I mean, they won their first 15 games. When they lost the other night to Boston, I mean, they came back from a huge deficit that was in a position to win the game, but it didn't work out. What the hell has made Cleveland so much better this year than they were last year with the same roster, essentially, albeit a different head coach?
- [25:54]
Greg Anthony
Well, I think Kenny Atkinson has tweaked a few things in terms of what they do. Listen, this is very similar. I'll take you back to the beginning of the Golden State warriors dynasty, okay? You know, when Mark Jackson was there and Mark had done a good job, they got to the second round, lost in six to San Antonio, and they decided to go in a different direction. And it wasn't that Mark wasn't a good coach or a great coach, for that matter. It's just that sometimes you need a different set of eyes that can see something that you may not be able to see from the inside. And so I just think he's. I think Kenny's made some. Some subtle changes in how they approach offensively. But I also think the biggest adjustment has been the fact that their players have all gotten better. You know, and then Donovan's even gotten better. Like, even though his numbers aren't as good, he's a better player because he's able to trust his teammates more. You know, Evan Mobley's gotten a little bit better. Darius Garland, he's gotten better. Jared Allen's gotten better. Their bench has been terrific. And, you know, one of the things that's happened to The NBA is that because of the three point shot, it's created a dynamic now where you just can't physically overwhelm teams. And I'll take you back to like when I was in college, like one of the advantage basketball is a game of possessions. That's what it all comes down to, right? And when we were in school, we could dominate the backboard and we could turn you over so we could create an extra 15, 18 possessions a game because of our physical gifts. Right. When I was with the Knicks, we could shoot 39% from the field and win by 20 because we can out rebound you by 20, we could force eight more turnovers against you. So we would create all those extra possessions. But now with the advent of three point shooting and the fact that now guys can play the court so much bigger, it's harder to impose your will physically. And that's what's, that's brought about more skill in the game. And so that's one reason why they've been so good and one reason why Boston's been so dominant as well. And while Cleveland is the story, I would also say Golden State's the story story here in the Western Conference, right? What they've done, you know, nobody saw them potentially being at this stage maybe having the best record in the Western Conference, but those two teams in, in a lot of ways they mirror each other in that regard and that they, they win the possession game and they have that tremendous threat of the three point shot. Plus with, with Cleveland they do have with that two headed monster down low, the ability to own the paint. And Moby's gotten better. And the last thing I'll say about those guys, they're the team much like Boston. Every guy on their roster loves their role. They don't have anybody that's doing something that they wish they weren't or wishing they could do something else. They're all comfortable. Evan Mobley's not a first option. He's comfortable in what he's doing. Darius Garland's not a first option. He's comfortable with his role. Like all their guys are comfortable. And one thing and you play sports, you know this. I always tell people, you never want to ask an athlete to do something they're not comfortable doing. You know, that's a recipe for disaster. Right now they've got a bunch of guys that what they're asked to do on a nightly basis, they are in love with.
- [29:02]
Stephen A. Smith
Well, I got to tell you, I would have been more in love with Golden State if I didn't Sit at home and watch the game from start to finish and then be down by 40 in the first half against Cleveland. I know they got the record, I know they're number one seed, but damn, I mean that was a beat down that particular night. And in the case of Cleveland, what I've noticed is that Atkinson has put the ball more in Mobley's hands. So Mobley's averaging about 18 a game, more than he ever has in his career. He's shooting nearly 13 shots a game and he's being allowed to make decisions which is taking some of the on ball pressure off of a Donovan Mitchell and a Darius Garland, even though that's your backcourt to a lesser degree. My question to you would be this based on what you just broke down in terms of the athleticism because of the shot, the three point shot that has been implemented into the game and how that's sort of changed the game to some degree. And they're not asking anybody in Boston or Cleveland to do something they don't want to do. How am I to feel about my New York Knicks with Karl Anthony towns at the 5 essentially with Mitchell Robinson being out? I know he's been playing well, but how am I to feel about the Knicks based on what we've seen thus far? They're 9 and 6, third in the Eastern Conference, but still something seems to be missing compared to what we saw last year in the postseason.
