Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Welcome to the latest edition of The Stephen A. Smith Show,
coming at you at the very least three times a
week over the digital airways of YouTube and of course iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
By the way, I always.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Want to take a moment to show my love and
appreciation for all the support that I've been receiving.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
This show has been receiving.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
We continue to climb, no doubt, and we've now exceeded
over seven hundred and six thousand subscribers. So obviously, if
it wasn't for the love and support y'all are given me,
I wouldn't have this show. I can't thank you enough.
Keep the love coming, and I'm gonna keep on coming.
Continue to like and follow the show. Just click the
bell to get notified for all of our new content,
and you too will be able to consider yourself the
newest member that is Steven A. Smith Show Family. And again,
(00:49):
don't forget to listen to us on iHeartRadio because you
can find us there in the audio.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Stratosphere as well.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
You know, one of the things that I want to
do today, I didn't want to start off.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
With just a typical sports story because of the kind
of things that have transpired.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I thought it was appropriate today to start with the
passing of the great one himself, the one and only
Willie Mays, the San Francisco Giants, electrifying say.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Hey Kid, who died yesterday at the age of ninety three.
The center fielder was Baseball's oldest living Hall of Famer.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Few were so blessed with each of the five essential
qualities for a superstar hitting for average, hitting, for power, speed, fielding,
and of course, throwing. In nineteen fifty he joined the
New York Giants, who later became the San Francisco Giants,
and in nineteen fifty one hit twenty home runs for
the team as a twenty year old. After the nineteen
(01:44):
fifty one season, Mays missed most of the nineteen fifty
two and all of the nineteen fifty three season because
he was drafted into the US Army to serve in
the Korean War. After starting his career with the Birmingham
Black Barons in the Negro American League, Mays, a twenty
four time All Star and a two tome All Star MVP,
(02:05):
played a majority of his Major League career with the Giants,
except for his final two seasons with the New York Mets.
He batted three zh one, hit six hundred and sixty
home runs, totaled three thousand, two hundred and ninety three hits,
scored more than two thousand runs, and won twelve Gold Gloves.
He was the Rookie of the Year in nineteen fifty one,
(02:27):
was twice named the Most Valuable Player, and finished in
the top ten for a league MVP ten other times.
His lightning sprint and over the show the grab of
an apparent extra base hit in the nineteen fifty four
World Series remains the most celebrated defensive play in baseball history.
To baseball historians, to data analyst, to folks addicted to numbers,
(02:55):
there you have it. When I think about the passing
of Willie Mays, I think about something else. I think
about Muhammad Ali. I think about Bill Russell. I think
about Kareem abdu Jabbar. I think about Wilt Chamberlain. I
think about so many great former sports stars, iconic figures,
(03:17):
individuals who were revered for years, who had to deal
with so much vitriol and venom because of bigotry, because
of racism and such. Ask yourself for a second to
imagine what it was like to be born in nineteen
thirty one in Alabama.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Think about that.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Think about the fact that Jackie Robinson desegregated baseball, becoming
the first black individual to play in Major League baseball
in nineteen forty seven. Then think about this three years later,
Willie Mays to say, hey, kid went from playing in
(04:02):
the Negro leagues to being the only black player in
baseball in interstate league play, he was the only black
player in the entire league. Think about the venomin and
the hostility that he was subjected to. Think about the
bigotry and racism he was subjected to. And then recall
(04:23):
those numbers that I read to you all talk about adversity,
talk about having to endure. Why do you think we
love Serena Williams so much? Why do you think we call.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Muhammad Ali the greatest?
