Full Show: Warriors beat Rockets, KD to Houston? | Trump's Hollywood Tariff | Diddy's Jury Selection

Summary

The Stephen A. Smith Show - Episode Summary
Release Date: May 6, 2025
Episode Title: Warriors beat Rockets, KD to Houston? | Trump's Hollywood Tariff | Diddy's Jury Selection

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1. NBA Playoffs: Warriors Defeat Rockets

Key Highlights:

• Golden State Warriors' Victory: The Warriors triumphed over the Houston Rockets with a score of 103-89, advancing to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs to face the Minnesota Timberwolves.

• Steph Curry's Stellar Performance:
  Stephen A. Smith (00:00):
  “Steph Curry, 22 points on 50% shooting, 4 of 10 from 3, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks. Played 46 to 48 minutes at the age of 37.”

  • Curry showcased exceptional skill, particularly in Game 7, where he scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter.

• Buddy Heeled's Impact:
  Stephen A. Smith (02:45):
  “Buddy Heeled dropped 33 points on the Rockets, shooting 12 for 15 and hitting nine three-pointers.”

  • Heeled played a pivotal role, effectively filling the void left by Klay Thompson and earning comparisons to Thompson's past playoff performances.

• Draymond Green's Consistency:
  Stephen A. Smith (04:15):
  “Draymond Green scored 16 points and started the game strong with multiple three-pointers, reaffirming his value to the team.”

  • Green continues to be a crucial player, maintaining his reputation as a reliable force during high-stakes games.

Notable Quotes:

• Stephen A. Smith (03:10):
  “Steph Curry is one of the greatest ever. He's absolutely spectacular, no question about it.”

2. Critique of James Harden's Playoff Performances

Key Highlights:

• James Harden's Underperformance:
  Stephen A. Smith (07:22):
  “James Harden was held to seven points on 2 of 8 shooting in Game 7, continuing a pattern of poor performances in critical moments.”

  • Harden's recent playoff game sevens have been lackluster, impacting the Clippers' chances negatively.

• Historical Context:
  Stephen A. Smith (09:42):
  “James Harden has lost four game sevens with four different teams. This is a blemish on his otherwise stellar career.”

  • Despite his accolades, Harden's inability to perform in decisive games raises concerns about his postseason reliability.

Notable Quotes:

• Stephen A. Smith (10:47):
  “James Harden is nowhere to be found in game sevens. It's a choke job.”

3. Sean "Diddy" Combs’ Federal Trial: Jury Selection Begins

Key Highlights:

• Trial Overview:
  Stephen A. Smith (18:27):
  “Jury selection has begun in the federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs, with prosecutors alleging long-term abuse and exploitation.”

  • Combs faces severe charges that could result in a life sentence if convicted.

• Defense Strategy & Plea Deal Rejection:
  Stephen A. Smith (25:00):
  “Combs turned down a plea deal offered by federal prosecutors, indicating confidence in his ability to win the trial.”

  • The defense is preparing to challenge the prosecution's narrative, emphasizing consensual encounters and attacking the credibility of witnesses.

• Legal Analysis by Ellie Honing:
  Ellie Honing (19:24):
  “The case is sound with a strong indictment, but the defense will likely argue that witnesses have compromised credibility due to cooperation deals.”

  • Honing anticipates a challenging prosecution case, noting the high conviction rates of the Southern District of New York.

Notable Quotes:

• Ellie Honing (21:14):
  “Jury selection isn't just the big deal, it's the whole ball game. These are the people who decide the case.”

• Stephen A. Smith (27:28):
  “The prosecution’s video evidence of Combs assaulting his ex-girlfriend is devastating and will significantly impact the jury.”

4. President Trump's 100% Tariff on Foreign Films

Key Highlights:

• Tariff Announcement:
  Stephen A. Smith (37:33):
  “President Donald Trump announced a 100% tariff on all films produced outside the United States, citing national security threats and the decline of the American movie industry.”

  • The move aims to incentivize domestic film production by penalizing foreign-made films.

• Impact on Hollywood:
  Stephen A. Smith (39:14):
  “This is part of Trump's broader strategy to exert pressure on industries and individuals who have opposed him.”

  • Major studios and streaming services reacted negatively, with stock prices for companies like Netflix and Paramount declining.

• Industry Response:
  Stephen A. Smith (43:36):
  “Hollywood is likely to reach out to the White House to negotiate and mitigate the impact of these tariffs.”

  • The imposition of tariffs is expected to lead to fewer and more expensive films, potentially harming the U.S. film industry's competitiveness.

Notable Quotes:

• Stephen A. Smith (38:11):
  “We can pass words all we want, but in the end, the president can easily surmise this is just his latest element in the revenge tour.”

• Stephen A. Smith (41:08):
  “He’s going to have producers and studios in Hollywood reach out to him to secure favors in exchange for maintaining their business operations in the U.S.”

5. Additional Discussions

Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever:

• Stephen A. Smith (51:33):
  “Caitlin Clark continues to dominate in the WNBA, setting records and showcasing her exceptional talent.”
  • Clark’s performance is highlighted as a beacon of excellence in women’s basketball, with Smith expressing excitement for her future.

Giants Rookie Linebacker Abdul Carter:

• Stephen A. Smith (55:00):
  “Abdul Carter’s request to wear retired numbers has been rejected, emphasizing respect for franchise legends.”
  • Smith critiques Carter’s approach, advocating for players to earn their accolades through performance rather than seeking honors preemptively.

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Conclusion

This episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show delved into significant sports and societal issues, providing in-depth analysis and unfiltered opinions. From celebrating the Warriors' playoff success and critiquing Harden's playoff struggles to discussing the high-stakes legal battle of Sean "Diddy" Combs and President Trump's controversial tariffs on foreign films, Stephen A. Smith offers a comprehensive view of current events impacting sports, entertainment, and beyond.

Notable Closing Quote:

• Stephen A. Smith (65:09):
  “Remember, this is the Stephen A. Smith Show. Stephen A. Himself signing off. Peace and love, everybody.”

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For those who missed the episode, this summary captures the essential discussions and insights presented by Stephen A. Smith and his guest analysts.

Transcript

[Stephen A. Smith]