- [30:10]
Greg Anthony
Oh, listen, I, I feel great as a Nick fan right now because the chemistry's being developed and they're still able to win games without a whole roster because even when Mitchell Robinson comes back, you know he's not going to play 40 minutes tonight. He's going to take up another 24 minutes for you. So you're still going to have much like you see with Anthony Davis with the Lakers, Anthony Davis has embraced playing the five and that's what you see Karl Anthony Towns doing, embracing that position. You know, they're not having that old school mindset where, listen, at the five you're not banging anymore, right? Your bigs got to play in space today. And so if I'm the, if I'm the Knicks, I love the fact that you got two guys that can comfortably create a situation where the defense has to help. Like nobody's guarding Jalen Brunson or Karl Anthony Towns single handedly. So I think they're going to be terrific. I love what OG is doing. Bridges, Josh Hart, like the only concern in some of its injury is their depth and we all know that Tom Thibodeau loves to run his main guys. He's going to play them heavy minutes. So there is the concern of injury and them wearing down a little bit. But I love where they are. The other thing too, keep in mind, like you got to really throw records out. The NBA is at a golden era. It's getting a lot like the NFL is parody, man. Like you, anybody, we only have probably two or three, what I would say are bad teams, you know, where you don't have to play well to beat them. You know, when I played, you might have six or seven, maybe eight of those. You don't have that anymore. And so because of that, you're going to lose more games in the regular season than most would like. But that doesn't mean you can't get it done come postseason. That's the reason why we've had six consecutive different champions and I wouldn't be surprised if we have a seven this year. You know that just because of the.
- [32:00]
Stephen A. Smith
Parody, I have to transition to a team your son is playing on. That's the Orlando Magic. I tell your son, be encouraged, he's not getting much playing time. I'm only averaging about nine minutes right now. But he'll be fine. Don't worry about it. Keep working. Keep working on your game like your daddy taught you. You'll be just fine. But you look at the Orlando Magic, they've won seven of their last eight. It's all been without their best player, Paolo Benchiro, who's a bad brother. This brother's gonna be something special. I'm looking at Orlando right now and ga, I walked into the season thinking Philly, New York and Boston. Now I'm thinking Boston, Cleveland, Orlando and New York. That's where. That's what I'm looking at right now. Why is Orlando led by Jamal Mosley's second year's coach doing a damn good job? What is it about them that makes them look so good right now?
- [32:49]
Greg Anthony
Well, I think that first and foremost they are head and shoulders above everybody else defensively. Like they have the best defensive backcourt court in the league. They have the best. And people don't talk about Franz in this regard, but Franz Fogner is a hell of a defender. And then they've got great defense on that backline. Like right now. Think about it. They went into LA and beat up red hot Lakers team without three starters.
- [33:12]
Stephen A. Smith
Wow.
- [33:13]
Greg Anthony
They didn't have Paolo. You talked about him and we know his brilliance, but they didn't have KCP last night. They didn't have Wendell Carter Jr. Last night either. And they were still able to go to. And that was also the second of a back to back. So they're a really good team. And something else about the league today, young players are not in awe of others. You know, they respect great players but, but this Orlando team, they understand who they are. And no matter who they play, they say, look, if we do A, B and C, if we execute our game plan, we're going to have a great chance of winning. And so you've seen this natural progression and Jamal Mosley's the biggest reason why as a coach, he's empowered his young players. They bought in. Each year they've gotten better, you know, they, they've gone, they've grown and Wins, I think 12 games each of the last two seasons. So they went so 22 to 34 to 47, 13 left. So I expect them to be about a 50 win season, 50 game win team. But they're going to be hard to be because they're starting to get comfortable winning, they're starting to get comfortable playing against great teams. And so I'm really looking forward to them one, getting healthy and then seeing how they stack up against Boston, against Cleveland, who if you remember, they took Cleveland to seven last year. They did in that first round. So they're for real and they're going to be there. And the other thing that's scary about them is that their two best players, their best basketball is in front of them. Like they're, they're still, you saw last night with Franz, he just was the Eastern Conference player of the week last week. He's going to probably be an all star this year if Paolo gets back in time. He'll be a two time all star if he's able to, you know, get enough games in. But they're legit, man. They're a great young team. They got depth, they're long, they're athletic. The shooting still a work in progress for them, but it's getting better once they get healthy and they're legit, man, this, it's going to be fun to watch them on this journey here moving forward.
- [35:07]
Stephen A. Smith
Los Angeles Lakers was the team they beat last night. I guess the question would be, first of all, I got Anthony Davis as my leading candidate for MVP right now.
- [35:15]
Greg Anthony
I'm with you.
- [35:16]
Stephen A. Smith
I think he's been an absolute monster. He deserves credit where credit is due. He's finally embracing the role that LeBron and the Lakers have wanted him to embrace. I can't throw shade on JJ Redick. I think that he's doing a damn good job as a rookie head coach. Certainly paying a lot more attention to detail is very, very passionate. Holding cats like D'Angelo Russell accountable, which I think is important. Connect. I was a real big time fan of them drafting him, number 17. I watched him in the NCAA tournament last year for Tennessee. I believe LeBron has as well. Even though people are accusing him of lying, I watch it connect. I don't want to hear that he. Everybody's so connected if you watching the NCAA tournament. But what are we to make of the Lakers in light of how LeBron has looked, how Anthony Davis has looked, but still looking at, and, and, and purviewing the landscape in the Western Conference. How are you viewing the Lakers right now?
