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Brian Windhorst (24:34)

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Stephen A. Smith (24:54)

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Stephen A. Smith (25:07)

Joining me now to discuss the NBA playoffs is my buddy, the senior NBA analyst insider as well. He does a fabulous job for espn. Love working with them. Love having them on my daytime show. First take every weekday morning. The one and only Brian Windhorse is with me right now. What's going on, man? How you doing? How's everything?

Brian Windhorst (25:27)

Well, I'm happy to be here, but I find it hilarious that you blew out your voice. See, you didn't budget when you started your week. You know, you didn't budget for two, maybe one cold open with the orange and blue sky, right? You didn't have it in your range to do two pulled opens with orange and blue skies. And now you're paying the price. You're lucky it's the weekend.

Stephen A. Smith (25:49)

I'm paying the price, my man. I definitely am. Let me ask you this. You've been covering the series. You've been in Boston. What was it like for you personally to be in Boston witnessing what was happening to the reigning defending NBA champions at the hands of the New York Knicks in games one and two, specifically the fourth quarter and an overtime in games one and two, when you're the.

Brian Windhorst (26:15)

Better team, and let's just be honest, the Celtics are the better team by measure of the regular season at least. We usually play with the swagger. And when you're at home, you usually play with the swagger. And when you're the defending champions, you usually play with the swagger. And certainly the Celtics, I've seen them do it in game two when the game started when the, when the Knicks started tightening up the score, the entire building went tight. It's not something I've experienced before. And Jalen Brunson was absolutely. He comes into the game, like nine minutes to go, and he starts going to work. Three pointer, drive, step back, layup at like four minutes and 45 seconds. I don't remember who hit the shot. It might have been bridges. And all of a sudden it's five points where everything goes red. It's five points inside. Five minutes is clutch time. And I said out loud, these sobs did it. They got it to crunch time. They got it to clutch time because that was the thing. It was like, you know, they're down 20, they're. They're actually down 16. You know, in game one, they were only, only. They were only down nine. Start in the fourth quarter. Anybody can come back from nine down. You don't have to be special. They started the fourth quarter in game two, down 12 in the fourth quarter. So they had done a good job. It was 20. They cut it and then it went to 16. It was actually 16. That was a different. It was three possessions greater to overcome. And so when they even got it to crunch time, I was like, damn, they did it again. And then it just walked him down. And. And the building was tight. And it's just not something you expect with a team with. With. With the resume of the Celtics is.

Stephen A. Smith (28:08)

Game one and two in your eyes, more about what the Knicks are in terms of their clutch, knowing that a guy like Jalen Brunson and clutch time has outscored the entire Celtics team by 14 to 12? Or is it about a diminished product that we're seeing in the reigning defending NBA champions, that is the Boston Celtics. I know what Tatum brings. I know what Brown brings. They're both $300 million plus plays. You got new ownership in Boston. They're going to decisions about the future. You've articulated all of those things very clearly over the last few days or so. But are we seeing a diminished Boston Celtics or just a team suffering a hiccup that's expected to get it together this weekend?

Brian Windhorst (28:48)

Very savvy question. I think the answer is both. I think you see a Knicks team that is extremely confident when they get into the end of a close game. Jalen Brunson, he. He is so calm when he's under pressure. It's crazy. Like, he gets into tough situations when he's got a live dribble and you're like, how's he getting out of this one? And he does. You know, they, they put a 6, 9 guy on him and you're like, how's he getting out of this one? He gets open. He is, he's got, he is at the top of his game, at the top of his confidence level, and it's a master at work. So that's absolutely happening. But also the Celtics are diminished. One, I think their confidence is shaken. I think you see in some of the decisions that Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown make at the end of these games. And two, they don't have Porzingis. Porzingis isn't right. And that's probably the most unpredictable thing in this series. What's going to happen with poisonous. Because Porzingis, I wouldn't say he was their curveball because he can hit you with the right hook. I would say he was like their slider. And especially if you were having difficulty, you know, scoring from the perimeter, you know, yeah, he's, he's a deadly outside shooter, but, you know, you can throw it to him in the post and he can 7 foot 3, he can turn around and cause problems.

Stephen A. Smith (30:06)

Let me stop you right there with Porzingis because I heard you on the air talking the other day. Were you on air with me? You on air with get up on ESPN talking about how you, you spoke to Porzingis. He doesn't know what's going on, but he's just flatline. Fatigue has kicked in and I'm just looking at numbers here. In two regular season games against the Knicks this season, he's averaged 24 and a points on 50, shooting from the field, 45 shooting from three point range. In his playoff series against the Knicks, he's got a total of eight points on three or nine shooting, one for one on a three pointer, one free throw attempt, no blocks, eight rebounds and 27 minutes total. He clearly has been a virtual no show because he just hasn't been on the court for the Boston Celtics. Do we know specifically what is wrong with Porzingis?

Brian Windhorst (30:50)

We don't. He was, he got sick in February. He tried to fight through it for a while, then they ended up shutting him down and they started, you know, calling him questionable and all of a sudden he's out three weeks, eight games he missed. And when he came back, he said they couldn't diagnose it and they were having, he was having a real hard time with fatigue. I think initially they said it was like a upper respiratory. And so you're thinking you're seeing a guy who's coughing, you know, runny nose, etc. That's, he doesn't, he doesn't come off sick. He may have wind issues. There may be a lung thing for sure. I'm not saying that's not true. He doesn't look like a guy who's got the flu. But what he's having a big problem with, from what he says is fatigue. He crashes. And I think he had been in it, by the way, when he came back from that time away, his first five games, he was really good. Like it looked like, okay, he's passed it. You're talking about stats in this series. He was terrible against Orlando. Terrible is not a fair word. He was, he was not productive against Orlando, certainly not to his, to his normal level. And in game one, he was fighting it. It really came back in game one of this series and the halftime, he just, he didn't have energy. And so they brought him off the bench in game two, Stephen A. And, and the reason they brought him off the bench is because I think they're trying to save his energy. So what I think they're hoping is he gets two days to rest before game three and he can recover. But he is. Had he, he referred to it as a big crash that he was managing it and then all of a sudden, one big crash that's obviously concerning.