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Why do you think we.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Spent so many years revering the greatness of Bill Russell,
who was not just a great and a champion as
a player, but as a coach as well, because he.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Did it in Boston.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
And when you have the level of adversity that they
have faced and you succeed anyway, that is when true
goat status comes into the equation. It's when we have
to take a moment to sit up there and say
greatest of all time, Yes, it makes sense, And I'll
throw one other thing out at all of you, because
(05:08):
my father, God rest his soul, used to remind me
of this, Willie Mays being drafted into the army and
being denied the opportunity to play because of his commitment
to service in those two seasons, still finished with six
hundred and sixty home runs. You do understand, ladies and gentlemen,
(05:31):
that if that had not happened, consists considering the pace
that he was on, it would have been Willie May's
who surpassed Babe Ruth as.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
The all time home run king.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Not even Hank Aaron, who ultimately did in the nineteen
seventy three wouldn't have happened.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
It would have been Willy Mays. That's how great he was.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
That's how great he was remembered by the baseball community
over the last twenty four hours, and it's how he
will be remembered forever as arguably the greatest baseball player
who ever lived, clearly one of the greatest of all
time in any sport on any level, and deserving of
(06:19):
our reverence and our gratitude. That's what he mays. God
bless you, God rest is wonderful soul. At this time,
I also wanna take the time to acknowledge that today
is June tenth, short for June nineteenth. That marks the
day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in eighteen
(06:42):
sixty five to take control of the state and inform
more than two hundred and fifty thousand enslaved people of
their freedom, a full two and a half years after
Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. June tenth honors the
end to slavery in the United States, and it's considered
the longest running African American holiday. On June seventeenth, twenty
(07:04):
twenty one, President Biden made it a federal holiday.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
One could say one has.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Nothing to do with the other, the passing of Willie
Mays and of course Juneteenth arriving.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
I think it's a bit ironic in.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
A beautiful, beautiful way, because as we highlighted the adversity
that Willie Mays had to overcome, what greater adversity has
ever existed for a people than slavery.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
In this nation.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
That's what went on as it pertains African Americans in
this country and think about them, saying that the Emancipation
Proclamation was signed in the Low two years earlier, and
it wasn't until two years later that two hundred and
fifty thousand slaves were informed that they were free, That
Emancipation Day had arrived, the end of slavery in the
(08:01):
United States had arrived. Willie Mays played a hundred years
later and was still dealing with what he deal.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Dealt with Jackie Robinson while.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Willie Mays was playing and endured the same thing, along
with a host of other individuals, the satual pages of
the world, the Josh Gibson of the world. The list
goes on and on and on. There's one thing for
stuff to be signed into law. It's another thing entirely
for the conscience of one's soul to be touched in
such a fashion that a nation of people, of human beings,
(08:37):
all created by God, ultimately adopt the same kind of
thinking and make sure that they exercise it with their actions,
showing that the bigotry to racism and everything in between
will dissipate before our very eyes, if not flat out
eradicate the challenge has been for the eradication of that
back then. It's the year twenty twenty four and we're
(09:01):
still fighting for his eradication today, which only elevates our
appreciation for Willie Mays and elevates our conscience as it
comes to June teenth, think about that and then get
back to meet with your thoughts on the flip.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Side of it.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Breaking news about the Detroit Pistons moving on from Monty
Williams as the head coach. Monty Williams, a god fearing individual,
one of the most beautiful and decent human beings you'll
ever want to meet. Was in the second year of
a five year, eighty million dollar deal.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
He's gone as coach of the Detroit Pistons.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
And one of the things that I was popular for
saying this morning was this, knowing that he gets on
his knees and he prays all the time. Monty Williams
probably looked up at the stars and thank the Good
Lord of relieving him of such a job. He never
belonged there to begin with. Should have been in Phoenix,
should have been in La any place, but the Detroit Pistons,
(10:08):
they got a long ways to go. He deserved a
better situation than that.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
But by taking that job, he also elevated the dollars
in the coaching market.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
If he got thirteen million, Golden State had to pay
Steve Curs seventeen million. San Antonio had to pay Great
Popovitch seventeen million, Miami had to give Eric spos To
fifteen million. The Clippers had to give Tylu fourteen plus million.