- [36:05]
Greg Anthony
I, I like where the Lakers are, you know, and, and last night, listen, they just, they, they, they laid an egg at the free throw line. You know, I wanted to say something else, but we doing it. I don't want to get in trouble for you using some bad language.
- [36:16]
Stephen A. Smith
Okay, well, it's YouTube, so you ain't got to worry about it, but go ahead.
- [36:19]
Greg Anthony
Yeah, they, they should. They. The bad. Last night, they missed four or six free throws down the stretch. You make, they make two of those, they win the game, you know, and Ad, as great as he's been and he has been brilliant this year, you know, he missed those last two. He missed three of his last four, so that, that's why they lost that game. But they are right where they want to be. And part of why they're there is because if you look at the landscape of the west, you know, OKC is dealing with all the injuries. They just got Harge Stein back. They still been good. Obviously, they're 12 and 4, but they, they're still a young team. You know, Dallas who? Everybody. You think about Dallas and Minnesota, two teams that played in the conference finals a year ago.
- [36:59]
Stephen A. Smith
Yep.
- [36:59]
Greg Anthony
They're both struggling this year because of the weight of the expectations. And in Minnesota's case, I just don't think they're quite as good. They're not as deep as they were a season ago. And, and, and that's why, if you look at the Lakers, you know how LeBron thinks, right. He's not looking at Golden State or OKC feeling like, man, we can beat them now. He might, they still might struggle if the matchup were Denver, and Denver is healthy. But Denver's roster doesn't scare you either. And so if I'm a Laker fan, I feel like they got A great chance. I could literally see them being a top four team in that Western Conference. And the team that we should. We talked about Orlando. Don't sleep on Houston. I was getting ready.
- [37:40]
Stephen A. Smith
I was getting there with Eme U do. I was getting ready to go there. What the hell? They. They the third seed? What the hell's going on with them?
- [37:46]
Greg Anthony
Yeah, they're really good. They're a great defensive team. Remember they were 500 team a year ago.
- [37:51]
Stephen A. Smith
Yeah.
- [37:52]
Greg Anthony
And they've got again, like, you gotta. The thing about the league that you gotta factor in is that young team, their players have the most room to grow. Like, they don't have to go out and make wholesale moves to get better. They can just let the evolution of their talent grow. And so you look at. Even though he got hurt, but a Chet Holmgram, you know, even sga, his best basketball, he's still getting better. You know, Jalen Williams, all these guys are getting better. Now they did go out and address some issues because they were horrible rebounding teams. So they go get Hardenstein and then they bring in a dog and Alex Caruso on the perimeter for his defense. So they're going to be there, but they're still a young team. And so in the playoffs, you could see why a team like Dallas could beat them because all you got to do is steal a game in the postseason. You know, you can get blown out three times in the postseason, still win a series.
- [38:42]
Stephen A. Smith
That's right.
- [38:42]
Greg Anthony
You know, so like with veteran teams, they're not going to put a lot of weight. In fact, you'd rather get blown out. It's the 50, 50 games. You go, look at that Dallas, okay, series. It was the close games. That's what Dallas won. They won the close game. And that's why a team like the Lakers, now that they've got this newfound shooting with connect. And think about it. Lakers Reeves hasn't been very good. D'Angelo Russell's been benched. Yeah. And yet they're still playing well. They don't have a backup center in essence right now, you know, but you talked about jj, Rick. He's done a hell of a job. And I just think, again, because of the parody, there are just so many good teams and it's going to be hard to string together these long win streaks for teams right now. And I think the Lakers are going to be there.
- [39:23]
Stephen A. Smith
Let me try to peel some quick answers from you. You sound like you, you. You talked about Minnesota not being a better team. Are you saying that? Do you see? Do you Feel the same way about the Knicks. Do you think the Knicks are a better team with Karl Anthony Towns, since you think Minnesota is not a better team without them?
- [39:39]
Greg Anthony
Yeah, I do. And I don't think that Minnesota is not better because just because they lost. Call Anthony Towns. They don't have as much depth as they had last year. And I think with the Knicks, it's the difference. Remember, the Knicks aren't whole yet. They still, you know, they don't have everything in place but the core of their team. They're fine. The Knicks are trending upwards. You know, they've won four in a row. They're a really good offensive thing. I can make the argument, because Porzingis is out, that they got the best starting five in basketball because they got five guys that can all make plays. And so the Knicks are. The Knicks are going to be fine, man. I'm telling you, we got a long way to go with this season, but, man, this postseason, because of the parody, and it's going to be some really good teams that don't make it right. You know, we. Not even you talk about. Think about Memphis.