Stephen A. Smith (32:33)

I need two quick answers to this, to these two questions. If the Boston Celtics lose this series, what will it mean for this franchise?

Brian Windhorst (32:43)

I don't know because I don't know what the new owner's appetite for spending is. I know that this is a team that's proven to be a championship team, that if they hold it together, I would say they would come out next year and be a top three team to win it again. It's also going to cost $500 million. And here's the thing. It'd be one thing if you own the Boston. The guys who bought the Boston Celtics have owned it since 2001, 2002, they paid a couple hundred million dollars for it. If it's not paid off, I'm sure it probably is very close to paid off. They, at the end of the day, you know, they're not paying a massive mortgage on the team. So if you have to pay 500 million and you lose a couple hundred million, that's one thing. You're dealing with a couple hundred million dollars loss. Now if you're buying the team for 6 billion, they're actually buying 50% of the team for about 3 billion. You have to write a 3 billion dollar check however you're getting that money. This is not Steve Ballmer buying the team. Steve Ballmer, when he bought the Clippers, literally said, here is a cashier's check for $2 billion. He didn't borrow money. He's like, here you go. That's not the case here. These guys are leveraging to get this, which is not. I'm not. I mean, $6 billion is a ton of money. So now they're going to have a mortgage payment. So imagine you're in a house and you don't, and you own the house outright. No mortgage payment. Now you've now bought the house. You bought a new house that's 30 times the price. You got a big mortgage payment due every month. Now, if I tell you that the house costs a bunch of money to operate and everything like that, now you're making two payments. You're paying for the operation of the house and you're paying the mortgage payment. That's what's coming for the Celtics owners. I don't know what they're going to do. They have not. Because the deal isn't closed. They're not.

Stephen A. Smith (34:23)

Got it.

Brian Windhorst (34:25)

So I don't know, but I know this $500 million is a lot of money. That's not just like an inconvenience that you get. You're going to have to pay for a payroll.

Stephen A. Smith (34:34)

The Knicks win this series, how far can they go?

Brian Windhorst (34:39)

STEPHEN A. If the Pacers get. Get two more wins over the Cavs and the Knicks get home court, I realize they've been better on the road than home. The Knicks get home court against the Pacers. Hey, man, they went to seven games against the Pacers last year when Og Anunoby was out and Jalen, you know, got. Got hurt. That's a. That's a. I think the Knicks will be favored in that series, depending on everybody's health. I mean, it would be tight. The Pacers have been really good. Maybe it's a toss up, but considering that the Knicks were. The Knicks, in my view, had the toughest draw in the league because they were looking at. For them to win. They were looking at Detroit. Gotta be Boston without. Well, Detroit for sure.

Stephen A. Smith (35:19)

Detroit in Boston.

Brian Windhorst (35:20)

Boston without home court. Then you're thinking Cleveland without home court. Then they'd be Oklahoma City without home court. Talk about a gauntlet. If they get into a series against the Pacers where it's a toss up series that they have home court in where they're playing well, it's one of the greatest turnarounds in situations that you could ever see in an NBA playoff setting.

Stephen A. Smith (35:43)

What about the Indiana paces? Real quick for a second. How surprised are you that they've looked this good? I know there's been injuries. Deandre Hunter, Evan Mobley, Darius Garland didn't play in game two. They got a pivotal game three coming up tonight. No doubt about it, they got to win this game. But still, in all, we can't take away from what we've seen from the Indiana Pacers, who closed out, you know, Mo, you know, Milwaukee. And not only did you do that, but we saw Tyrese Halliburton actually speak up against his own father because of how his father acted in Giannis's face. We didn't talk about that. And now here they are, Halliburton, who was voted quietly privately by no name players who wouldn't attach their name to it as being overrated. He's balling out to me. They have no one great, but a whole bunch of dudes that are really, really good and they can beat anybody at this point. Real quickly, that's my synopsis of the Indiana Pacers. What's yours?

Brian Windhorst (36:35)

They have somebody great. It's their coach. He's a great coach. And he's a great playoff coach for Carlisle.

Stephen A. Smith (36:41)

Yes, he is.

Brian Windhorst (36:42)

They lost on on New Year's Eve to go to 16 and 18. Halliburton was hurting early. They had some other injuries since January 1st. They finished the season 34 and 14. That was not a four seed. That was a two seed masquerading as a four seed. That was a 58 win pace that they played on that that from January 1st. They have depth, they have speed, they have a style of play and they have a closer. And they have proven that they can pull it out their backside. They have twice been down seven points in the last minute of the game and won it in the playoffs. So maybe that's a little bit fortune there, but they are formidable, formidable team.

Stephen A. Smith (37:21)

Moving out to the West. How nervous were you about Oklahoma City? You've been raving about them all year. When they lost game one, when Jokic did what he did, when we see Russell Westbrook playing the way that he played, when we saw Aaron Gordon playing bully ball, how nervous were you for your Thunder before they annihilated the Nuggets in Game 2?

