Rumors

Barkley told Stephen A. Smith on Friday that if the 76ers win two titles in LeBron James' two years in Philadelphia — that’s if he opts in to the second — after agreeing to a contract Friday, it would solidify his GOAT case. “If he wins back-to-back championships and walks away this thing at 44, 45. I’ll say something I ain’t never said before. This dude, I think I just saw the greatest basketball player ever,” Barkley told Smith.

New York Post

Though Barkley did mention that James has provided himself advantages with “stacking the deck” throughout his career when joining talented teams. “The number one knock on LeBron for older guys like myself has always been, ‘Yo, man, you always stacking your team,'” Barkley said. “He stacked in Miami. He stacked in Cleveland. He stacked in LA. Now he’s stacking it in Philly. So that to me, I’m going to still have the same criticism I’ve always had.”

New York Post

NBA Courtside: Draymond Green says the problem he has with Stephen A is he disrespects NBA players as if he is a player himself: “You very much so right up there at the top… A lot of players having a relationship with you, were facts. Until you started to disrespect players as if you were a player. There’s a fine line… Stephen A the problem I have is you get upset about the very thing that you do. You get so upset and bent out of shape about the very same thing that you do.” (Via @DraymondShow)

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Jaylen Brown: "Let's just stop with the anonymous sources. Chat, the anonymous sources is crazy. Him saying that executive and a scout, that said these things in an anonymous source, Stephen A. Smith saying an anonymous source, Kendrick Perkins saying an anonymous source, or somebody texting, like what is with these people and these anonymous sources, bro? They don't see how unethical that is and just stating that on live TV. It's like somebody saying a rumor in front of millions of people and not even taking in the account that amount of damage that rumor could do. But they don't even know if it's true or not. It's just a source."

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Cedric Maxwell: "But the other side of that, they gave him $300 million. If you're that mad with me and you give me $300 million, you can dangle me around like a carrot. I could care less, but in this case, I do understand that players have egos and their egos could be bruised. We've seen him go back and forth with Stephen A. Smith over and over again. I always say why is an elephant right now battling with an ant? Jaylen Brown should be beyond that."

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Jaylen Brown: "ESPN is unethical, and Stephen A. Smith is the head face of that. The organization, the players, they were all in agreeaance. They all knew what I meant by that. Our team was basically salary dumped. We lost a lot of players. For us to emerge and still be in the same position..."

reddit

Comedian Kevin Hart and ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith are among those who think celebrity Knicks superfan Spike Lee should get a championship ring after the franchise won its first title in 53 years. Hart shouted out Lee in an Instagram video posted on Sunday. “Give Spike a ring,” Hart said of Lee, who has likely paid many millions for tickets over the last 40 years. “Spike deserves a f–kin championship ring, and I’m saying it here. Give Spike a New York Knicks championship ring.”

New York Post

ClutchPoints: Stephen A. Smith: “I owe this man an apology. I am grateful for what you’ve done for this (New York) city… you won’t be hearing any doubts from me anymore my brother.” Jalen Brunson: “We’ll see about that.”

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Smith has spent decades covering the NBA, which has allowed him to forge meaningful relationships with many players. It was through these connections that he got to know some athletes at a much deeper level, leading him to conclude that there are plenty of “Black conservatives” in the league.​ “They may not admit it publicly, but there’s a whole bunch of them,” Smith candidly revealed. “And when we’re talking about certain things — collective bargaining negotiations, player contracts, morals clauses, it could be anything — you hear some of these guys’ views and you’re like, ‘That’s not the typical stuff that you hear.'”

basketballnetwork.net

The GOAT conversation has surfaced yet again after LeBron James told Time magazine, “I’m not taking nobody over me.” When Stephen A. Smith was asked about James’ comments on ESPN’s “First Take,” he didn’t hold back from pointing out that Michael Jordan and other NBA greats would never call themselves the GOAT. “I know Michael Jordan, I speak to him often. I’m telling you, he has never, ever, ever, once called himself the greatest,” Smith said on “First Take.” “It’s never happened. Kobe Bryant didn’t call himself the greatest. Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] didn’t call himself the greatest …” Smith continued to list other former NBA greats and didn’t withhold from taking shots at James when telling the rest of the “First Take” hosts why James would say this.

New York Post

NBA Base: Stephen A. Smith: “There was footage of him on camera not looking awake. Dolan sitting right next to him. Both of them look like they were sleeping. You don't expect to hear that from a president that called his predecessor ‘Sleepy Joe’… I'm telling my producers inside the Garden last night, we were told that he was telling folks he is coming back for Game 4, so we don't know what the hell the truth is. All I'm trying to say is that no president — Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, HW, I don't give a damn if it was Reagan — no sitting president should be at an NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden.”

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“This president has no business showing up in New York City,” Smith said, adding that the move was “selfish” and “narcissistic.” The longtime broadcaster even joked that he would blame Trump if the Knicks failed to deliver a victory. Trump's response arrived when reporters asked about Smith's comments. Rather than directly addressing the criticism, Trump questioned Smith's qualifications for political leadership. “He's a nice guy, but you need a certain aptitude to run for president,” Trump said. “You need a high IQ, I'm not sure he has that. I don't think he does.”

Clutch Points

HoopsHype: Guess who's one of the players Stephen A. Smith has supported the most with his NBA award votes through the years? Yes, JAYLEN BROWN. Not a big Giannis guy, though.

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Jaylen Brown: "Listen, I'm not even really focused on Stephen A. I'm really focused on the industry that he represents. Obviously I have my quarrels with Stephen A, but I also have my quarrels with the industry in itself. Stephen A is the face of the industry and his willingness to serve his higher ups is a major cause for concern, and it's caused frustration, but it ain't even really about him. So here's my proposal and after this that I'm done."

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