- [40:24]
Stephen A. Smith
Don't sleep on Memphis yet. I don't know yet. It's like watching John Morant. I know what this brother can do when he's healthy and he's on the basketball court. And I'm a huge fan of a guy like a Marcus Smart. But obviously they made their trade, they made their moves, their changes and what have you. And I'm wondering about how Memphis is going to look. And then I bring this up about Boston, the reigning defending champions. Is there real parody, G, or is it just look that. Or does it just look that way because Porzingis is not healthy yet?
- [40:55]
Greg Anthony
No, no, I think there is real parody. I. I do think the Boston's the best. I still think even though Cleveland's had to start, I do think Boston, healthy, is the best team. But I don't think that they're over. They're not. Last year I thought they were head and shoulders better than everybody else. And it proved to be that way with how they played in the postseason this year, I still think they're the better team, but everybody now, once you're the top dog, everybody then starts figuring out how they got to beat you. And so they start building out the roster accordingly. And so that's why I think now, while Boston is the best team, there are a lot of teams that nobody fears them. Like, of the elite teams, you know, New York won't fear them. I don't think Cleveland after, even after that loss, the way they came back in that game and the fact Darius Garland was 3 of 21. They're going to feel like they've gotten closer. Orlando is going to feel like they've gotten closer. So. And it's going to be similar in the East. Man, we've never had this much depth in the NBA since we've gone to 30 teams.
- [41:51]
Stephen A. Smith
Wow.
- [41:52]
Greg Anthony
We haven't. We've never had this. Think about who's at the bottom of the east right now.
- [41:57]
Stephen A. Smith
That's fair.
- [41:57]
Greg Anthony
Philly is two and 12. Milwaukee six and nine. No, those are two. Great young talent, great team. Not young, but great team. Same thing in the East. In the West, I should say you're.
- [42:07]
Stephen A. Smith
A savant in that regard because that's exactly where I was going. Number one. What the hell are you making? What on earth is going on in Philadelphia? Not only is Embiid hurt, not only is Paul George hurt, but they having team meetings, player only meetings. And then diamond out to the media how Tyrese Maxey called out Joel Embiid for tardiness and being late and hurting the team and what have you. This is not good. What are your thoughts about that in Philly?
- [42:33]
Greg Anthony
Well, I give Tyrese, who I know pretty well, Max, a lot of credit for being willing to be a leader, but I think that's part of the problem. He shouldn't be the leader. And if what we're hearing is true, then that also means that Embiid hasn't been a pro because there's just no excuse for you being late to everything and not feeling like you completely invested. And I tell you what, quite honestly, I put this on the organization because if you've allowed this stuff to manifest, then that's on you. Shame on you that you have allowed this to happen. Because that's the one thing I learned playing with some truly great players. Like generally your best players are your hardest workers. Like if you go to Boston, I guarantee you they will all tell you that Tatum and Brown are the hardest workers. If you go to OKC or, or Golden State, I guarantee you they will tell you that Steph Curry and SGA are the hardest workers. And that's really the formula for success if you want to have a championship level team. You don't think Jokic is the hardest worker in Denver. Like your great players set the tone with their by leading by example. You don't have to have a big voice, but you lead by example. And the fact that we're hearing that and we haven't really gotten any pushback. I think their season is probably. I don't see that they will. I don't think they even will make the play in. I'm gonna be honest with you. And it's early in the season, it's looking that way now, but I'm not feeling good. And Paul George doesn't look right. Man, these two injuries he's had. It looks like his body is starting to fail him, you know, because those are injuries that your body wouldn't normally allow to happen if you're sharp and you're right. And I just think he's had a lot of miles. There's a reason why the Clippers didn't want to give him that extra. Those extra years, and Philly ran out there and did it. And I just don't know if we're going to see Paul get back to that level. I'm pulling for him because I love the guy. I want to see him get there. But I'm worried about the six.
- [44:34]
Stephen A. Smith
I love him, too. I'm worried about his health. I'm definitely worried about the Sixers. Embiid owned what Tyrese Maxey said in terms of his accuracy. He said, I got to do better. Make no mistake about that. And obviously, the only thing that I don't want to hear about the Clippers is damage. You didn't pay Paul George. What the hell you doing paying Kawhi Leonard either? He just is hurt, if not more so. So don't get me started with that. What's going on with your boy Doc Rivers in Milwaukee? They won two straight, but they're three games under.500. They obviously started out slow. I don't know how much faith I'm going to have in Milwaukee right now.