You're listening to an iHeart podcast. 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 and of course, iHeartRadio. As always, I'd like to pause for a moment to take just to pay gratitude to my listeners and my subscribers and followers. Can't thank y'all for the love and support enough. We've eclipsed millions of downloads courtesy of iheartradio over the last few months and obviously when it comes to our subscribers on YouTube, we've gone over 1.2 million. So I can't thank y'all enough for the love and support. Enough. Keep it coming. And I'm gonna keep on coming to continue to like and follow the show. Just click the bell to get notified for all of our newest content and you too shall consider yourself the latest member of the Stephen A. Smith show family. And while you're doing that, please make sure to pick up a copy of my New York Times best selling book, Straight Shooter, A memoir of second chances and first takes, now in paperback. Just go to straight shooter book.com to get yourself a copy. Once again, that's straight shooter book.com to get yourself a copy. Let's get started with the NBA playoffs, right? I got a lot of stuff to get into, but I got to start with the NBA playoffs and the conclusion of the first round that we saw in Houston last night. That's where the Golden State warriors beat the Houston Rockets 103 to 89. They advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs of the semifinals in the Western Conference, that is to face the Minnesota Timberwolves. The warriors were led by Buddy Healed, who dropped 33 on the Rockets on 12 for 15 shooting, hit nine three pointers. By the way, I'll get to Houston in their future in just a moment, but I want to start off with Steph Draymond and this version of the Golden State warriors by saying this, this Brother, Steph Curry, 22 points of 50 shooting, 4 of 10 from 3. Team High 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks. Played 46 to 48 minutes at the age of 37. Scored 14 of his 22 points. Game 7 in the fourth quarter on 5 or 6 shooting from the field. Okay, and him and healed combined for 25 points on 82% shooting five or six from three in the fourth quarter of game seven as well. So Curry in game sevens, his record is 4:2. And in those game sevens. He's averaged 30.8 points per game on 42 shooting from three point range. He's improved to 5 and 0 all time in playoff series against the Houston Rockets. He's one of the greatest ever. It's. We just can't say any longer that he's the greatest shooter God has ever created. He's one of the greatest ever. He's absolutely spectacular, no question about it. And he shows up in big moments when they count most. And he deserves a lot of credit for that because I'm about to tell you somebody who doesn't in just a little bit. But before I get into that, let's give Draymond Green some props as well. Not just because of his 16 points, not just because he started off the game hitting a couple of three pointers, not just because he showed up in a Game 7 in a big moment yet again. It's because he's the same Draymond Green that spent All Star weekend guaranteeing the basketball world to Golden State warriors is going to win the championship. And maybe they won't. In all likelihood they won't. But he ain't dead. He ain't dead yet. He's still alive. Jimmy Butler didn't have to have that big of a game because he was deferential as he needed to be to Buddy Healed, who essentially played the role of Klay Thompson. Because if you remember Klay Thompson when he dropped 41 against OKC in the playoffs many years back, if you can remember that Klay Thompson had dropped 37 points in one quarter one time. If you remember that marksman wizard that departed from the Golden State warriors last year to join the Dallas Mavericks. You were wondering what were the Golden State warriors going to do in the absence of a Clay Thompson's Brijinski. As good as he is, he ain't clay. But somebody who looked like Clay last night was Buddy Healed. He was spectacular, biggest game of his career easily. So he deserves a lot of credit and a lot of props for the job that he put forth. Having said all of that, I want to go to Houston and Jalen Green, Fred Van Vliet, major props to him, player option on his deal this summer. Houston will all like in all likelihood will keep him. But the bottom line is we got to get to Houston in this regard. They came into the players of the second seed out west and lost to Golden State. They've got a young squad and a well coached by IME Udoka. Okay. However, that clearly wasn't enough as the Rockets struggled to Find a consistent scorer throughout the first round. Why am I bringing that up? Because you can't talk about the Houston Rockets today without talking about Jalen Green. I know he's young, but he ain't ready. He ain't ready and you know, I was disappointed. Ladies and gentlemen, you can't be a 20 point per game scorer in the face of your franchise. And in six of the seven games that you play as the primary scorer, you score 7, 9, 8, 11, 12 and 8. That's not the face of a franchise. Now, he had 38 points a game too, but that's when Jimmy Butler got hurt and went down. I mean, Jimmy Butler might as well have been Freddy Krueger or Jason from Friday the 13th because that's how Jalen Green looked in six of the seven games. Which is why the Houston Rockets have to prioritize going out and getting Kevin Durant from Phoenix. You got a couple of picks, you got a few players. Whether it's Jalen Green with Jabari Smith and a couple of Eastern or somebody else, you got to go out and get Kevin Durant. You know, that 27 point per game scorer, one of the most prolific scorers ever, who's ever existed in NBA history. That brother who would be coached by Ime Udoka, who would be backed up by the Van Vliets, Anna Amin Thompson's of the world, who's going to be a stud that that second year player or Shoon, that brother, you need Kevin Durant and you need him bad. You got Stephen Adams, one of his former teammates, already there. You add Kevin Durant to that, mix with him and Shoon, all right, With Amin Thompson, with Eme Udoka coaching them, they can make some noise in even in the Western Conference. I know there's people out there saying, why Houston? Why not Detroit in the Eastern Conference is an easier path to the Finals. Fair enough. But if Kevin Durant got to be out west and he got to go to Houston and be coached by Emei Udoka, I think Eme Udoka is a Kevin Durant caliber scorer away from winning the championship. That's what I believe. That's what I believe. And to be honest with you, even though I picked Golden State to win the series in seven games, I'm so very glad that they did because I don't want to see Houston against Minnesota. Houston has a difficult time scoring. They can't shoot the three, they can't shoot perimeter shots.

[Guest Analyst]

Really, if they're not missing making layups.

[Stephen A. Smith]

They ain't doing anything. They got to play up tempo. They got to push the pace and they got to make layups.

[Guest Analyst]

They ain't even reliable at the free throw line. You need Kevin Durant badly or a Devin Booker. I'm just saying, I know Phoenix ain't.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Giving up Devin Booker, but that's what you need. It really, really is, and let's see if they get it. Let me transition to my next subject because it's uncomfortable but necessary.

[Guest Analyst]

I want to talk about one more.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Team that lost this weekend, and that's the Los Angeles Clippers. Clippers lost Game 7 to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, 120 to 101. It wasn't even that close. Okay, it wasn't even that close. They were down by as much as 35. Let's get that out the way. And if you think that was bad, don't let me get started with James Harden, who was a no show yet again for the Clippers. Harden, mostly guarded by Christian Braun, I might add. I'm sitting down when I say this. He was held to seven points on 2 of 8 shooting.

[Guest Analyst]

Harden now holds a 3 and 4.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Career record in game sevens with each of his losses to a different team. He's lost four game sevens with four different teams.

[Guest Analyst]

His last win came in a bubble.

[Stephen A. Smith]

With the Houston Rockets in 2020. Now, Harden left Denver on Saturday night without speaking to the media. No surprise there. That's usually what he does, and that's on him. But I got to tell you something right now, it's so bad, it's hard to really, really put into words. Because when I think about Harden, here's what I want y'all to know. James Harden played 35 minutes, attempted eight shots. The Clippers were outscored by 29 points. With Harden on the court, he's now lost four of his last five playoff series. Overall, his combined game for the last four game sevens James Harden has played with. He has a combined one and three record. Three straight losses, 13.8 points per game, 14 of 51 field goals. That's 27%. Five of 30 from three point range. That's 17%. This James Harden. There's a dude that averaged 30 in his sleep for years.

[Guest Analyst]

This is a dude that won the.

[Stephen A. Smith]

League scoring title, won a league MVP.

[Guest Analyst]

Won multiple scoring titles, won a league MVP.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Ladies and gentlemen, in game sevens, he's attempting 51 shots in four games. Can somebody explain that?

[Guest Analyst]

That doesn't even equate to 13 shots a game.

[Stephen A. Smith]

How is that possible?

[Guest Analyst]

27 from the field, 2017 from three point range, ladies and gentlemen, that's a choke job. When game Sevens arrive, James Harden is nowhere to be found. Wasn't.

[Stephen A. Smith]

With Houston years ago against Golden State.

[Guest Analyst]

Wasn't with Philly a couple of years.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Back when he was in Philly with Doc Rivers against Boston.

[Guest Analyst]

Wasn't this past Saturday night a blowout and annihilation and ass kicking. Now, it wasn't just him. Kawhi Leonard, who averaged, who scored over 20 every single game, wasn't his greatest.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Self, but wasn't awful, but you know.

[Guest Analyst]

He was like a minus 31 on the court. Zubak and others. Norm Powell didn't have the greatest game. Didn't have a good game at all.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I get that part.

[Guest Analyst]

But James Harden, ladies and gentlemen, I'm.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Not talking about the eight points or the seven points. I'm talking about the shot attempts. How in the hell do you take just eight shots in a game seven if you're James Harden? That's like, that's like, that's like hot piece of butter.

[Guest Analyst]

Hot piece of butter. That's what that's about.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Yeah.

[Guest Analyst]

I don't want the ball. Okay, give it the ball. Somebody else.