So even when things look bad, somehow Someway, the Great
Monte Williams always seems to be doing good.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Major major props to him. Much appreciated.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Coming up, three time NBA champion e Donnas Haslam joins
me to discuss all things NBA, his comments on JJ Reddick,
his beef with the one and only Kevin Garnett, formerly
of the Timberwolves and the Celtics, plus some because the
NBA Finals did just conclude. By the way, all that
and more next right here on the Steven Ate Smith
Show over the digital airways and iHeartRadio. You can find
(11:03):
me everywhere. That means you'll find what I'm doing everywhere.
Back with more in a minute.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
All right, everybody, you know what Tom it is.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
It's Tom for stephen A's Weekly Picks. If you're a
sports fanatic like me that you can't just watch the games.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
You need to be a part of it all, all right,
So how do I do that? I play Prize Picks,
of course.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
Prize Picks is a skill based, real money daily fantasy
sports game where you select two, three, or even up
to six players and choose if they'll have more less
than they're projected in game stats. It takes less than
sixty seconds to make your picks and put you right
in the middle of the game.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Tom Action, all.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Right, pick the stats of all your favorite players, all
of them, or Tony Katelyn Clark, even Christiano Ronaldo. Okay,
And if you go to Prospects dot com right now
and use promo code sas, you receive a one hundred
percent deposit bonus up to one hundred dollars. Guess what, y'all,
That ain't no joke. Still, go to Prospects dot com.
Type in my initials says for a first time deposit match.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Up to one hundred dollars.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Pick more, pick less.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
It's really that easy today, However, I will not be
selecting any players knowing the sports I want to go
off topic, that's right, I'm selecting either more or less
than one and a half naps per week.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
I ain't get that from Steph Covey. This is just
me talking to you. Okay, one and a half naps now,
ladies and gentlemen. It's interesting that this question was asking
me because yesterday I took a nap.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
I was so exhausted from covering the NBA Finals, not
getting any sleep the night before. Literally work until about
two thirty in the morning following Game five. That's when
I got back to my hotel. But I had to
get up at four o'clock to catch six am flight,
so I really only.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
Had about an hour of sleep.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
I was a damn zombie yesterday a zombie.
Speaker 4 (12:51):
I got through my day job, got through this podcast
slash show, then.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
I went home and I took a nap. To tell you,
because it made me feel so.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
Good, so refreshed, so energized.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
I would love to tell you that's what I do normally.
Guess what I don't. It's very very rare. I take
naps because.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
When I'm up, I'm usually on the grind. Ain't no
damn time for naps. Okay, So when you ask this question,
one and a half naps, per week.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
I'm lucky. If I get one and a half naps
every two to three months, that's pushing it.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
So my answer here would be less less than one
and a half naps per week. Now, I know that's
an aberration. Usually when you're talking about prize picks, the
word more flows seamlessly off the tongue because that's what
working with prize pics is all about. But not in
this case, not when it comes to naps. I'm sorry,
(13:49):
it's gonna have to be less than one and a half.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
It's just the truth. It's just the truth.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Now, we got a lot to discussed in the NBA today,
and who better to do it with than my colleague
at ESPN.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
An emerging star in this business.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
He's also a heat life for a three time NBA champion.
By the way, he's now vice president of basketball Development
in Miami.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
In case y'all let him know.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
He also is a host of the oh G's.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Podcast with this former teammate Mike Miller. Welcome to The
Stephen A. Smith Show, The One and Only. You're Donna's
hassling in the house.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
What's up, Big Time?
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Are you doing? Man?
Speaker 3 (14:27):
How's everything?
Speaker 5 (14:28):
What's up? Brother? What's up? What's up with you? Glad
to be here? Man?
Speaker 2 (14:31):
I appreciate you, you know, I mean I appreciate you too.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
But I gotta admit, man, you you pretty damn good
at this, at this basketball analyst stuff.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
I mean you trying to take people's jobs already.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
You're doing a great job.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
You did.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
How you enjoying it?
Speaker 6 (14:43):
I mean I'm enjoying a lot, bro. I mean I
had a chance to watch y'all. Had a lot of
free time as I got towards the end of my career.