Brian Windhorst (37:39)

There were two things about that first game that were worrisome. Number one, they couldn't get any supporting scoring for Shay Gildis. Alexander, by the way, he had a great game, too. Shay has not had a good Postseason so far. This is a guy who's going to be named MVP probably next week. His numbers are okay, but they weren't great. That's what, that's, that's one thing. Secondly, so that. And then they don't have a second score that's reliable. Sometimes they have a second score, but they don't have a guy out there that they can count on to deliver. And that's what cost him in game one. The second thing was Chet Holmgren got totally dominated by Jokic. And I mean, obviously Holmgren can't play Jokic the same way Vitza Zubac plays them. They're not built the same way. But three times in the last couple of years, the Thunder have been in high leverage situations and come up small. One was in the playoffs last year to the Mavericks. They had home court in that series. The series was tied. They melted down the chest of that series total. Their offense completely abandoned them and Luca snatched them. And then this year in the in season tournament where they played Milwaukee, where they just absolutely laid an egg, that was a moment for them to win something as a group. They totally laid an egg then in game one, losing home court advantage out of the gate. So I've seen them under pressure all of a sudden, not be able to score when it matters. And they have the mvp. That shouldn't be the case. So those more pressure moments are coming and I expect them to overcome that because they are. They have every tool that you need. But there is that sense of mystery about how it's going to happen. What's going to happen when that challenge occurs again.

Stephen A. Smith (39:11)

Switching over to Warriors, Timberwolves, Obviously we're looking at them. Steph Curry's going to be out with the strained hamstring. The likelihood is that for at least games three and four and, and possibly game five, what do you peel away? You saw the warriors win in game one. You saw Steph Curry score 13 points in the first 13 minutes before he goes down. We saw Draymond Green hit four three pointers in the first half. We saw Jimmy Butler come on strong in the second half. We saw none of that in game two after Finch held Anthony Edwards accountable. We saw McDaniels show up. We saw Julius Randle show up. We saw Ant man show up. And the three have combined to hold Jimmy Butler to like 13% shooting from the field when one of those three are guarding him. So what do you make of this series thus far? At this particular moment, there's two things.

Brian Windhorst (40:04)

That have got to happen One, Jimmy Butler has got to be more of an offensive engine. They can't score without Steph. There are other offensive efficiency plummets by like 25ish percent when he hasn't been out there. They just can't survive that. I understand. They're not going to totally replace him. That's clear. Jimmy. Jimmy's got to be more of a factor offensively, scoring the ball. The second thing is this team, after the Jimmy Butler trade was a good defensive team. Their defensive numbers improved. And in game one, they won that game because not because of what they did without Steph, because they only gave up 88 points. Now, some of that was the Wolves. They didn't handle their business that well and that's why Chris Finch got on them. But in game two, the Wolves made 16 three pointers and ESPN's tracking said that every single one of them were deemed open. There's no other game in the database in the playoff history where a team has gotten 16 all 16 three pointers or 16 or more three pointers open. They've got to play better defense. The only way to do this is to pinch it from both ends. You've got to play your max level defense and you've got to get some more scoring. That's how you close the gap in this situation. They don't have to do it three more times. They're not winning this series without Steph anyway. They need to do it one more time, at least at home, probably in Games 3 or 4, to give the window for Steph to come back in game five or six and give them a fighting chance and what's hopefully a.

Stephen A. Smith (41:31)

Three game series switching to Draymond Green. Obviously he made news for a different reason. And I appreciate your participation in the discussion with myself and Mike Wilbon on ESPN's First Take earlier this morning. And I'm certainly not asking you to elaborate on his comments about being portrayed as an angry black man. I took care of that in the first segment at the top of this show. But what I wanted to ask you is that in terms of Draymond Green's image in your estimation, as somebody who covers this league and as somebody who walks the streets with people coming up to you about what you know about this league, what would you qualify or classify as the perception that Draymond Green has and how fear or unfair do you think it is?

Brian Windhorst (42:22)

I think people in the league feel like he's one of the great defensive players of the last 25 years, one of the great influence influencers of the game where he can control the game. Especially for a guy who is not a scorer. His ability to control the game without being a scorer have a big influence on the control of the game because of his screen setting, because of the way he can defend, because of the way he can take the, you know, take the ball off the glass, go down and be the point center. The way he can play two man basketball with Steph, where they're just basically reading each other, they're impossible to prepare for because when the two of them are working together, it's just read and react, read and react. And he's just such. He's so quick on his feet and so smart and makes him so savvy. And people in the league think that he savilly controls the officials, that he's sly like a fox in the way he does things and the way he applies pressure to the officials and the way he is so demonstrative. And they feel like there are many times when he can manipulate the officials to sort of lean them in one way or the other because of the way he behaves. That yes, there are times when he loses control, but a lot of it is totally calculated that what he is doing is putting the officials into a corner to achieve a certain edge. There is an admiration for him within the league for that. However, he also loses control for as. As savvy and nuanced of the game that he plays. There are times when that all goes out the window, he loses control, which has happened unfortunately a number of times. This is a guy who I think there's no chance the warriors win the 2022 title without him. He was absolutely brilliant during that season and in that playoff run. I know he had a complicated finals where I think he got benched at one point, but he was brilliant. Closeout game. No way they win without. No way they went with that. And so the 2026 title, Draymond's got both hands on that ring and he, he derailed the 2023 season by sucker punching his teammate and he damaged the 2024 season by suspensions. That, that force that ended up significantly forcing the warriors into the play in. And obviously his role in the, in the previous three titles is unquestioned. But just in the last three seasons he's carried. Not carried, but like stood shoulder to shoulder with Steph to win the title and undercut two seasons. And this year he's working hard. We're going to find out which way it's going to go. And you know, the Warrior's Eyes are wide open. They totally understand what it means to be in business with Draymond Green. They've. They've dedicated themselves and protected them and rededicated themselves over, over and over. But that is the dynamic player that you're getting. A guy who is a genius and brilliant, who also can do things that can hurt you badly that he can't take back.