[Stephen A. Smith]

What's that about? I mean, that's a crying damn shame. He's almost played for as many teams 4 as he's played as he's one playoff series 5 since last reaching the conference finals in 2018. In the last seven years, he's played for as many teams, almost as many teams as playoff series he's won. I just don't know what to say about it anymore. And I still feel so sorry for Steve Ball, a billionaire. You got a new arena. You let Paul George walk away. You invest in Kawhi and James Harden, and James Harden balls out until the playoffs arrive. And then he got and then balled out in game six. Busted living. You know what?

[Guest Analyst]

Had him with 28, had about 28. And then show up in the game.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Seven in Denver and it was like you didn't recognize him. Like he's allergic to game 7. You know what? They're gonna start, they're gonna come up with a fever. It's gonna call James Harden fever. Are you gonna show up in a game seven? Are you gonna have James Harden fever? That's what it's gonna amount to. And that's the crying shame of it all. I can't even emphasize how disappointed I was in the way that he played. I just threw up my hands like, oh, damn. Once again, I got fooled thinking the brother's gonna show up for a game seven and he didn't. I don't know where the Clippers go from here, but the legitimate question to be asked is, what difference does it make if you know that all the man's gonna do is show up in the playoffs and wet the bed? I got mad respect for James Harden. I think he's an incredible player. I think he's a future hall of Famer. But you can't have these blemishes on your resume. My man Big Perk was on First Take this morning. My day job on ESPN every weekday from 10am to noon Eastern standard time. He was like, man, I was tripping. I talked about the best off guards in the history of basketball. I said Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant had James Harden number three ahead of Dwyane Wade. I was tripping. That's what Big Perk said. He said because he couldn't. Because after watching James Harden flop and yet another Game 7 performance, he can't believe he ever thought to put him ahead of D. Wade. And that's correct because D. Wade showed up for game Sevens. But for some reason, this man is allergic to doing so. And I don't think James Harden's reputation ever recovers from this. It's, you know, short of a championship, I don't see how it happened. I really, really, really don't. Coming up, President Trump proposes a 100% tariff on all films made outside of the United States. And stocks tumble for some of the biggest studios and streaming services. I'll get into what it all means straight ahead. But first, jury selection begins in the federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial for Sean Diddy Combs.

[Guest Analyst]

We've got the latest on the trial that could send Diddy to prison for.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Life, by the way. As an aside, I got the Minnesota Timberwolves beating the Golden State warriors in 6. 6 Stephen A. Smith show coming your way. Don't go. Anyway, back one more in a minute.

[Guest Analyst]

All right, folks, I need you all to stop what you're doing and listen up.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You know I love this time of year, right? The NBA playoffs are in full effect.

[Guest Analyst]

And with all this action jumping off.

[Stephen A. Smith]

The Stephen A. Smith show wants to make sure you take advantage of it all.

[Guest Analyst]

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[Stephen A. Smith]

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[Guest Analyst]

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[Stephen A. Smith]

Win or lose. You'll get fifty bucks for playing.

[Guest Analyst]

Use promo code SAS and download the app now, please. Again, download the app and use code SAS to get $50 instantly after your first $5 lineup. Prospects. Hey, hey.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Run your game.

[Guest Analyst]

It's orange and blue skies, baby. Orange and blue skies.

[Stephen A. Smith]

My beloved New York Knicks have advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs.

[Guest Analyst]

So I'll give you my picks for tonight's matchup between the Knicks and the defending NBA champions, the Boston Celtics.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Let's go for it.

[Guest Analyst]

First up, will Jaylen Brunson score more or less than 27 and a half points?

[Stephen A. Smith]

Yes. He's healthy, he's rested, the ball is in his hands. Obviously he gives anybody problems who's guarding against him. He's going to have the ball in his hands, he's going to have the green light, he's going to be the number one option and he can create a shot for his own self, whether it's jump shots, whether it's getting into the lane, get to the free throw line, et cetera. Do I see him scoring more than.

[Guest Analyst]

27 and a half points in this game?

[Stephen A. Smith]

The answer is yes. I'm going with more. Next up, will Carl Anthony Town score more? Less than 20 and a half points? My answer is yes. Even though he's averaged less than that and the four regular season games against the Celtics this year, I would say yes. I'm going with more because he damn well had better do it with a size 21ft with his questionable legs. I don't give a damn. He's still a self proclaimed best shooting big man in basketball. Okay? The brothers been shooting over 50% from the field and from three point range in the four games he's played against Boston this year.

[Guest Analyst]

Don't stop now. Ain't no stopping it now. Do it.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Okay, because the Knicks need all the help they can get against the Boston Celtics. Next, will Mr. Jason Tatum score more or less than 27 1/2 points? Why would I say otherwise when he's averaging 34 against the Knicks this year and they're clearly the better team? I'm gonna go with more on this because Jason Tatum is that dude and the Boston Celtics are a better team and the New York Knicks defense ain't what it used to be. All of those things coupled together. Jaylen. Jason Tatum rather should easily score more than 27 and a half points and I believe he will. And finally, will Jaylen Brown score more or less then 2111 half points? I'm going to go with more because it ain't hard to do, okay? It's what he can do on any given night with relative ease, especially against this Knicks defense. I'm going to go with more for him as well. So there you have it. Jalen Brunson, Carl Anthony Towns, Jason Tatum, Jaylen Brown. More, more, more, more. Because that's what prospects like to do. You say more, that means more money in your pocket. At least some people would like to believe that. It's usually true, though. Prospects will get you paid. Trust me on that.

[Bom Han]

Yo, K Pop fans, it's your boy Bom Han, and I'm bringing you something epic. Introducing the K Factor, the podcast that takes you straight into the heart of K Pop. We're talking music reviews, exclusive interviews, and deep dives into the industry like never before. From producers and choreographers to idols and trainees, we're bringing you the real stories behind the music that you love. And yeah, we're keeping it 100, discussing everything from comebacks and concepts to the mental health side of the business. Because K Pop isn't just a genre, it's a whole world, and we're exploring every corner of it. And here's the best part. Fans get to call in, drop opinions, and even join us live at events. You never know where we might pop up next. So listen to the K factor on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This isn't just a podcast. It's a movement.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Are you ready?

[Bom Han]

Let's go. Let's go.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Welcome back to the Stephen A. Smith Show. Let's get to New York, where jury selection began today in a federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial of Sean Diddy Combs. Federal prosecutors allege Combs used his power and wealth to sexually abuse chorus and exploit alleged victims for decades.

[Guest Analyst]

If convicted, Combs would be spending the.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Rest of his life in federal prison.

[Guest Analyst]

Defense attorneys for Combs contend that all.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Of his sexual encounters were consensual and.

[Guest Analyst]

Have described the music mogul as a swinger who invited third parties into his bedroom. Last week, federal prosecutors offered Combs a chance to plead guilty for reduced sentence.

[Stephen A. Smith]

He turned down that offer. Joining us now, obviously, to discuss the trial, is Ellie Honing, legal analyst for cnn, who's been on this show many times. One of our favorites.

[Guest Analyst]

What's up, Ellie?

[Stephen A. Smith]

How are you, man? How's everything?

[Ellie Honing]

Stephen, this is. This is going to be a fascinating trial. This is the courthouse I used to practice in, so I can bring you inside the huddle on this one.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Well, I Can't wait for you to do that. First things first, him turning down a plea deal for a lesser charge, is.

[Guest Analyst]

That something to be expected?

[Stephen A. Smith]

Should that be considered a surprise? What do you make of that?