I wasn't playing that much, so I got a lot
of trying to watch y'all boys and check y'all out,
to do y'all thing.
Speaker 5 (14:53):
And I say, you know what, I like their style,
they fresh, the custom suits, and on how they're moving now.
They getting walked in through.
Speaker 6 (15:03):
The arena and they interviewing and they checking them out.
Speaker 5 (15:05):
I said, I can do that.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
I might want to do that.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
I saw the suit this morning. It was pretty fly.
I have to admit it, the pretty fly outfit. You're
definitely dressing apart. But on a serious note.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
I want you to educate our audience.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
What is it like for a former player to walk
into the business of giving color commentary, having to be honest,
having to be neutral, having to be straightforward. What kind
of challenges, if any at all.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Has that post for you in your post playing career.
Speaker 6 (15:34):
I mean, I want to maintain, you know, my mo
is being real. You know, they called me the og,
So I always want to maintain, you know, my realness.
I want to maintain my authenticity. But it's such thing.
It's keeping it too real sometimes and that's where you
got to draw that line. And that's why you got
to have that balance. You know, everything you think you
ain't got to say, everything you feel you ain't got
to say. And if you do say it, it's a
certain way you can say it and smooth it out
a little bit to where you don't ruffle with any
(15:56):
feathers whay you make it sound a certain way. So
for me, just not being so real all the time
and making sure I still get my point across and
sometimes don't a rough as a feather damn neck, but
not as many as I need to. You know, I could,
I could, I could. I could manage that a little bit,
and I'm getting better with that.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Do you agree, Because I've said this to numerous players
that have come into the business, and so many of
them have done a great job, and I think you're
going to be fantastic. Feels very proud to have you.
I can tell you that as a fact. But one
of the things that I often say to them is
that I could say some stuff because I wasn't a player.
So as a journalist, you know, coming in this is
(16:30):
where I come from, and I don't have to worry
about that, But as a former player, is it true
that players and former players hold former players to a
different standard than they hold everybody else to?
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Hell?
Speaker 6 (16:46):
Yeah, I mean, first of all, we already a sensitive
We're sensitive bout our craft. We're sensitive about our work,
and we're even more sensitive when it's somebody that's been
in the locker room with you, or it's somebody that's
a part of the club, you know what I mean.
Guys like that that you played with, that you played against,
that you compete it against. That's an unwritten rude as
a man low, there's an NBA los. So we try
to protect each other as much as we can. We
could compete against each other, we could dog each other,
(17:06):
we can knock each other down, but we try to
protect each other when they come to that media. So
once you're in that club, you want to stay in
that club. You don't want to get tossed out. So
you know, for me, just maintaining that and once again
there's a balance there, you know what I mean, because
I gotta keep it real and I got to tell
you the truth. If you ain't doing your job, I'm
gona tell you ain't doing your job, and you just
gotta respect that.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
But they don't a lot of guys go sometimes, not
all of them. I don't want to do that to
the players, but not all of them, but some of
them they don't respect it.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
You could be telling the absolute truth.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
They did something in front of millions of people watching
on television, in front of thousands of attendance.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
And all you did was echo the obvious. And some
players will still have a problem with you over that.
Speaker 6 (17:43):
What do you do, steven A. That's why everybody ain't
built for heat coaching. That's what I learned from the
great Pat Rawley. If I care about you the way
I say I care about you, and I got to
tell you the truth, I got to hold you accountable.
The harsh truth is ten times better than a good looking,
cute lie, you know what I'm saying. And at the
end of the day that that's what it's all about.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
It.
Speaker 6 (18:01):
If I want the best for you, I gotta be
honest with you. I got to tell you the truth.
So a lot of these people they don't want to
they don't want to hear the truth because at the
end of the day, the truth is hard. Everything you
want to do, everything you want to get, is going
to be on the other side of the herd, and
you got to get uncomfortable. Nobody wants to get uncomfortable
these days. Everybody wanted that way, and everybody wanted to smooth.