Stephen A. Smith (45:18)

What about what he said coming into this series, if not the playoffs overall, where he said he sat down and spoke with Steve Kerr, he spoke to his family, and he had to do some reflection, looking at himself and thinking about what he needed to do better. Where did that come from? From if we're sitting here today and he's going off about how he's being.

Brian Windhorst (45:38)

Portrayed, We've heard it all before. You know, he did a story with, at espn, our warriors reporter, Om Young Masuk, where he detailed after he was suspended indefinitely for the Rudy Gobert incident last year, they made him go to, like, essentially counseling sessions. But it wasn't just with a counselor. It was with a whole bunch of different people who basically acted as a village for him, and he didn't want to do it, and he was annoyed by it. And he discussed how it really helped him and how he started to lean on it. And it was a beautifully done story, giving insight into Draymond's thinking and how he's trying to better himself. And you come away from that story saying, this is a very earnest, raw, and impersonal view of how he's fighting his challenges. And then he goes out there and commits five technicals and two flagrants in nine games. And so you can see why the people closest to Draymond have complicated relationships with the situation. They treasure him, they love him, they protect him. And he absolutely drives them crazy, and he absolutely leads them to victory. He's one of the more complicated, great players of this generation.

Stephen A. Smith (46:52)

Before we go, if I tell you I'm going to give you the series, and you tell me what, what you believe it will be after four games. Cleveland, Indiana, three 1. Indiana Knicks, Boston, two.

Brian Windhorst (47:06)

2. I'm gonna duck. I'm gonna duck. I'M two blocks in the garden. I'm gonna duck. The Knicks fans are gonna be so angry.

Stephen A. Smith (47:12)

You think you're telling me you believe that the Boston Celtics are walking into Madison Square Garden and they're gonna win. They're gonna take both games in Madison Square Garden away from the New York Knicks? Is that what you just said? Is that what you just said? Brian went to us.

Brian Windhorst (47:25)

I don't believe it, but I think that's what's going to happen. I don't believe it because I do believe in the Knicks ability. Every way I know to evaluate the game is saying to me that the Celtics should be winning these games, but they're not. So I look at it and say the Celtics could very easily be up too low. And my, my analysis side of my brain says the celtics will win the next two. Knowing everything that I know. But I have to admit, I can't quite identify why the Knicks won games one and two. So the analysis side of everything is being defeated. And that's what is happening for the whole Celtics organization right now, that their analytical analysis philosophy is being defeated by the Knicks confidence.

Stephen A. Smith (48:19)

Okay, OKC Denver, three one.

Brian Windhorst (48:24)

I'm sorry, I think it'll be two, two going back to okc.

Stephen A. Smith (48:28)

He's gonna go, they're gonna split in Denver.

Brian Windhorst (48:30)

I know. I, I, game three is going to tell me everything. I, you know, Oklahoma City could win by 25 and you're like, okay, this is a five game series. But I think Denver has to press very hard in Game 3. And if, if Denver pulls that out, then I think you're looking at 2, 2. That the Oklahoma City losing game one at home opened the door for that to be a long series. Assuming that they can get one more at home.

Stephen A. Smith (48:59)

Minnesota, Golden State.

Brian Windhorst (49:03)

Sorry to say, but I got 31 Minnesota. I was so, just, I was so disheartened by their effort in game two. They are going home. They could get a hot shooting game. I mean, that's the thing about the Knicks. The Knicks haven't shot the ball well yet. You know, the Knicks can undo any analysis by just getting hot. You can get hot at home, but I'm leaning more towards Minnesota 3. Minnesota is 22 and 5 in its last 27 games. They are playing really well, just like Indiana is playing really well.

Stephen A. Smith (49:36)

Brian went to us. Appreciate you, man. Keep up the great work. We'll talk next week.

Brian Windhorst (49:39)

All right, thanks for having me. Have a great weekend.

Stephen A. Smith (49:42)

You do the same one only Brian Windows right here on the Stephen A. Smith show over the digital airwaves or YouTube and of course, iHeartRadio. Coming up, Donald Trump taps another fox news host, Janine Pirro as interim U. S. Attorney for Washington D.C. and Joe Biden, a former president, is talking and says he would have beaten Donald Trump last November. Really? I tried to be nice, y' all. I really tried to be nice, but I got some things that need to be said. So I'm gonna say it and oh hint it ain't gonna be too nice. More the Stephen A. Smith show coming your way in a minute.

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Draymond Green (50:56)

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Stephen A. Smith (51:56)