[Ellie Honing]

You know, it's an interesting little bit of last minute gamesmanship here. It's not that uncommon for prosecutors to make an offer on the eve of trial. Now the big question is, what were they offering? Right? It's one thing if they were offering him 12 years. It's another thing if they were offering him three years or something like that. The fact that he said no, you know, I guess it depends again on what the offer is. But he's dug in. Look, he appears to believe he's got a shot at winning this trial, otherwise he would have taken that plea. Because the downside here, if he loses this trial, Stephen, he's going to get 15 years minimum, and as you said before, up to life. So Sean Combs and his lawyer must have sat down and said, look, there's a chance to get out of this for less. But, but they're comfortable rolling the dice. Those are very high consequence dice to roll, though.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Let's get to the jury selection, Ellie, which obviously started today. How long should we expect this process to take place?

[Ellie Honing]

So this is federal court. Federal jury selection is way quicker than state jury selection.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Right.

[Ellie Honing]

We've seen state cases drag on for weeks and weeks and weeks. I have had juries selected in multiple murder cases in two days or so. Now we have the complication in this case that everybody knows the defendant. Everyone who comes in there as a prospective juror will have at least heard something about Sean Combs, about Diddy. So that takes longer to wade through. I am certain we will have a jury by the end of the week. If I had to guess, I would say we'll have one by Wednesday. Federal court moves pretty quick when it comes to jury selection.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Given the charges federal prosecutors levied against Diddy, what type of jury should his defense team want to see, actually?

[Ellie Honing]

So this is where the gamesmanship comes in, Stephen, I'll never forget something that when I was a young prosecutor, a veteran defense lawyer who'd been practicing 40, 50 years said to me something like jury selection isn't just the big deal, it's the whole ball game. I mean, these are the people who decide the case. Now let's think about this from the defense side. Like you said, you're Sean Combs, you're Sean Combs, his lawyer. What are you worried about here? To me, it's pretty obvious you Want to avoid anyone who, A, knows about this case, mostly everyone does, and B, just has their mind made up, has already come to some sort of judgment. There will be many, many questions asked of the jurors, the potential jurors. Have you heard about this case? Have you formed any opinions? Could you still consider the evidence fairly? But look, the fact of the matter is this case has gotten an enormous amount of publicity. Sean Combs, since the indictment came down, has been the subject of all sorts of criticism of jokes in the media. And I would be looking out for people who already had their minds made up against him and could not come in there and judge the case fairly and impartially. But the catch, though, Stephen, is a lot of people will say, oh, yeah, I could be fair and impartial. I could put aside everything I've heard. But this is where your gut instinct comes in as a lawyer. I tried a case against John Gotti Jr. Right. Everyone had heard of the guy, okay? A lot of, a lot of jurors said, oh, I could be fair. But then it gets into that gut, like, do I believe him? Am I sensing something weird, that I don't think this person could be impartial? So defense is looking for people who've already convicted the guy, but defense is.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Also looking for people who, who don't, who know little to nothing about the case. I, I would imagine. How plausible is that? And, and considering how high profile he is, that people don't have foregone conclusions because they're completely oblivious to what's going on.

[Ellie Honing]

Right? So you'd be amazed the types of answers you get from these potential jurors who sometimes, like, have barely heard of things. I think everyone's going to have to say they've heard of the guy. I imagine 90% of the people will know, well, I know he was in some trouble, but I actually think you're right. I don't think that many people are going to say, well, I know he's charged with racketeering and sex trafficking and all that. I think they're going to just basically come down to, well, I know he got arrested. I know he's in trouble. I know it has something to do with sex and coercion and that kind of thing. So that's going to be a key question. How much do you know about this case? How much, how much do you know about the charges? Have you read the indictment? Have you seen this story covered on cnn, on Stephen A show? And you're just, it's, it's a Guessing game, right? It really does come down to your instinct. But yeah, if I'm the defense, I would want someone who knows less about the case. But on the other hand, if you get someone who's like, I've never heard of this guy, I've never heard of the case, then you start wondering like, is there something off about this juror? And maybe I don't want that.

[Stephen A. Smith]

What about the defense team from this perspective they've already put out? They described the music mogul as a swinger who invited third parties into his bedroom. I'm like, is that a detail that you wanted to just let out as a defense team? I don't know what to make of that.

[Guest Analyst]

What say you?

[Ellie Honing]

Third parties and fourth parties and fifth parties and six parties, apparently. But that is going to be the defense. And look, I know it's maybe not the greatest PR move in the world, but it's a viable defense. And I think this will be the core of the defense. It'll boil down to maybe he's a freak, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. But there's no federal crime of being a freak. There's no federal crime of having these sort of aggressive, unusual sexual appetites. But going hand in hand with that, that's not going to be enough on its own because you're going to have victims and witnesses testifying who say, he coerced me, he threatened me, he assaulted me. And so they're going to have to combine that maybe he's a swinger, but that's not a crime. With an attack on the victims in the courtroom, they're going to have to suggest that these victims, these witnesses have bad motives. They're looking for a payday. They made up stories about him. It became a pile on. And they all sort of picked up on each other's stories. And that's a common defense you see in these sort of multi victim, multi witness cases. So I think that's exactly what the defense is going to be.

[Guest Analyst]

Since the last time you were on.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Here weeks ago, have there been anything. Has there been anything additional as it pertains to information or, you know, or findings that have transpired over the last few weeks that you find potentially alarming or potentially beneficial to Diddy, to the Diddy case itself?

[Ellie Honing]

Yeah, I've actually been surprised the other way, Stephen, which is, I thought there would be more victims that are charged in the indictment. I thought there would be more expanded charges. Now prosecutors have tweaked this indictment up a little bit. They now reference victim one and victim Two in the indictment. Apparently there's going to be a third victim as well. But given the number of civil suits, the dozens of civil suits, I thought that at some point the prosecution would either be A adding more and more victims than they did and B, adding more and more defendants. This is a very unusual case in that the charge is racketeering, which means in this case they're charging Sean Combs with being at the head running a criminal enterprise, yet he's the only defendant. Now you can do that. R. Kelly is another example of a guy who was a one man racketeering enterprise. But look, I used to charge racketeering cases. I used to teach the course on racketeering within DOJ. My racketeering cases were mob cases. There's 25 guys, 28 guys, 15 guys. So it's unusual and I think a bit surprising to me that the original indictment has more or less remained intact. I would have expected, I think I said to you, Stephen, A, back at the time, I thought that there was going to be bigger expansions of this.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Indictment than there were and because there aren't. Is that an argument the defense makes in his favor? Where the other, where are the other defendants? How come he's the only guy that, that's really being prosecuted here? Why is it that you haven't been able to find anybody else since you're accusing him of racketeering?

[Ellie Honing]

Oh, you bet they're going to make some variation of that argument. They're going to go, oh my goodness, folks, a racketeering enterprise. There must be a lot of people involved. Well folks, guess what? They say he's the whole thing. How about all these other guys? How about these bodyguards? How about these handlers? How about these enablers? Now some of them will testify, some of them have been given deals, they've been given immunity or they've been given non prosecution agreements. So some of these people are going to get on the stand and say, yes, I was part of this, yes, I helped him out, but in exchange for my testimony I've been given a free pass. Now you know what the counter to that is going to be? They got a sweet deal because they're just telling prosecutors whatever prosecutors want to hear. But it's not uncommon. I mean, I mean more cooperation deals than I could even remember. So yeah, that's absolutely going to be a dynamic at this trial. He's the only one. They say this is a one man show. You shouldn't believe that.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Members of the jury, what about the video? Cassie Ventura, his ex Girlfriend where he ran down the hallway half naked and dragged her, throw it to the ground, kicked in all of that stuff. We saw that video. First of all, we don't know. I. I'd like to know whether you believe that's going to be admissible in this court case number one. And number two, the fact that she's agreed to testify against him according to the reports. How damning do you believe there is to protect potential for that to be?