So you know, for me being with the Miami Heat,
that's probably the best thing that it could have happened
to me. Being a kid that had bad habits growing up,
(18:23):
was naturally good at the game of basketball, was never
challenged until I got to the Miami Heat and got
it and got in that system.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
I want to go on talking to you Donna's haslam
right here right here on the StepN Ate Smith Show,
before I get into what we were transported in the
NBA Finals and what transpired throughout this NBA season. My
last question to you on this topic would be this,
crystallize for our audience, what is crossing the line in
terms of a former player speaking giving color commentary when
you talk about being a part of that fraternity. What
(18:52):
qualifies legitimately as crossing the line and should qualify as
crossing the line?
Speaker 6 (18:58):
Personal conversations, man, anything we talking about over whine or
you know, things that happen in the locker room, or
conversations that have in the locker room, things that go
between certain guys that you got to iron out, those
kind of conversations. Those things are personal. I think those
are the things that you keep in house. So i
gotta let everybody know that mess with me on a
personal level when it comes to that, I'm gonna protect you.
I'm gonna protect your brand and protect your name. I'm
(19:20):
gonna keep my mouth closed on certain things. Things you
talk about me. We're gonna take that to the grave.
I'm loyal to the soy on that. But now, when
you step out in that world and when you step
on that basketball court, that is not personal, that is
not private.
Speaker 5 (19:31):
You are in front of the world.
Speaker 6 (19:32):
I'm just telling the world what's going on on the
basketball court and once again as a man who wants
the best for all the NBA guys that want to
see them be their best version.
Speaker 5 (19:39):
I ain't gonna lie to you. I'm gonna tell you
the truth.
Speaker 4 (19:40):
Now.
Speaker 6 (19:41):
How you take it and how you receive it, that's
on you. But most of the guys that I've been
around have been receptive to the things that I've said
because they know I want the best for them.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
Well, you know how I roll, and I totally agree
with you one thousand percent. And that's why I always
say I said, I walk around as they can talk
all the shit they want to. There's no one that
could ever come and say I violated a personal conversation.
Speaker 5 (20:01):
I can damn I can say shit. Oh man, Okay, it's.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
A little different.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
The climbs a little different here. Climbs a little different here.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
But you did, let's go to the NBA Finals and
all of this stuff that happened. How surprised were you?
You picked the MAVs. I picked the mass We thought
we both thought por Ziggis would be hurt, wouldn't be
able to go play those first two games out the
next two showed up in gay five for a little
bit et cetera.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
How surprised were you.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
That the finals ended the way that it ended and
what did you peel from it?
Speaker 5 (20:28):
I was extremely surprised.
Speaker 6 (20:29):
I knew Boston was the better team, but I thought
that in that particular series that Dallas would keep it going.
I thought they found lightning in the bottle with the
way Kyrie and the way Luca was playing, and I
thought they would keep it going. But you know, make
no mistake about it, Boston has been the best team
in the NBA all years. So not surprised that Boston won,
but I am surprised the way Boston won, four to one.
I thought it'd be a closer series. I thought it'd
(20:50):
probably go to seven. But being a guy who's been
in the NBA for twenty years, habits and I know
habits always went out, and I should have known that
Boston had better habits at this point in time. They've
been through the pain, they've been through the sleepless nights,
they've been through them losses.
Speaker 5 (21:03):
They've been dogged, they've.
Speaker 6 (21:04):
Been talked about, man, they've been thrown away and kicked around.
So I should have known that Boston was going to
have the habits to win the championship.
Speaker 5 (21:11):
More credit, that's on me.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
More credit, more blame, whichever way you want to go.
Who deserves most of it for the series. For the
series ended up the way that it.
Speaker 5 (21:20):
Didn't, I got to give credit to Boston.
Speaker 6 (21:23):
I got to get hit the credit to the Boston
because they stuck to their game plan and they attacked
Luca every which way and turned him every which way
but loose. And that was something that I was saying
in all the other series, why is nobody consistantly attacking Luca?