Welcome back to the Stephen A. Smith Show. Let's get to Washington, D.C. where President Donald Trump says he would appoint he will appoint Fox News host and former prosecutor Jeanine Pirro as interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. He made the announcement on his Truth Social platform and here's what it read in part quote I am pleased to announce that Judge Jeanine Pirro will be appointed Interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. Jeanine was Assistant District Attorney for Westchester County, New York, and then went on to serve as county judge and District Attorney, where she was the first woman ever to be elected to those positions. Jeanine is incredibly well qualified for this position and is considered one of the top district attorneys in the history of the State of New York. She is in a class by herself. Congratulations, Janine. End quote. Pirro has been a long time ally of Trump, dating back to her time as a prosecutor in New York. She was also an early supporter of his 2016 campaign and publicly defended him during the Access Hollywood tape scandal. Just so you know, ladies and gentlemen, for those of you expecting me to have a problem with this, I might have a little problem with it, but not for the reasons you think. Jeanine Pirro appears to be qualified. I've read her resume. He put that out there for you. She is a former prosecutor. There's nothing to dispute there. Okay, so this is not about her qualifications. Here's my issue. I'm getting to a point, and I think we all should be alarmed. And if I was talking to the President for a lengthy interview, which I would love to have, by the way, fealty to him, loyalty and devotion to him seems to be the criteria for these jobs, as opposed to one's qualifications and one's pursuit of that job. Now, Janine Pirro is on the Five. The Five is a very successful show. I watch it often. I'm actually a fan of Harold Ford Jr. Let me state that for the record, and much to the chagrin of a lot of you, I actually like Jesse Waters. I think he does a great job. I didn't like when he vibed with DeSantis on Black History issues, particularly pertaining to slavery. That really pissed me off about Jesse Waters, but that's about it. In terms of him pursuing facts and covering politics the way that he does, I have no problem with him. Okay. And the rest of them on the Five. I think it's a damn good show. But when I think about Jeanine Pirro, you see, when something like this happens, I. Am I in a position where I get to question your objectivity? Now, in fairness to her, she's been a longtime supporter of Trump, and she hasn't wavered one bit. I guess in my own way, I wish more people were like Harold Ford Jr. Because even though he's clearly a Democrat who supports the Democratic Party, in the same breath, he doesn't hesitate to point out some of the things that they do wrong. Now, I don't get to watch every show, and I'm not trying to castigate her in any way. I'm simply making the point. Point that Trump leaning towards. I mean, you're leaning towards Fox News. Hegseth. I'm gonna keep bringing up that name. I understand he served our country honorably as a soldier, but to go from being a weakened host on Fox News to being the Secretary of Defense for the United States of America overseeing three and a half million people seems insane. Now, in fairness to him, the Megyn Kelly's of the world have been on this show defending that. I've spoken to Mark Levin. I'VE spoken to Sean Hannity, I've spoken to Will Kane. People like that, they all support it. All right, fine. I'm just saying it is a bit alarming because it seems at times like the primary prerequisite for a job in the Trump administration is to love on Trump. I'm not saying he should hire somebody that hates on him. I'm not saying he should hire someone who would be disloyal. I'm not saying he should hire somebody that can't. That can't stand them. But damn, the people that he picking are folks that would say and do anything it appears for him. And I don't know how wise that part is. But I'm not gonna sit here and tell you she's not qualified for the position. I'm not gonna sit here and tell you that because she is a former prosecutor who has knowledge of the law. And when I. People that I spoke to, she had a damn good reputation as a prosecutor. Whether they were telling the truth or not, I don't know. I'm just telling you what they told me. So I can't say. But so more. But so much more than that, it pales in comparison to what I really, really want to get to. And that's former President Biden, who appeared on the View yesterday and took responsibility for President Trump's historic return to the White House. Biden maintains he would have been trusted Trump had he stayed in the race and pushed back on claims of any cognitive decline in his final year in office. Here's a portion of what President Biden's comments from the show yesterday about Vice President Kamala Harris and her failed presidential run. Here's what he said. Quote, I wasn't surprised. He says he wasn't surprised by her failed presidential run. Not because I didn't think the vice president was qualified to be president. She is. She's qualified to be president of the United States of America. I was surprised because they went the sexist route, the whole route. This is a woman. She's this, she's that. Really, I've never seen as successful and consistent of a campaign undercutting the notion that a woman couldn't lead the country and a woman of mixed race, end quote. Bs. That's straight bs See, I'm not gonna let y' all get away with that. I'm not gonna let you get away with that. That. They said we were hearing the same thing About Hillary in 2016, Hillary won the popular vote by over 3 million votes. She didn't win Electoral College vote why was that? James Comey comes out with some report about deleted emails, 33,000 plus a couple of weeks or so before the election. What misogyny got to do with that? That Kamala Harris goes on A View knowing that you had open borders, knowing the crisis it caused in this country, knowing that there was an economy that was compromised by inflation, knowing there was crimes in the streets, knowing there was those kind of things going on. And she went on A View. When they asked if there's anything that she would do differently than you were doing in your administration, President Biden, she said, I, I really can't think of anything. Everybody knows that's when she sealed her fate. Everybody knows that. But that doesn't even come close to equating the damage you did, sir. You and the former first Lady Jill Biden, both of you. Now, Jill Biden, I'm not going to blame but so much because that's her husband and she was standing by her husband. So when he went on the stage June 27 for a debate and completely looked inept, off or out of sync and everything in between, it was you that walked out on that stage minutes later and said, you want to thank him and applaud him for doing an outstanding job. You answered every question. You did this, you did that. And then you go on the View and admit it was a flat out lie. It was a flat out lie. And that you knew you were lying. You went on the View and you said he was awful, it was bad, but that ain't what you told the voters out there. And now you're hiding behind the notion that you weren't going to let one moment, one bad moment, ruin a presidency. What was one bad moment? Actually, it was many because we saw him. There were times that we saw him and he had no business being seen. Remember when former President Barack Obama had to guide him off a stage where he didn't know where he was going? Remember when he was at the world summit in G7, if I, if I remember correctly, and everybody was standing together, but he was fading away and drifting away and they had to guide him back to the line. Remember that? Remember the times that he was mumbling incoherently? There was a analyst that came on Chris Cuomo show. I think it was Scaramucci, if I remember correctly, but I'm not sure. Anthony Scaramucci. And he came on Chris Cuomo show on News Nation and he said, the night of June 27, when Joe Biden debated Donald Trump, he said that he looked like an elderly person in a nursing home, waiting to be fed applesauce. And as sad as that vivid kind of picture depicting the President at the time was, no one refuted it. No one. Which brings me to the other point. You see, none of that is a big deal, sir, if you're over 80 years of age, which there's no shame in it. And you serve this country the way that you served in the Senate for decades, in the presidency for the three previous years. But in 2020, when you were elected, before you took office In January of 2021, you swore to the American public that you were there to be a transitional president. You were coming for one term. You just wanted to get America's House back in order and get us removed from the chaos that had ravaged us for years in the streets of America. And you were supposed to be transitional. You got there, the Dems fought off a red wave, nullified it. Actually, it wasn't what the Republicans thought it was going to be. The Democrats won the midterms, and you were feeling yourself and you didn't want to surrender power. So you went back on your word as a transitional president. Your wife did everything she could to cover for you, knowing that there was slippage. And now we're walking around and what are we hearing right now? President Joe Biden? We're hearing that at 82 years of age, okay, which is what you are about to be. You talking about writing a book. And a book is going to be out in about a year, and that's about right around the time that the midterms are coming out, that the midterms will take place. So is it possible that what you're doing is, what you're saying is I'm going to come out with a tell all book and I'm a dime, everybody out, and I'm a call out the Democratic Party so you can somehow get in the way of whatever success they're hoping to reap in the 2026 midterms. Is that what you're doing, sir? Sure sounds like it. See, this is the sickening part of politics. This is what they mean when they talk about people eating their own because you ain't giving a damn. You didn't want to leave office after promising you would serve one term. You tried to stay in power, and somehow they were able to hoodwink you in the embracing the presidential debate against Donald Trump three months before any presidential debate had ever taken place. You got exposed. And then what do the Democrats do? They put Kamala Harris in there, bypassing primaries like Every other candidate would have to experience in large part because in 2020, she couldn't even get to Iowa. And then you sold the American public on this is what we want, this is who we want, et cetera, et cetera. Come to find out it's a whole bunch of lies. But the reality is, is you're not far removed from it Joe Biden, because had you kept your word and committed yourself to being a transitional president and making room very early for candidates to come down the line for the Democratic nomination for the presidency of the United States, all the things that. All the things that happened in the aftermath would not have been necessary. But you didn't care. Instead, you want to talk about what's for the good of the country. How could you possibly think you would have beaten Trump when inflation was taking place, when open borders had ravaged us, when they were in Ukraine against Russia was fomented even more when the Hamas are Israeli palace Hamas Israeli conflict took fold with all of this stuff happening months removed from office when no one really cares to hear from you at this particular juncture, you're going to go on a BBC network and then in the aftermath of that the view and you're going to bad talk Kamala Harris. You say you wasn't. But when you say you would have beaten Trump and that you knew she would have lost, that's bad talking her. Why did you. Why did you leave out that you didn't put her in a position to win because you refused to step away. If you had kept your word about being a transitional president and you had made it very clear early that you would only serve one term, it would have paved the way for her to run for the office herself and campaign with ample time to do so. If she is what you say she is, that she's qualified to be the President of the United States of America, you could have helped her. Not just come in at the last minute and give her an endorsement to take a shot reportedly at Barack Obama and the George Clooneys of the world and others. You could have helped her, but you didn't. And now when you have an opportunity to walk away into the twilight and live your final years, you talking about coming out with a book. It has to be a tell oil to get you any money. Has to be a tell all. It's a sinister game and you know it's bad when you can't stop playing it in your 80s. I'm not taking any tweets. I have nothing more to say. I got too much to do this weekend. I'm about to get out of here. But it's a damn shame. It's a damn shame. All of this stuff that the left wants to complain about with Trump, all of this stuff that they want to complain about, whether it's Elon Musk and Doge from weeks ago, or is the tariffs over the last few weeks, or is what's he going to do with. With Harvard, or what's he going to do with freedom of speech, or what's he going to do with HBCUs and all of these other damn questions. If Biden had kept his word, stepped away, if the Democrats had held them to it, had the strength to hold them to it, and by Democrats. I'm not talking about just elected officials. I'm talking about donors. All of this noise might have been prevented. Once again, my latest example of you bringing it on yourself. You brought it on yourself. Before I get on out of here, I want to show y' all my latest acting exploits on network television this week. For those of you who didn't see me on Law and Order Thursday night, NBC, by the way, take a look now. Oh, Lord, you. Hold on, hold on. New glasses. New glasses. Yeah.