- [45:03]
Greg Anthony
Well, I will say this, Stephen, and I've said this on the air. Listen, when your two best players are playing as well as they are when they're healthy and you don't win games, that means your team ain't that good. That means the rest of your roster isn't very good. Now, they don't have Middleton, so that obviously makes a huge difference. Because once you. If you can. If Middleton can get back to what we have seen from him, and I don't know if he can. Let's be real, he's coming off two ankle surgeries. But if he can get back to even just being a legit third option, now they get interesting. Now they can get interesting because I feel like Damon and Giannis chemistry is really finally where we would have liked it to be, you know, because remember Dane talked about it. He didn't. His first time his career. He didn't really train in the off season because he was afraid of getting hurt because he knew he was getting traded. Right, Right. And so now he looks like he normally looks. Giannis, you know, we talked about Anthony Davis. If Milwaukee had a better record, Giannis would be the MVP favorite right now. I mean, he, he just been off the charts how good he's been. So I, I feel like they're trending in the right direction. And again, because of the parody, you know, you talk about. They're six and nine, bro. They ain't but three games out of four out of the fourth spot. So they're fine. They're fine. I'm not worried about that. I don't see them as a championship team because I don't think they have enough athletes or. And when I say basketball players, you know, on a, on a great team, your guys got to be great at what you ask them to do. And I just don't know if they're supporting Cass can be great at all those other things anymore. You know what I mean? Brook Lopez has got no Connaughton slowed down. The young guys aren't quite.
- [46:41]
Stephen A. Smith
Let me stop right there then. Quick question put you on the spot. What's the chances you think that Giannis ask out of Milwaukee after the season. After the season? After the season.
- [46:53]
Greg Anthony
After this season. I could see it. Listen, if for them they may have to make a move because otherwise you're going to waste his ability. You know, if they, if they get knocked out in the first round this year and he's brilliant. They don't have a roster with a lot of flexibility. They don't have a lot of young guys that others are going to be interested in. So it's going to be really hard for them to make moves to bolster that roster like what we saw the Knicks just do. Right. You saw the move the Nick to get ca. They had flexibility to make moves. I don't think. I don't think Milwaukee's flexibility is there. And I think that you might see a scenario where you'd have to move him because you're not going to be able to get off Dame and they just don't have enough. Now, having said that, they could still get high and come by the time we get there and find themselves in the conference finals because those two guys are playing at a high level. And if we see Middleton come back and play at a high level, then it's a different ballgame.
- [47:51]
Stephen A. Smith
Two more questions before I let you get on out of here. One, who's your Rookie of the Year?
- [47:56]
Greg Anthony
Oh, man, I'm gonna tell you right now, I don't have one. I don't think nobody's really separated. I think we've seen a lot of young guys have flashes. You know, recent share has had, had some good games. Dalton connects, had as good a stretch as anybody.
- [48:11]
Stephen A. Smith
That's who I was gonna go with.
- [48:13]
Greg Anthony
You know, he came in the last night, averaging in last five games. He's almost 25 a game.
- [48:17]
Stephen A. Smith
That's who I was going with.
- [48:19]
Greg Anthony
So he's up there. But that's my point, though. Nobody set them. Nobody's differentiated themselves. No one set themselves apart. So I really don't have a Rookie of the Year right now. I didn't think it was a great draft to begin with, and I think that is yet to be determined. Like, we could talk mvp, right? You already have a sense of that like I do. I don't have a sense on the Rookie of the Year. And the fact that you could say Dalton, I think that speaks volumes to the fact that nobody else is really elevated yet at this stage.
- [48:49]
Stephen A. Smith
Last question. Relatively delicate one. We saw Rich Kleinman a month ago tweet out about the negativity of the media and how, you know, he wishes things were better. And sports is supposed to bring us together. We saw yesterday we learned that LeBron James retweeted that tweet from a month ago and basically announced to the world that he was stepping away from social media for a little while. My attitude is this. First of all, I don't want to hear about the national media being thrown under the bus when y'all are part of it, too. You know, acting like they ain't a part of it. When you got podcasts and all this other place, no, you in it. You in the muck and mile with the rest of us. That's number one. Number two, and I want to be very respectful when I say this as a father, a former NBA player who's a father, and your son is now playing in the NBA. When I saw that from LeBron James, I'm like, LeBron James, approaching age 40, is still playing like a top five player on the planet. So ain't nobody talking about negativity towards him. If they're doing so, they're talking about Bronny. And that's what LeBron must have been alluding to. To that you say what?
- [50:01]
Greg Anthony
I would have to agree. Listen, and you know this. We have never had an athlete as accomplished as LeBron James catch as much heat and vitriol and hate. Is that fair to say?
- [50:13]
Stephen A. Smith
Yeah.
- [50:13]
Greg Anthony
Like, yeah, we've never seen. And again, I'm not saying you have to like him, but you got to respect what he's done.
- [50:20]
Stephen A. Smith
But absolutely.