Why is nobody consistently attacking Kyrie? So on the offensive end,
there's consistently attacked Luca. They consistently attacked Cayrie. Which is
how Boston plays the game of basketball. If you watched
(21:44):
Boston play, a lot of teams set their screens with
the five men. Boston always set screens with the guards
because they want those matchups where they can attack your
guards and spray for those threes. So with that being said,
that that is how it is, and Dallas just has
to get better. At the end of the day, Luca
gotta get better, Dallas gotta get better. And I would
say more than Lamb goes to Luca, but credit to Dallas,
(22:06):
I'm excuse me, credit to Boston for the way they
played the game of basketball and stuck to the game plan,
and also credited to Joe Mizula as well.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Yeah, Joe Mizzula has proven himself to be a great coach.
I give all of love and credit to Jason Tatum
and Jaylen Brown. They showed up and played like the
stars we expected them to be, particularly when he counted
the games three and five. Major major credit to them
as well. Matd love to them. Respect to Al Horford
who's been in this league as long as you have
and and finally captured his first championship, risking him nothing
(22:31):
but the best. When I look at Luca, two things
stand out. Number one, can't be powered with the referees
all the time.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
Number Two, you gotta get your ass in shape. He
wasn't in shape to deal with Jalen Brown defending him
ninety four feet for most of the NBA Finals.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
That was problematic. He got his numbers, but the slow enough,
the pace and what have you. I think that played
the role. And I got to call out Kyrie bro
You averaging fourteen points on thirty four percent shooting in
Boston I'm not talking about the Kyrie in Dallas.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Kyrie and Dallas showed up in Dallas.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
But in Boston, I really believe you d the crowd
got to him.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
The whole environment.
Speaker 6 (23:08):
I think that I'm gonna say this, the whole storyline
I think got to Kyrie. He did too much apologizing,
Damn that you did not already left there. You are
not the same person you were when you was in Boston.
Speaker 5 (23:17):
That's true.
Speaker 6 (23:18):
Why every game, every damn interview, you got to apologize
for your time in Boston. You got to explain yourself
in Boston. I think mentally right there, enough was the
issue for Kyrie because he kept focusing on the past
instead of the future. I would have spoken that one time,
and after that I would have been shopping in my sword,
getting ready to go into damn Boston guard and get
me a w You ain't gonna keep asking me about
my time in Boston. That's in the past, and I'm
looking towards the future, by the way, trying to compete
(23:40):
against Boston and win a championship against Boston. So I
would say just the mental part of that was exhausted
for Kyrie and he shouldn't kept doing.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
That, And my question to you is why do you
think he kept doing that? My response to that would be,
I think that at the end of the day, Kyrie
is a very nice person. He's a good brother who's
hearts in the right place, and he feels bad about
what he did when he was in Boston and most importantly,
how he departed from Boston to go to Brooklyn.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
And I think the fact that he did that and
he had regrets as to how.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
He handled it, stepping on the leprechaun on a park
floor and all of this other stuff, I think that
messed with him psychologically, and that's the reason he did it.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
I don't think it's because of the media asking him
the questions.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
I think he felt guilty about him being out of
character and acting away he knew better than the act.
Speaker 6 (24:27):
I can agree with that. I can agree with that,
But the media wouldn't let him move on. They wouldn't
let him get past it. I mean, every conversation was
about his time in Boston and why it went left
and how it went left. And as a basketball player mentally,
I think you focusing on the wrong damn things. I'm
focusing on trying to win the Championship against Boston. I'm
not focused on apologizing. I'm not focusing on the Boston
fans trying to feel good about me. I'm not focused
(24:49):
on him not trying to boot me. I ain't focusing
on none of that. I'm focusing on getting a w
and getting a ring. And I think that right there
is where Kyrie took the first wrong step.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
What was you? What do you think would have had?