Nephew (69:32)

I'm representing the Nick Movement. I was gonna put the hoodie on while we was. While we was recording. Excuse me.

Stephen A. Smith (69:39)

No, no. No hoodies.

Nephew (69:41)

No, you don't.

Stephen A. Smith (69:42)

What hat do you have on?

Nephew (69:44)

Oh, my hat. It's a trucker hat.

Stephen A. Smith (69:49)

Okay. It's a trucker hat for somebody that never drives a truck. Okay, Go ahead. Where's the tower? The Nick Tower? Is that the Nick Tower that you had on your head?

Nephew (69:55)

Yeah. And since you're an actor now, you and Spike Lee need to link up this weekend. Why make a movie? Because we all voted that you don't need to be nowhere near the Garden. You know him?

Stephen A. Smith (70:09)

Why not? Why not Spike? I understand why you would say me, and I'll be there Monday, by the way, but why not Spike?

Nephew (70:16)

I mean, you famous for saying we haven't won since 73. Spike had the same seat for 40 years. It gotta be you.

Brian Windhorst (70:24)

What?

Stephen A. Smith (70:24)

Gotta be me?

Nephew (70:25)

No, it has to be him. Like, we haven't won since Spike has been sitting there. So give me the seat.

Stephen A. Smith (70:30)

So it's our fault? It's our fault. Why won't it give me the seat?

Nephew (70:33)

Since I picked the Knicks. Unlike you, every show you win the seven platforms and pick the Celtics.

Stephen A. Smith (70:42)

That's right.

Nephew (70:42)

And then wanna scream orange and blue skies when we win.

Stephen A. Smith (70:45)

Hold on. Well, listen. Cause I'm happy Just because I picked them to lose doesn't mean I'm wishing that they lose. It's just that I didn't believe they had a better team. And I still don't believe they're the better team. They're not better than the Boston Celtics. I don't know what's going on with the Boston Celtics right now, but actually I do. But let me ask you, what do you think is going on? Well, educate me, please.