- [50:20]
Greg Anthony
Even at this stage of his career, there's nobody that gets more vitriol or hate. And the fact that he's comfortable with that tells me the fact that he's uncomfortable. It's because of his son. And I think that his son hasn't necessarily been able to handle the hype, the expectations, and the negativity. And that. That for. It has really made him look at it. And I'm speaking to LeBron in a different way. Right. All the great players, they can handle criticism. Kd. All these guys, they. They don't get caught up that. Listen, the reality, though, is now everybody's got an opinion, right? We used to say opinions are like assholes. Right. Everybody got one. The difference was, though, you didn't hear everybody's opinion before, right? You. You know, no, most people didn't have the opportunity to respond to Stephen A. Smith directly and actually have you hear what was said, and it's not going to affect you. But I guarantee you, as a father, if that same type of rhetoric or vitriol was directed at your child, it would affect you differently. There is no question about it. Listen, LeBron has dealt with more crap over the last, just as he's been in la, and he's never shied away from it. He's always had courage. He's always spoke his mind, whether you agree with him or not.
- [51:44]
Stephen A. Smith
Right.
- [51:44]
Greg Anthony
He's never been one to shy away very much like you in that regard. Right, Right. But it's different when it now becomes one of your. Your children, because they're. You're vulnerable for them, man. You. You want to protect your kids.
- [51:57]
Stephen A. Smith
Can I throw this caveat out to you to close this out? Something needs to be added to that, especially when it's of your doing. Because of what he said about Bronny before he got to the NBA. I want to play with my son. My son is better than some of these NBA players in the league right now. These are things he said. So I think it's one element which you're absolutely on point about about a son. But it's another thing when you instigated it, arguably because of the things you were saying about your son in comparison to others, and you put your son unintentionally he certainly didn't mean to hurt his son in any way. But that's the unintentional consequence of his actions.
- [52:42]
Greg Anthony
I think you hit it on the head because the reality is you assume that your child can handle it the way you can. And the reality is, I think it's hit him that. That Bronnie's struggling with it. He's struggling with the expectations. You know, and I've said this about LeBron. Listen, there's been. In my lifetime, there's really only been. There's been three athletes now that have been this hyped and actually have exceeded the expectations. That was Tiger Woods, LeBron James, and now Caitlin Clark. Those are the three because. Because Michael didn't come in with that kind of hype. Michael was the third pick. Kobe didn't come in with that kind of hype. He's a 13th pick. Didn't really even play that much. You know what I'm saying? LeBron and Tiger came in. They were superstars before they had ever even started to perform at the highest level. And not only did they perform, they exceeded the expectations. Much like we're seeing with Caitlin Clark. Right. And so. But most athletes are given a period of grace. And the problem for Bronnie is on his own level, he was. There was so much hype and expectation around him. And the fact that it just hasn't materialized, even to the point where he's even performing at a high level in the G League yet. And I think that is weighed on him somewhat. Because you can only imagine the level of hatred and nastiness that somebody you don't know can spew about your son and have somebody else pick up on it. And I think that can. And it's not just LeBron. It's his wife, is his other kids. Because they gotta deal with that, too. Like, they probably are comfortable with all that hate going at LeBron. Cause that's all they've ever known.
- [54:21]
Stephen A. Smith
Par for the course. Par for the course.
- [54:23]
Greg Anthony
So I agree with you there, brother.
- [54:25]
Stephen A. Smith
My man is always good to talk to you. Always good seeing you. I'll be watching and listening to you. Call the game tonight. Seeing you on TV tonight, actually. Appreciate you so much, man. Hope you well. Wonderful. Happy holidays to you and yours, my man. All the best.
- [54:38]
Greg Anthony
You too, man. Be safe, man. God bless, brother.
- [54:40]
Stephen A. Smith
The one and only Greg Anthony, NBA TV TNT basketball analyst. Extraordinary. Yes, I'm willing to openly admit. Hell, that man has forgotten more basketball than I ever know. He used to give me lessons on the sport of basketball all the time. I ain't ashamed to tell you. I ain't ashamed to tell you. Coming up, LeBron James steps away from social media and now athletes are reacting to it with their own opinions. I'll get into that as Pro promised next right here with your boy Stephen A. Back with more in a minute. I want to take a second to make sure everybody knows we're smack dab in the middle of the NFL season. And with games being played Thursday night, Sunday night and Monday night, I couldn't be more excited. But what's even more exciting is that Prospects wants to help you cash in on all those big time games. You see, Prize Picks is a daily fantasy app where you can pick two or more of your favorite players and then you simply select more or less on their projected stats for the game. Pick a player's passing yards, another's rushing yards, and another's total touchdowns. The list is endless. And the good news just keeps on coming because with Prize Picks, you can choose from any sport you love to watch. Basketball, football, hockey, soccer, even mma all in the same entry. And now with Prospects Live Square option you you'll be able to place mid game picks on full game projections. Just look for the red live indicator on the upper left corner of active squares during games and then pick a player's game projection after their game has started. And if you sign up now with code SAS, Prospects will give you $50 instantly when you play your first $5 lineup. You don't need to win your lineup to receive a $50 bonus. It's guaranteed. All you have to do is play a $5 lineup on prospects and you'll get $50 instantly. Pick more, pick less. It's really, really that easy.