Speaker 1 (25:00):
And if Lebron James was his teammate instead of Luka Danjek,
with Kyrie being on his apology tour per se, whenever
he was in Boston, what would Lebron James have done?
Speaker 2 (25:08):
Lebron James is a former teammate.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Of yours, just like he is just like KYI, just
like he's a former teammate of Kyrie. What would Lebron
have done?
Speaker 6 (25:14):
I'm gonna tell you this, man, And it makes me
think about when Bron came to Miami from Cleveland and
some of the things that he went through.
Speaker 5 (25:21):
It was definitely a little bit of.
Speaker 6 (25:25):
Apologetic, a little bit of feeling bad for the organization
and feeling bad for the people you left behind. So
I could see Lebron James more so being relatable to
Kyrie because he'd been in that situation. He knows what
it is, a legal organization and on the wrong note,
lebal organization and frustration, lebal organization and shambles, and you know,
the expectations were hired than what they got from you
(25:47):
when you were there, So he knows what that's like.
Speaker 5 (25:48):
So honestly, I think Bron would have been relatable to Kyrie.
Speaker 6 (25:51):
But now that's when you need a couple of guys
in your locker room and say, hey, we got you.
You want ours now, don't worry about that. You don't
need them. They can't help us, they can hurt us.
You with us now. I think that's where somebody in
that locker room said, hey, Kyrie, you with us now?
Speaker 5 (26:03):
You ain't in Boston no more. You and Dallas.
Speaker 6 (26:05):
Damn that time in Boston that's over with. You ain't
the same person, and you ain't the same man. You
don't need to keep apologizing.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Based on what you just articulated.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
If that Lebron James is similar to what we saw
from Kyrie, Irvin, can one argue that's why y'all lost
to Dallas in the NBA Finals, that you it's.
Speaker 6 (26:22):
Sally been part of it. But I think another part
of it is a lot of blame to go around.
I think Rick Carlile definitely out coached Spore at that time,
and Spoiled tell you that, you know, it's very, very
very few times you will ever see Spoke ever get
out coached. Spoil tell you that he think Rick Carlile
got the best of him in that series. Secondly, Dallas
came with a damn zone. We hadn't seen the zone.
We wouldn't thinking about in no zone. We could not
(26:43):
screw on tho zone. And Thirdly, I think that was
the growth of Lebron James. I think that's when Lebron
James had to go into post. That's when Lebron James
had to play some four and even some five for
us to be the best version that we needed to be.
He had never wanted to go into post. He never
wanted to play the four in the five. He wanted
no part of that that physicality down there. Spoe challenged
him that boy got in a llabed with a king
that summer, got in a llowed with a king and
(27:05):
came back with a bag I ain't never seen before.
Speaker 5 (27:07):
I'm talking about a burkey, Wow about a burkey.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
You know what I'm saying, Because of a timoldge one,
because of a chem.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
A lodge one.
Speaker 5 (27:13):
Yeah, he got in a lab with the king.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
And how so and how soon did y'all see that bag?
Was it from training camp on? Or was it as
the season progressed? Was it right before the playoffs survived?
How soon did you see that new bag?
Speaker 2 (27:24):
Though?
Speaker 6 (27:25):
Lebron's man Steven, and we seeing it in training camp. Man,
it was times in training camp where everybody in practice
would stop and just watch because some of the moves
he was making, some of the shots he was making,
the degree of difficulty, some of the things that he
was doing we had never seen him do before.
Speaker 5 (27:38):
And us nobody else could do this. Nobody else could
do this shit, We.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Couldn't do it.
Speaker 6 (27:42):
So now you have a practice full of fourteen guys
that are all stopping watching one guy go to work,
and every move he makes, we just shaking our head
getting back down the floor. Even Spoe shaking his head
to the point where nobody can stop him.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
You donnas.
Speaker 1 (27:57):
One of the things that I asked, and I loved
asking you this question because I've been confronted by this
question over the last several weeks, they talk about Lebron James,
and they were talking about.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Who's his best teammate ever?