Nephew (71:03)

I was just about to say, since I'm really an analyst, I said that we have two people that we refer to as Wingstop. They're coming through in the clutch every time. Not offensively, you said. Who's that?

Stephen A. Smith (71:20)

Who's that? Mikel Bridges.

Nephew (71:23)

Mikel Bridges and OG but we gonna go to your clip first. Cause you was trying to show it. Then we gonna get right back to this. We got some stuff to talk about.

Stephen A. Smith (71:31)

So you interrupted. You interrupted my Law and Order clip that I was gonna show just to get your camera time?

Nephew (71:37)

Nah, just to tell you to stay clear of the Garden this weekend. Just stay clear. We just need you to stay clear. Give me the ticket. Give me a seat.

Stephen A. Smith (71:44)

Can we watch the scene?

Nephew (71:45)

Let's watch it. Let's watch it. It was good. It was good. Let's watch it.

Stephen A. Smith (71:47)

Let's watch it. Let's watch it. You make 8 million a year, man, and you broke it out of here. You can believe me today or you can believe the bank when they come and take the keys to your house. You got to make changes, bro. And, oh, by the way, I'm keeping my 5%. You ain't getting that back. What's the problem? You really just asked me to. Yeah. Turn around. What does Jimmy do? How about Tommy? How about Marco? I don't know, man. They just part of him. How many people you think you have on your payroll? Six? Eleven. But it's time to be real. You ain't LeBron. You ain't KD. You damn sure ain't Ant. Man, you a grinder rotation player. You damn sure ain't large enough to be having some entourage. You got a big damn heart. But you just turned 30. If you're lucky, you got three, maybe four years left. So you saying you want me to fire some of my boys? Come on, Ted. No, that ain't cool. Wanna hear about cool? I don't care about cool. I care about you. I care about your family, your kids, your future. That's what I'm thinking about. So guess what? Your agent ain't asking you to get Rid of some of your boys. I'm asking you to get rid of all of them. Every living one of them. That's not so easy. I grew up with them when all of this was just a fantasy. I owe them. I owe them. You want me to do it for you, nephew? That was pretty damn good. You gotta give it up. That's pretty damn good.

Nephew (73:30)

It's pretty good because I prepared you for that moment your whole life. It looked like you was talking to me. It looked like you was talking to me. And you know what I'm talking about now.

Stephen A. Smith (73:40)

And you know it looked like I was talking to you. Yes, except that you never employed 11 people in your life. You see what I'm saying? That's the only problem with that. That's the only problem with that analogy.

Nephew (73:49)

Not yet, but it's coming. So, you know, one other thing that you're gonna have a problem with? You was about to let the show end without mentioning Mother's Day. Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith (74:02)

I have to.

Nephew (74:03)

So since we're rich now, I asked your sister. I'm like, what you want for Mother's Day? And you know her. Oh, I don't want any object. I just want you to come to church. So I'm like, church? So she's like, yeah, It's Saturday at 3.

Stephen A. Smith (74:18)

Watch. Watch your mouth. Be very careful with what you're about to say. Be very careful. Don't be stupid.

Nephew (74:23)

Saturday at three. Okay, we know what else is Saturday at three.

Stephen A. Smith (74:27)

Oh, so she asked you to come Saturday at three?

Nephew (74:30)

Yeah. Talking about Pastor Anthony wants. Pastor Anthony is his first name Carmelo?

Stephen A. Smith (74:35)

Yo.

Brian Windhorst (74:36)

Yeah.

Nephew (74:36)

It's not happening.

Stephen A. Smith (74:37)

Let me tell you something right now. Are you ready for this, Josh? Are you ready for this?

Nephew (74:40)

Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith (74:41)

High five. Virtually high five. Cause I agree with you 1000%. Exactly. Exactly. Absolutely. Absolutely true. We can't have her trying to get you to church on Saturday afternoon at the same time the Knicks game start. Now, that's. She can't do that. She can't do that. A Sunday, that would have been. But a Saturday afternoon.

Nephew (75:01)

And that's what I'm saying. And since we speaking about that, my seat on Saturday. I can't be outside the Garden that day. And can you at least do that, deck, so that the fans could believe that. You a fan?

Stephen A. Smith (75:13)

I can get you a seat in the upper deck. I get you.

Nephew (75:20)

I need to be in the mix on the floor. I'm taking over.

Stephen A. Smith (75:24)

I can't. I can't. Huh? I can't do that. I can't. You. You just don't have that kind of pull yet.

Nephew (75:28)

No, it's not. No, no, no, it's not pull. You got a hundred million in the bank. It doesn't matter how much it cost. It can't cost that much, huh?

Stephen A. Smith (75:35)

Well, well, well. Education, education. Whatever salary I earn, it comes bi month, you know, bi weekly, so. And it don't start really till this summer. So it's not like I. I mean, ain't got nothing in the bank. I don't know what you talking about.

Nephew (75:53)

You speaking on the hundred that we just got. But what about the 40 before that? I know all your contracts don't play with us. We've been rich. I'm about to switch his hood up. We've been rich. We just rich. Er, now.

Brian Windhorst (76:04)

Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith (76:04)

All right, so why is it that I don't, you know, first of all, I wouldn't want a hoodie like that. Secondly, you need to take the damn thing off and put Josh or the Knicks or something. You need to stop walking around with that before somebody beat your ass and take the damn hoodie.

Nephew (76:16)

Since you wish.

Stephen A. Smith (76:17)

Since you rich, you could take it. Right. Thirdly, that we didn't get to the most important question. You didn't. You didn't really articulate what you thought about my acting performance. I thought I was pretty damn good. I really did. I really did. I'm saying you just give it up.