[Ellie Honing]

I think that video is the prosecution's single most important and most powerful piece of evidence. It will come in, by the way, that was the subject of a pretrial ruling. The judge said, yes, you may play the video. Now the question is going to be, what's the relevance? What's the context around it? It appears the prosecutors are going to argue this was part of him threatening, forcing, coercing, abusing this woman as part of his effort to traffic her across state lines for sexual purposes. Apparently the defense is going to be, no, this had nothing to do with the sex trafficking ring or coercion. This was a fight they were having over infidelity. And, you know, I think Cassie will be. Cassandra will be the most important witness for the prosecution. But the attack on her is going to be, she's a liar. She's telling them what they want to hear. She's looking to raise her own profile. She's got a bad financial incentive. And so, look, so much of this just comes down to the jurors are going to be sitting feet away from her. I mean, I've been in these courtrooms. They're going to be four feet away from her. And so much of it is just going to come down to how they assess her demeanor. What does she look like, how does she deliver her answers? Is she credible? From what I've seen of her in public, she seems quite credible to me. But people don't always play the same on the witness stand as they do in front of a camera.

[Stephen A. Smith]

What about the documentaries and stuff like that that have been put out about, about him and some of the allegations against him and people essentially co signing on what he's being accused of because they're highlighting his behavior or what it was throughout these years? How much of an impact, if any at all, do you expect that to have?

[Ellie Honing]

So prosecutors cannot obviously just play the documentaries or pieces of the documentaries for the jurors. Right. That would be inadmissible. However, if there's a witness on the stand who has previously spoken in one of these documentaries, and there will be Many of those, everything they've said previously can be used to cross examine them, to impeach them, as we say. So if a witness gets on the stand and says something a little different than what he or she said in a documentary, or leaves out a detail or adds a detail that they didn't say in the documentary, then that's absolutely fair game for cross examination. And I assume in this case, if the prosecutors are any good at their jobs, and I'm sure they are, it's my former office, they have not just whatever the documentaries are, but the raw footage that came before it. Because a lot of times, you know, you'll do a two hour interview and it'll end up being 12 minutes on the documentary. So I assure you, both sides have watched that footage very carefully and it's all in play just the same. If it was prior testimony, you know, to a police officer in front of a grand jury, it can be used.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You've raved about your former, your former place of occupation, Southern District of New York, and what it brings to the table in terms of its high conviction rate, et cetera, et cetera. You still feeling as confident in their case? Considering their reputation and what they bring to the table, you're still feeling as confident with, with the whole Diddy, with this whole Diddy matter against him?

[Ellie Honing]

That's a great question. So I, I, of course, you know, look, I came up through this office, I have a reverence for it, but I certainly do not think the SDNY is infallible. They've made a lot of missteps, including most recently, I think, throwing out the Eric Adams case, which I know a lot of the people there pushed back and disagreed with, but that came from up above. No, look, I think the case is a sound case. Looking at the indictment, I think the hype around it, and maybe the SDNY helped promote this hype, got a little beyond what actually ended up happening. But look, the odds are stacked against any criminal defendant in that courthouse. You know, you'll see that conviction rates are 98%. Throw those out, because that includes guilty pleas, which almost every case pleads guilty.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Okay.

[Ellie Honing]

There are no reliable data on how many trials result in conviction, but in my experience, and just following that courthouse, 70, 80% or so of all trials result in conviction. I don't think Sean Combs is going to cut a sympathetic figure here for the jury. I think they're going to hear some horrible things about him. I think the witnesses are going to present some devastating testimony. I think that video that we Talked about of the assault is really, really damaging evidence. So I would put it, you know, if I, if I had to make a, make a picture, I would say 75, 80% that he gets convicted.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Last question. Is he better off or worse off now than he was when he was first arrested? As it pertains to this case and how he's looking, well, I think he's.

[Ellie Honing]

Slightly better off in that it hasn't been this explosion in the number of witnesses. But look, it could get a lot worse. I mean, he was given that plea offer. Again, we don't know what it was, but he was given a chance to sort of hedge his bets and mitigate his bottom line loss here, and he chose not to do it. And the way these trials work, it's, it's, it's a flip of a coin. It's yes or no. The jury can't come down and say, well, we want to kind of convict them. But if some, you know, I mean, they, well, look, they can split the verdict. I guess I should say that they can convict them on some counts but not others. But man, if he gets convicted on anything in this case, he's looking at double digits plus behind bars. So, so he's, he's take. Look, it's a huge gamble. It's terrifying for anybody to be in that position. You know, I've seen a lot of people go through it. The odds are against him. He has a very good defense team behind him. So they, Anything can happen. But, but his, his life is, is on the line here.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Forgive me, I got one more question I just thought about. If your case is that strong, if you're the Southern District of New York and your case is that strong, why offer him a plea?

[Ellie Honing]

So it could be that they don't think they're, that they could be that they're worried about some aspect of their case. It could be they're worried about one of the witnesses or the victims. It also could be. Look, the reason you offer a plea deal when you have a strong case, especially on the eve of trial, is, is A, you might be worried about some aspect of your case, or B, you're just trying to again, cap your risks. You know, you lock in a conviction, you move on to sentencing. And let's keep in mind, there's always a risk, Stephen, A of what we call jury nullification, which means when the jury or a single juror just says, I don't really care what the evidence is, I'm going to vote not guilty. And all you need is one, if you're the defense, right. You need all 12 jurors beyond a reasonable doubt to convict. So you get one person on that panel says, I don't know, I don't believe some of these victims. Or I feel bad for Sean Combs. I feel like he's been railroaded. Racial issues could come into play here. You have a black man sitting at the defense table. So a celebrity, a universally known guy. So my fear going into this as the prosecutors would not so much be of an acquittal. I don't think you're going to get 12,0 not guilty. But you never know in a high profile cases, cases hang and then that's a win essentially for the defense. You can always retry a hung jury. But it's a nightmare for prosecutors. So it may have been, they said, look, if we can lock in a conviction, get X as the penalty, avoid the time and expense of trial and avoid the risk of a hung jury, maybe they calculated that would have been worth it.

[Stephen A. Smith]

This case not going to be televised or anything like that.

[Ellie Honing]

Right.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I mean cameras are not going to be in the court, loud in the courtroom or anything. Right. Is that correct?

[Guest Analyst]

Right.

[Ellie Honing]

Federal courts are dinosaurs. They refuse to allow not only cameras but even live audio feeds. Even the Supreme Court, by the way, gives us live audio feed now. But they are old fashioned. I am on this soapbox. STEPHEN A. They need to let cameras in there. The Constitution says public trial. Why are we acting like it's 1840? Show it. We can all watch it. We should get to see it.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Ellie Honing, senior legal analyst for cnn, one of the best in the business. It'll be much watch television whenever you're on, I can promise you that. Thank you, Ellie, man, I really appreciate it, man. Take care of yourself.

[Ellie Honing]

Thanks, Stephen A. I appreciate it. Talk to you soon.

[Guest Analyst]

Coming up, Caitlin Clark returns to Iowa and puts on a show.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I'll get into that straight ahead.

[Guest Analyst]

But first, President Trump wants to impose.

[Stephen A. Smith]

A 100 tariff on films made outside the United States.

[Guest Analyst]

What's up with that?

[Stephen A. Smith]

We'll talk about it. I'll explain its significance in just a minute. You're watching the Stephen A. Smith Show. Don't go away. Back with more in a minute.