- [56:26]
Hunter
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- [56:54]
Rich Kleinman
I'm Hunter, host of Hunting for Answers on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Join me every weekday as I share bite sized stories of missing and murdered Black women and girls in America. There are several ways we can all do better at protecting Black women. My contribution is shining a light on our missing sisters and amplifying their disregarded stories. Stories, stories like Tameka Anderson as she drove toward Galvez, she was in contact with several people talking on the phone as she made her way to what should have been a routine transaction. But Tameka never bought the car, and she never returned home that day. One Podcast, One Mission Save Our Girls Join the search as we explore the chilling cases of missing and murdered Black women and girls. Listen to Hunting for Answers every weekday on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [58:01]
Stephen A. Smith
Welcome back to the Stephen A. Smith Show. I want to take a moment to address LeBron James and Napoleon public reaction to the Lakers superstar stepping away from social media. Now, there are many opinions on the topic, from journalists to athletes and beyond. I'm going to address it all in a moment, but did y'all see what Cowboys linebacker Michael Parsons said to the Athletic when asked if he was going to follow LeBron and step away from the media? For those of you who didn't see it, please check this out. LeBron was on social media for 20 years. So what are you saying? I've been in the league for four years now. I need to get off social media. Four championships later, LeBron was on social media when he won an NBA title. What are we saying here? Michael Parsons continued. LeBron also tweeted six months ago that his son was better than NBA players. Did you say he was on Twitter then? You know what I'm saying? We can't play that type of game. Amen. Ross St. Brown has his podcast. Why doesn't anybody talk about his podcast? There's a bunch of people doing podcasts. Don't bring that up about Michael Parsons podcast. That's why you get paid the big bucks. I don't know everyone's contract, but I get paid pretty well. End quote. I get what Michael Parsons is saying. He's sitting there talking about having a podcast is not a distraction, et cetera, et cetera. He had the podcast when the Dallas Cowboys were 12 and 5 and projected the make a deep run into the playoffs. So we can't bring it up now that they stinking up the joint. I get that part, but there's a bigger story and the story extends beyond Michael Paulson. To be quite honest with you. I think Michael Paulson is having his own podcast. I don't have any problem with it whatsoever. He has interesting things to say. I don't agree with everything, but that's my man and I wish him nothing but the best and I think that he's going to continue to Grow and grow in this industry. I wish him nothing but the best. Keep doing your thing. The issue is LeBron James and to a lesser degree, the person responsible for the original tweet that LeBron James ultimately retweeted to make all of this noise. Rich Kleinman, partner with KD. Kevin Durant, 35 Ventures and beyond, brought that up because he brought up a tweet about negativity and what this world has turned into. And sports used to bring us together, you know, you know, sounding like the second coming of Gandhi. Basically, we understand that. There he is, Rich Klein with Kevin Durant. He wasn't entirely wrong. There are trolls on social media, weak ass people who hide behind computers and keyboards and, you know, stuff on their phone to say and spew anything that they want because their definition of success and positivity is lowering you to their level rather than elevating themselves to yours. Fair enough. But there's another side to all of this that everybody needs to pay attention to. Number one, Rich Kliman shouldn't be talking like he's somebody that's removed from the media, like everything he said wasn't applicable to him. And his partner, Kevin Durant 35 Ventures is involved in a lot of different ventures, no pun intended. And a lot of it has to do with the media, them influencing minds and what have you. Not to mention profiting it. Profiting off of it all exponentially. I don't see Rich Kleiman pointing that out. I don't see him pointing out KD having a burner account just so he could clap back at people without them knowing it's him. I don't see him saying anything when KD wants to come after me or somebody else using words like clown and fools and all of this other stuff in a very derogatory fashion, I might add, to insult people that falls under that category. So those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Let me get to the bigger point about LeBron James. LeBron James choosing to step off of social media. And I was hesitant to bring this up because I didn't want to, because LeBron James is approaching age 40. He is on the Mount Rushmore basketball, one of the top two players in NBA history. And we will miss him when he is going. He's a special, special dude on all fronts, but none of us are perfect. And LeBron James electing to get off of social media, is that because of you, LeBron James, or is it because of your son, Bronny James and his struggles in the D league in the NBA prior to that, college basketball, prior to that, high school basketball, when he was an All American average of 14 and people said, no, all American averages 14 points a game. It's probably the latter. You know, Greg Anthony alluded to this earlier, and that's why I asked him the question. When you think about LeBron James and what LeBron James had to say, Greg Anthony made a very valid point. The level of vitriol that LeBron James has experienced throughout his career, he's one of the most