Nephew (76:32)

You was good. I need to see you do a role that's different from how you act in real life. You always in somebody's face. You always telling somebody what to do that's right in your realm and they know that. I need to see you play something else. Like, like somebody's husband.

Stephen A. Smith (76:48)

What?

Nephew (76:48)

You ain't never been there.

Stephen A. Smith (76:50)

I've never been somebody's husband.

Nephew (76:52)

You know? You ain't never been somebody, husband. Why you ask that?

Stephen A. Smith (76:55)

I mean, that, that, that, that, that. That's relatively easy. That's relatively easy for me. I'm not the one devoid of etiquette. Knowing how to treat a lady and knowing how to make sure she feels special. That's not the problem. I have. I mean it. I mean, who's the one that needs help? Who's the one that needs therapy? In that department, that would be you.

Nephew (77:15)

So. So without the money. Without the money. Minus the money.

Stephen A. Smith (77:19)

Right. Okay.

Nephew (77:20)

Me and you want the same woman. You think you're gonna get a.

Stephen A. Smith (77:24)

Why wouldn't I?

Nephew (77:25)

I said without the money.

Stephen A. Smith (77:27)

I said without the money. Who do you think you learn most of the. Assuming you have gifts, who do you think you learned them? From who have you been seeking advice from all of these decades? Excuse me? See, See, that's the lack of respect you have right there. Because I would never say that about Uncle Basil, God rest his soul. My big brother. I would never say that about Uncle Frankie, God rest his soul. My. My uncle who passed away in 2006. I would never say that about cousin Carl, Derek, Keith, anybody, Any of the people you know, Grandpa, any of the people who bestowed a level of knowledge and wisdom. Never assume you're superior to the teacher. See, you don't know that. That's your damn problem.

Nephew (78:13)

You remember what you said in here?

Stephen A. Smith (78:15)

What did I say?

Nephew (78:17)

I. You know what? We not even gonna. We're not gonna focus on that. Between me and you, if we going after the same girl, you would never get her without the money.

Stephen A. Smith (78:31)

So it's only money. I mean, are you telling me we rewinding the clock and I'm. I'm. This is me 25 years younger. That's what you do want.

Nephew (78:42)

It could be whatever you want. I just know what I got comes naturally. I ain't learn it from y' all.

Stephen A. Smith (78:47)

You. You know, you. You have no. First of all, that's ridiculous. You never learned. See, that's the ignorance.

Nephew (78:51)

I didn't learn what I got.

Stephen A. Smith (78:51)

You are truly ignorant. Excuse me, I feel. I feel. But let me tell you something. Well, what you got, naturally, is DNA, is genes. So you thought you was the first. You think it started with you. You know what I'm saying? What you talking about?

Nephew (79:05)

What you talking about? I got a rich swag. Y' all couldn't have had that in the book? It says y' all was poor.

Stephen A. Smith (79:13)

You have a sw. You have a rich swag because you hang out and steal from your uncle. That's what you do. Well, see, my point is that if this was 20 years, 25 years earlier, there'd be no rich uncle, which means you wouldn't have that swag, which means that you'd have to look like your broke ass self.

Nephew (79:32)

My swag is not my look.

Brian Windhorst (79:34)

Look.

Nephew (79:34)

My swag is me. What I throw on is what I throw on. If you wear this, they're gonna be like, why Stephen A got on that?

Stephen A. Smith (79:39)

Can I ask you a question? Well, if that's the case, and you got so much swag.

Nephew (79:44)

Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith (79:44)

You know, I know a lot of people that work at the Garden. A lot of them females.

Nephew (79:49)

Oh, yeah?

Stephen A. Smith (79:51)

How come you don't know?

Nephew (79:52)

Are you encouraging me?

Stephen A. Smith (79:54)

No, no, no. I'm saying, how come you can't get tickets to the Garden.

Nephew (79:58)

If I go that route. I could, but I don't want you in the tabloids, you know, It's a lot going on already.

Stephen A. Smith (80:03)

You. So in other words, you're thinking of me.

Nephew (80:07)

Thinking of you. As I always do. And you know that. And you know that.

Stephen A. Smith (80:12)

Goodbye, man.

Nephew (80:13)

Garden. Garden tomorrow, 3:30.

Stephen A. Smith (80:15)

Listen, you know what? Hey. Hey, Josh. For you. For you.

Nephew (80:18)

Goodbye. Get out of here.

Stephen A. Smith (80:24)

That's it for this edition of the Stephen A. Smith Show. Y' all take it easy. You see my nephew with the Knicks? Yeah, we there. We there. We like that. I'm gonna live that lie. I'm gonna tell you that Boston's gonna win just so they could lose. Cuz that's the trend that's been flowing. We gonna roll with that. Until next time, y' all, this is Stephen A. Signing off. Peace and love. AT T has a new guarantee. Because most things in life are not guaranteed. Like getting through self checkout by yourself. Not guaranteed. In a world where Nothing is guaranteed. AT&T is bringing something new to the table. AT&T is introducing a guarantee with connectivity you can depend on, deals you want and service you deserve or they make it right. Learn more@att.com guaranty@&t connecting changes everything. Terms and conditions apply. Visit att.com guaranty for details. Get in the zone. AutoZone. Welcome to AutoZone. What are you working on today? Worried about your battery and the heat? We get it. You don't want to get stranded somewhere with a car that feels like an oven. We've got you covered. At AutoZone, America's number one battery destination. Our free battery testing and charging service can help. And if you need a battery, we'll help you find a new one. No problem. Power through with free battery test, testing and charging at AutoZone. Get in the zone. Auto zone restrictions apply. You're listening to an iHeart podcast.