[Guest Analyst]

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[Stephen A. Smith]

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[Guest Analyst]

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[Guest Analyst]

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[Bom Han]

Yo, K Pop fans. It's your boy, Bom Han, and I'm bringing you something epic. Introducing the K Factor, the podcast that takes you straight into the heart of K Pop. We're talking music reviews, exclusive interviews, and deep industry like never before. From producers and choreographers to idols and trainees, we're bringing you the real stories behind the music that you love. And yeah, we're keeping it 100, discussing everything from comebacks and concepts to the mental health side of the business. Because K Pop isn't just a genre, it's a whole world and we're exploring every corner of it. And here's the best part. Fans get to call in, drop opinions, and even join us live at events. You never know where we might pop up next. So listen to the K factor on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This isn't just a podcast. It's a movement. Are you ready? Let's go. Go.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Welcome back to the Stephen A. Smith Show.

[Guest Analyst]

Now let's get to the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. where President Donald Trump has.

[Stephen A. Smith]

His sights evidently turned towards Hollywood. The President says the American movie industry was dying a very fast death due to incentives provided by other countries to shoot outside the United States. As a result, Trump announced an intent to impose 100 tariffs on the industry for films made outside the country.

[Guest Analyst]

The President went to Truth Social with the following post. Quote, this is a concerted effort by.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Other nations and therefore a national security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda, end quote.

[Guest Analyst]

The President continued saying he was authorizing the relevant government agencies, such as the Department of Commerce to begin the process of imposing a 100% tariff on all films produced abroad.

[Stephen A. Smith]

End quote.

[Guest Analyst]

That's what the President said.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Okay, and we understand this. Here's what I want everybody to recognize. We can pass words all we want to, but in the end, the president one could easily surmise this is just his latest element in the revenge tour that he is on. Anybody that has been against him, anybody that has vilified him, anybody that has tried to castigate him along the way, he's coming for you and he's sparing virtually no one. Now, why would I say this about the movie industry? Are you kidding me? Have you seen Hollywood? Have you looked at how a vast majority of folks in Hollywood have spoken out against him? I mean, think about that.

[Guest Analyst]

Think about the concerted effort that was put forth to support the likes of Kamala Harris. Think about how that support, how flagrantly.

[Stephen A. Smith]

It emanated from Hollywood. Not everyone in Hollywood, of course, but.

[Guest Analyst]

Certainly enough people where you could, you.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Could basically say the industry itself.

[Guest Analyst]

Did you see Megyn Kelly go off.

[Stephen A. Smith]

About George Clooney weeks ago?

[Guest Analyst]

Did you see her dissect him and pick him apart like a fine tooth comb when he tried to denigrate her.

[Stephen A. Smith]

In some way, at least in her eyes?

[Guest Analyst]

Have you heard the reports of Biden.

[Stephen A. Smith]

And how Clooney ultimately came out calling for him to step down weeks later, but he was quiet up until that point.

[Guest Analyst]

We've seen a plethora of people emanating out of Hollywood and the belief by and large is that it's not just.

[Stephen A. Smith]

The actors, but it's the studios themselves.

[Guest Analyst]

And it doesn't escape me, it doesn't fly over my head one bit that this is the kind of thing that Trump would do because he's talking about.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Make America great again, make the American film industry great again.

[Guest Analyst]

And he's making a legitimate argument when you take into account what he's pointing.

[Stephen A. Smith]

To in terms of businesses being taken.

[Guest Analyst]

Elsewhere because he's going to have an abundance of American citizens that are totally form in this regard. I'm putting on my glasses so I can make sure that I can read carefully. President Donald Trump proposed on Sunday a 100% tariff on films produced outside the United States. The move has made investors of major US Streamers and studios nervous and stocks for companies like Netflix and Paramount slid because of it. Analysts warned the tariff, though not finalized, would lead to fewer and more expensive films. You think Trump doesn't know that?

[Stephen A. Smith]

I'm going to continue reading from here.

[Guest Analyst]

It talks about his share Prices of major studios and streaming companies slid following the news, with Netflix Shares trading down 1 1/2% midday on Monday and Paramount shares dipping about 0.7%. Disney and Universal parent company Comcast slumped in pre market trading Monday before mostly bouncing back to their respective pride at prices At Friday's close. This is all from last week. Trump said in a Sunday social media post he plans to implement taxes on foreign films as a means to prevent the U.S. movie industry, quote, from dying a very fast death. Think about what he's saying. US Studios have increasingly turned to shooting projects overseas.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Think about what he's pointing to.

[Guest Analyst]

Shooting projects overseas is a means of taking advantage of tax benefits or finding unique locations for films, for television sets. Netflix announced in February plans to invest $1 billion to produce films and series in Mexico over the next four years. According to a report from entertainment industry consultancy Augsburg SPI, 36 European countries and 15 Asian countries offered film production incentives in 2024, up from 17 European countries and seven Asian countries offering tax credits and rebates in 2017. So his argument is going to be they're taking their business elsewhere. We've got to compel them to do business right here in the United States. One of the way to do that is to put these tariffs on, for, on, on, on content produced outside of the US and as a result, you're going to have people that are going.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Regage, engage rather than reciprocation.

[Guest Analyst]

They may do the same thing to the movie industry. He's not blind to that fact. He doesn't seem to care. And if you say, hey, okay, then I'm going to do business here in America. That doesn't mean you're going to get the tax breaks that are available to you at other places, which means that if you're Hollywood, you're going to be producing less content. Studios are going to be green lighting less projects as a result, less people are going to be working as a result, Their bottom lines are going to be compromised. And Hollywood, as a result, collectively is going to be compromised because of it.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You don't think Trump knows that?

[Guest Analyst]

Let me veer. Totally left. Totally left. The other day a news report came out and contrary to the impression that it gave, it wasn't Trump going back on his words to me when I did News Nation last Wednesday night and I asked him about HBCUs and he said, you don't need to be concerned at all, Stephen. I love the blacks. I love the black people, historically black colleges and universities. I love them. They love me. They have nothing to worry about them. I saved them, Stephen. I saved them. Remember that? That's what he said. And then a story came out about Howard University and how they were looking Forward to about 64 to $65 million. And in terms of discretionary funding and limiting that or minimizing that the Trump administration was proposing them, not getting that 64 to 65 million and everybody was in an uproar. CC promised one thing and he did another, when in fact the real story behind it was that it was supposed to be a one time payment for the hospital. And since the hospital hasn't been completed, that's not something the Trump administration feels.

[Stephen A. Smith]

The need to provide.

[Guest Analyst]

Or it has been completed. Since it has been completed, what do you need the money for it? That's what he's asking. That's not the same as minimizing funding that was promised to them.

[Stephen A. Smith]

So we have to be accurate about that.

[Guest Analyst]

But my point in saying all of that is, is this. He still could have given it to.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Them if he wanted to.

[Guest Analyst]

But according to my sources, he doesn't like the board at Howard University. He doesn't appreciate the way they have treated him, according to sources close to Trump. And because of that, he doesn't particularly like them. And if he doesn't like them, he's not going to do them any favors. That's how this works. At some point in time, you can lament it all day. I've got people that work for me that lament that kind of stuff.

[Stephen A. Smith]

They think the behavior is juvenile, it's.

[Guest Analyst]

Excessive, it's uncalled for, it's beneath the presidency of the United States, blah, blah, blah. He doesn't care. And that's exactly why you have to make a decision. Either if you're an elected politician. Listen to me, Michael. Either you're an elected politician. Listen to me, Sherry. Either an elected, if whether you're an elected politician or you're somebody that's going to have to do business with him, you're going to have to recognize, you're.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Going to have to appease him to some degree. You're going to have to do that.

[Guest Analyst]

I've been critical of him for years, but he was nice on News Nation.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You know why? I said, Good evening, Mr. President, good talk to you.