scrutinized superstars in history. It's not because he's LeBron James. It's because when he came along is when social media shortly followed. Imagine what scrutiny Charles Barkley and MJ and Isaiah and others would have received had there been the existence of social media. Had there been Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter and Facebook and TikTok and all of this other stuff. Imagine what it would have been if they played during that time. So we understand that LeBron James has received a heightened level of scrutiny, but we also understand that he's fully capable of taking and absorbing it and stomaching it. So why step away now? Truthfully speaking, it only makes sense that it's Bronny James. Not to be redundant, but it's necessary to be that way. Bronny James doesn't belong in the NBA. Not yet. Some people say never. I don't believe that. I believe the kid has a chance, and I think that he's going to do. I believe in him. I believe in his work ethic, his faith, et cetera, et cetera. But he's not ready yet. Which brings us back to LeBron James. We don't have to scrutinize Bronny James in terms of points per game average and all of this other stuff. Please. He's a kid. He'll come along. He'll work on his game. Hopefully, he'll earn his stripes. Respectfully, this is all LeBron's fault. It was LeBron James that told the world. Sitting next to his wonderful wife, Savannah for an interview, asked the question, what does he want for Bronny? What do they want for Bronny? She said, I just want him to know, to be happy. LeBron James said, I want to play with him in the NBA. I want him in the NBA. And then, because he's LeBron James, he greased the skids and facilitated it happening, ensuring through Rich Paul that nobody would draft Bronny James before the Lakers grabbed him because they were teams tempted to do it. Just to keep him away from the Lakers and LeBron. Most importantly, LeBron James was caught saying publicly that Bronny James was better than some players in the NBA. Did you think people were going to forget that? See, I'm not getting into Bronny James because none of this is Bronny James fault. He's just a kid out there working hard, trying to be the best that he can be who is very blessed and fortunate to have a father like LeBron James who loves him and had not no ill intent whatsoever. But just because you didn't have ill intent doesn't mean that your intent didn't end up being ill fated. Because you put this kid behind an eight ball and now he's a target for everybody. And whatever level of scrutiny he's experiencing and whatever difficulty he's having in stomaching and dealing with all of it is because his father couldn't keep his mouth shut. His father couldn't just play and say, I want my son happy no matter what he wants to do. It would be a dream come true to play in the NBA with him, but we can't have everything we want. Hopefully someday it happened and just left it alone. You didn't do that. And as a result, in all likelihood, Bronny James is experiencing an elevated level of scrutiny that would be difficult for anybody his age. With his experience and with his unfamiliarity in being associated with this kind of critique, it's been difficult for him. That doesn't make LeBron James the worst person in the world. He's a damn good father. He's a family man. He's an iconic figure that we all should revere, not just respect, but in the same breath, Rather than say I'm stepping off of social media because of the negativity, how about adding especially some of the negativity I unintentionally brought on my own son? I need to take a step back. I'm not saying you should have done it automatically, but since you felt the need to do what you did in terms of retweeting Rich Kleiman's tweet and stepping away from social media. And since you refrain from just stepping away quietly and basically piggybacked off of Rich Kleiman to blame the national media, could you blame yourself? Because in the end, nobody is more guilty of making times hard for Bronny James the basketball player than LeBron James. That's just a fact. There's no way around it. Still rooting for you, Bronny. Keep working hard. Keep making things happen, you got a chance. No matter what the critics say to LeBron James, Respectfully, I know you had the best of intentions, but the national media ain't the problem, bro. Not in the case of Bronny James. That would happen to be you. That's it for this edition of the Stephen A. Smith Show. Hope y'all enjoy the rest of y'all week. I'll be talking to y'all at the beginning of next week as well. Have a wonderful week and be blessed. Be safe, alright? And get ready to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday until a few days from now. This is Stephen A. Signing off. Peace and love.
- [68:50]
Greg Rosenthal
What's up everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal and I'm teaming up with the King of Spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJs mock drafts to my top 101, free agents will have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents starting on March 6th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
- [69:21]
Stephen A. Smith
What's up everyone? Julie Swearbinks here along with former NHL player Nate Thompson.
- [69:26]
Greg Anthony
We're doing a new podcast together. Here we go.
- [69:29]
Stephen A. Smith
The name Energy Line with Nate and jsb.
- [69:32]
Greg Anthony
Each week we'll get together and talk about hockey life. All topics are fair game, right? Exactly.
- [69:38]
Stephen A. Smith
And you'll never know who will drop by to join us.
- [69:41]
Greg Anthony
Julie is pretty well connected. She has text threads going that you wouldn't believe.
- [69:46]
Stephen A. Smith
Listen to Energy Line with Nate and jsb on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.