[Guest Analyst]

Something as simple as that. Remember when he was at the NABJ national association for Black Journalists over the summer and Rachel Scott asked, did a phenomenal job interviewing her. She asked, she asked the right questions. She asked the questions that people wanted to know. But. But what did Trump say?

[Stephen A. Smith]

That's just a nasty, nasty question.

[Guest Analyst]

You didn't even say, hello, how are you?

[E]

You have used words like animal and rabbit to describe black district attorneys. You've attacked black journalists, calling them a loser, saying the questions that they ask are, quote, stupid and racist. You've had dinner with a white supremacist at your Mar a Lago resort. So my question, sir, now that you are asking black supporters to vote for you, why should black voters trust you after you have used language like that?

[Guest Analyst]

Well, first of all, I don't think I've ever been asked a question so in such a horrible manner. First question, you don't even say hello, how are you? See what I'm saying? You don't even say hello, how are you? It matters to him. And that's not to say that there's a reason or justification for doing any of the things that he may have done or will continue to do. It's just knowing the hand that you.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Dealt and knowing who you're dealing with.

[Guest Analyst]

And that's what you're going to have.

[Stephen A. Smith]

To learn about him. If you don't already know.

[Guest Analyst]

If you want to do business with.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Him.

[Guest Analyst]

You'Re going to have to make sure that you're ready to engage in some level of capitulation. Even if it's something as simple as being well mannered. If you are an elected official and you have to work on behalf of your constituency and you're going to have to cross that aisle. It can't be imitating Mitch McConnell when Barack Obama was in office and he said our goal here is to make him a one term president. That's not gonna fly with this guy. He's got the House, he's got the Senate, he's got the White House, he's got, he's got the Supreme Court, 6, 3 majority. You're going to have to figure out.

[Stephen A. Smith]

A way to do something to get a semblance of what you want.

[Guest Analyst]

That is the way that it goes whether you like it or not. And this thing with Hollywood is the latest example. Somehow some way the 100 tariffs that he's proposing, studios in Hollywood are gonna have to get connected to the White House and they gonna have to throw.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Him a bone, figuratively speaking, to do.

[Guest Analyst]

Business with him and to get him to back off for some of the things that they're interested in him ignoring. He knows that.

[Stephen A. Smith]

It'S an effort to squeeze the opposition, which is what he considers Hollywood. Make no mistake about that.

[Guest Analyst]

In my opinion, that's all this is. It's going to compel Hollywood to want to reach out to him, to ask him for some kind of favor in an effort to show them some grace so they can march forward with their business as usual approach. And in return they gonna have to give up something. I don't Know what that is?

[Stephen A. Smith]

I just know it's Trump. If I know it, how the hell they don't? They know it. Which is why it might have behooved them to lay low, be silent and just shut the hell up and go to the polls and vote for somebody else as opposed to being so conspicuous and flagrant in their dissent against him.

[Guest Analyst]

Same industry that want to guard every single little interview that you do to make sure that you don't utter a negative syllable that could compromise them at the box office was out there gung ho against them in a very public way.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You didn't think that was gonna come back to bite you? I'm just saying, I'm speaking logic, that's all. Just simple logic. To me, that's what this is about. In my humble opinion. I don't give a damn what Trump says. That's what this is about. I don't give a damn about inconvenience in them. They inconvenienced me. It's their turn to suffer. That's how it goes. Before we get to your tweets, I want to give a quick shout out to Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever who hosted the Brazilian national team in Iowa yesterday.

[Guest Analyst]

The event was a sold out homecoming.

[Stephen A. Smith]

For Clark as the WNBA preseason tipped off this weekend.

[Guest Analyst]

The Indiana Fever beat The Brazilian team.

[Stephen A. Smith]

108 to 44, capped off by Clark making a 36 foot three pointer. Okay, that was the same spot on the court that has her number 22 logo affixed. In the same spot where she broke the NCAA women's basketball career scoring record last year. She finished the exhibition game Sunday with 16 points, five assists and six rebounds. Caitlin Clark is the real deal. Let me get, let me get that out the way first. I got a lot of respect, a lot of love for this young, young lady. I think she's spectacular. I think she's box office. I think she should have been easily, easily embraced and that wasn't the case last year. Just to remind y'all who she is, I'm just going to read off some numbers because you see this. To me, this year she's going to be better.

[Guest Analyst]

Last year as a rookie, fresh off.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Of going to the national championship game and losing to South Carolina and then playing less than two months later, her first professional season as a WNBA rookie, she was the net, the unanimous rookie of the year. She was an All WNBA first teamer. She finished fourth in league MVP voting.

[Guest Analyst]

She started all 40 regular season games.

[Stephen A. Smith]

For the Fever and had a groundbreaking year marked by numerous WNBA Records. She finished the regular season leading rookies.

[Guest Analyst]

In scoring, field goals, made three point.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Field goals, made assists, steals and minutes played.

[Guest Analyst]

She ended up setting regular season WNBA.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Records for assists in the season with 337, with 337 points scored or assisted on in a season with 1520 points by a rookie with 769 and 3.

[Guest Analyst]

Point field goals by a rookie with 122.

[Stephen A. Smith]

By the way, she was box office sold out more than anybody. Helped massively increase WNBA ratings. And the only thing stupid that happened with her is Team USA not putting her on a damn team. She's that special, ladies and gentlemen. And that was year one. This time around she's got more rest and she gotta had an entire off season to prepare for this full WNBA season that's about to come on. She's special, she's special. And oh, by the way, Paige Beckers from UConn, who's now in Dallas, even though her team may not be that good, she's gonna be special too. And I can't wait until my girl, Juju Watkins comes out of college because when she gets herself healthy and she's on a pro level, look the hell out. Cause she is spectacular. I can't wait till she gets to the wnba. WNBA is it. It's it. It's worthy of being talked about on an everyday basis. To my girl, Shanae Ogumike from espn. Andrea Carter from espn.

[Guest Analyst]

Are you happy now? I'm talking about the end the wnba. Even though I've been talking about it.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Janae, she keeps telling me, y'all, I gotta get the game. When you gonna get to the game, Steve? When you gonna get the game? Well, I need a course I see. I've had a couple of NBA games over the last couple of weeks. I sat courtside for both games. How come I got.

[Guest Analyst]

How come I'm having trouble getting a courtside seat to WNBA games, but I ain't got no trouble getting a courtside.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Seat to NBA games? And I'm like, I'm looking for it for free. I'm willing to pay for it. I'm just saying. I'm just saying, before I get to your tweets, I want to start with Giants rookie linebacker Abdul Carter, who evidently has no shame in asking NFL legends for their jersey number.

[Guest Analyst]

After being drafted by the Giants third overall, he said he wanted to win.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Number 56, the retired number of Giants legend lt himself Lawrence Taylor. Taylor quickly rejected that request, saying, quote, get another number, end quote.

[Guest Analyst]

Carter then tweeted, quote, the worst thing.

[Stephen A. Smith]

He could say was, no, my stance don't change. Lt is the, is the goat. Nothing but respect. This just gonna make me work even harder. I love it. End quote.

[Guest Analyst]

After that rejection, Carter then moved on to his number at Penn State, number 11, retired by the Giants in honor of quarterback Phil Sims. While Sims said he would have given.

[Stephen A. Smith]

The okay, he was ultimately outvoted by.

[Guest Analyst]

Members of his family and rejected Carter's request as well, about which Carter tweeted, quote, damn.

[Stephen A. Smith]

At this point, I'mma be out there with just my last name on my jersey. No number. Jk, jk. It's all love. Just want to play football. End quote. Actually, Abdul Carter, you're lying. You don't just want to play football. You want the number that you want. It's not a crime. But Abdul Carter, because I'm quite sure you're going to be great because you're a baller and I, I, I. Somebody said you were right next to me at the Knicks game. I didn't even notice you. My bad, my bad. My, my apologies. Let me say this to you. I want you to imagine Abdul Carter, although I totally believe you when you say it was out of respect. Because why would you want to wear the number of a scrub? Why would you want to wear the number of an average player? Of course you're respecting the individuals whose numbers you reached out to grab. You know, in Phil Sims case, to a lesser degree, because that's just the number you wore in college. Whereas with lt, it was out of respect for his greatness. With you playing that position, I'm quite sure it was out of respect. But Abdul Carter, respectfully, just imagine that you played 15 to 20 years in the National Football League. Imagine that you recorded over 132 sacks. Imagine that with the great linebackers in NFL history, the dip Dick Butkuses of the world and others, you know, the Jack Hams, Jack Lamberts of the world and so many others. The Ray Lewis's of the world, the Ronnie Lotts of the world. The list goes on and on. Imagine you yourself have that kind of career spanning 15 to 20 years, and a rookie who's never played a game calls you after all of those years of greatness and service which warranted your number being retired and raised to the rafters of a stadium and lives in the franchise lore that somebody who's never played the game came to you and said, can I wear your number? You sure you would feel good about that? You know, they respect you because your numbers retired and you earned it. But did you Wouldn't feel some kind of way about somebody who's never played a game asking you for that. Asking you for the right to un retire their number so you could wear it. And you've never played the game and you've never proven a damn thing on a professional football field. I need you to think about it that way, bro. Get your own number, make your own way and then get that number retired and see how you would feel if somebody came and asked you to have the number lowered from the rafters just so they could wear it when they've never played the game after it took you an entire career to earn that number being retired in your name. That's all I'm saying. I'm sure you meant no ill will or anything like that. I just think you need to look at it from a different lens instead of the lens you're looking at it from. Penn State ain't the National Football League. As much as we respect the Big Ten, Penn State is not the National Football League, bro. It's just not. Let's go to the tweets before we get on out of here. Please show me the first tweet at Heavenly Buckets.

[Guest Analyst]

Right.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Stephen A. Smith. Where would Jalen Brunson rank amongst point guards in the NBA if he won a title this year? He ranked amongst the best. I mean, he's already a first team all NBA player. He's resurrected basketball in New York City. He'd clearly be the greatest nick of all time. If he delivered a championship. He'd be the greatest nick of all time. Greater than Patrick Ewing, greater than Carmelo Anthony, greater than Bernard King. The only reason we don't put him greater than Walt Clyde Frazier or La Pearl Morose because they won a chip and he did it. But if he got you to the conference finals, he got you the NBA finals. Got my God, if he won a championship. I'm a lord. And being in the NBA right now with what you're seeing from everybody else. Yeah. Lucas in the NBA. Yes. Kyrie Irving's in the NBA. Yes. Shay Gil just Alexander. I wouldn't put him above Shay. I wouldn't put him a bunch above Shay Gilgames. Alexander.

[Guest Analyst]

No, I would not.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I don't know if I could put him against a Hella Luca because he was a reserve to Luca, even though I think that he's been just as productive as Luca. But that's debatable. But as a talent, Lucas, 6, 7 Luca get himself in shape. Imagine Steph Curry.

[Guest Analyst]

Steph Curry not putting them above Steph Curry.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Now, yeah, that's the greatest shooter of all time. Not a four time champion, but he'd be up there, make no mistake about it. Let's get to the second tweet.

[Guest Analyst]

What you got at Clark Kent 415, right.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Stephen A. Smith. When is it a good time to elevate Steph from greatest shooter God has ever created to one of the greatest players God has ever created? That time is now. He's a four time champion. He's a two time league mvp. He's the greatest shooter God has ever created. He responds in a clutch. He's an NBA Finals mvp. Now he's an Olympic gold medalist. We saw what he did in the semifinals of this gold medal game against France and then last night against Houston. To play the kind of game that he played, only Golden State Warrior to register a double double. I mean the rebounds, the assist, the decision making, Steph, Steve Kerr begging him not to turn the ball over. And then finally he only commits two turnovers. I mean you, you just, you can't say enough about the job that he has done. The kind of player that he is, the kind of way he's transcended the game, the NBA game. Because everybody wants to be like Steph because of his shooting prowess, his swag, his personality, how he gravitates and how he gets little kids to gravitate to him. The Baby Face Assassin. That's actually my favorite nickname from the Baby Face Ass Assassin. He's one of the greatest in the game right now. He's one of the greatest basketball players God has ever created instead of just the greatest shooter. He's phenomenal. No doubt. That time would be now to answer your question directly at Crusty K R U S S I 34, right? Stephen A. Smith, who wins in a fight. 100 sports analyst versus one gorilla. You can pick the 100 analyst. You know what? I've thought about this and I'm gonna go with the gorilla.

[Guest Analyst]

Because.

[Stephen A. Smith]

These dudes weigh a ton and.

[Guest Analyst]

It'S not like 100 men or 100.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Analysts are going to be able to go up to him at the same time.

[Guest Analyst]

So you're going to get hurt the.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Instant you approach the gorilla. That's number one.

[Guest Analyst]

Number two, I don't know 100 analysts.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Who would approach the gorilla. I don't know, 500.

[Guest Analyst]

I don't know five on anybody. We be running for cover, running like hell.

[Stephen A. Smith]

So that's how, that's where I'm at with that. Firmly believe in that. Okay, so I'm gonna go with the gorilla. I'm just gonna go with the gorilla. Last tweet. Show it to me, please.

[Guest Analyst]

At Sport Underscore Midwest.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Right? Stephen A. Smith, thoughts on Bush Light apple. The Bush light apple is a bit.

[Guest Analyst]

At bringing back, I mean the, the.

[Stephen A. Smith]

The, the, the wrapping looks good, the bottle looks good. I mean there's something to be said about packaging. It looks attractive. But beer is beer. It's not my thing, you know, Heineken, bush, whatever. Just not my thing. Budweiser, I get it. I mean, you know, to each his own. Not the way that I roll personally, you know, never really, really liked the taste of any of them. Not this one I'm talking about, but any of them. And I never liked the phrase beer belly. I'm thinking you drinking beer, you're gonna have a belly and I'm allergic to that. I don't want a belly. That's just nasty. Just nasty. Okay? But I do like the packaging. The packaging is attractive and to a beer drinker, I'm quite sure that they would like it. And then if they got a little apple inside to mix with the beer, it might be a little twang to the taste and all that. So we don't know. So I mean, if you're a beer drinker, you're probably going to try. Good luck to you and I'm good with it. But it might be worth the try. But that's to the beer drinkers out there, which I am not one of them, okay? Not my style.

[Guest Analyst]

But if it's your style, go for it. Knock yourself out.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Just don't drive afterwards. No drinking and driving. Having. Okay, make sure your home settled in and you're not a danger to our society in any way. Okay? Make sure that is the case.

[Guest Analyst]

As long as you do that, it's no big deal.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You get to go enjoy, appreciate the packaging. Gotta get on out of here. That's it for this edition of the Stephen A. Smith Show. Thank you for joining. Really, really appreciate it. Feel free to holla at me saying bad time, same bad church channel in the next couple of days or so. I'll be back with you. Hope you enjoyed the show. Thanks again to Ellie Honing, CNN senior Legal Analyst. I'll see you in a couple of days. Until then, this is the Stephen A. Smith Show. Stephen A. Himself signing off. Peace and love, everybody. You're listening to an Iheart podcast.