Speaker 1 (28:08):
And they brought up Anthony Davis, and they brought up
Kyrie Irv And.
Speaker 3 (28:12):
I said, Dwayne Wade.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
I said, y'all are not understanding.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
The Lebron James that arrived in Miami is not the
Lebron James you see now. Lebron James his first year,
every single press conference postgame was with d Wade by side.
He didn't have one on ones la. He was that
sited out. You know, you got pat Riley protecting them,
y'all protecting them. D Wade protecting them until he was
(28:37):
able to stand up on his own two feet, and
d Wade had to let him know, you're.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
The best in the world. You're better than me.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
You got to beat the number one option.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
I said, he didn't learn how to win until he
got to Miami. If it were not for Miami, we
may have never seen the Lebron we're seeing now.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
That has been my position to that.
Speaker 6 (28:57):
You say what, I give you a thousand percent credit
on that. Hands down, d Way was the best teammate
Lebron ever had. When you talk about a guy who
literally had the organization on his back and step to
the side when another guy came in and say, hey, listen,
we gonna figure this out. I'm gonna figure this out.
But until we do, you the man you lead, I'll follow.
That is selflessness beyond anything any other NBA player has
(29:21):
ever done for Lebron James. Now, that allows Lebron James
as a basketball player to understand that when he's in
a situation where younger guys are coming in and different
players are coming in, how he needs to make these
guys feel comfortable, how he needs to conversate with these guys,
how he can also hold these guys to a standard.
And also the brotherhood and the connection of a locker room.
You can have so many great basketball players, but if
(29:42):
you don't have a brotherhood and a connected locker room,
the x's and o's, the talent will not matter. So
those are the things that Lebron learned from being in Miami.
And I tell you another thing, Stephen Day, Like you said,
we protected Bron man. I mean it was times when
we would go to lunch and people just yell out, hey,
Lebron f you and we would be I was the
first he asked over here with that, if you want
to come over here with that, if you want to, you're.
Speaker 5 (30:04):
Gonna limp back.
Speaker 6 (30:04):
So when Bron came to us man he understood the
true brotherhood and the true meaning of being a part
of a culture. And he was able to take that
run with it and use that with the Lakers and
other teams that he went to Cleveland and these different teams.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Like that, and not only that, ud I used to
make the argument he left Cleveland obviously Cleveland South Beach.
There's nothing to discuss this, no comparison, not no comparison.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
But the other side to it is that there wasn't.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
A brotherhood in Cleveland. But his first go.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
Round, second go round, I'm not questioning that. But in
Cleveland when he came to Miami, he came to Miami
because of d Wade. He came to Miami because he
knew he had a true brother that I would challenge
did not exist in Cleveland.
Speaker 3 (30:44):
His first go round was that, right about that.
Speaker 6 (30:47):
Facts facts, seven days a week and twice on Sunday,
that brotherhood did not exist in Cleveland. He did not
have that relationship like what he had with Dwayne Wade.
And also not just a brotherhood. We're talking about another
guy who's damn near just as good as you and
that can challenge you on that level in practice every
day and hold you accountable to that level in that
standard that you should be held there because it's a
little different when it's coming from a guy like myself.
(31:08):
It's a little different when it's coming from the sixth
man or the seventh man. When it's coming from another
damn Hall of Famer, oh and a champion, oh and
an Olympian and a guy that's on your level that
resonates differently to you.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
I'm looking at this now and I'm thinking about another
brotherhood that Lebron is developing. One could argue they're doing
a podcast together. The name is JJ Reddick. There are
rumors that he is going to be the next head
coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. There is one person
responsible for the most poignant comment about JJ Reddick potentially
(31:40):
being a coach on the same squad that Lebron James
is playing on, and that is you, Donna's hassling.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
You were on the.
Speaker 1 (31:47):
Air weeks ago and you were the first person, if
not the only, person to bring up JJ Reddick being
Lebron James coach might be cool for him and Lebron.
So it's gonna raise baverbial eyebrows and beyond from everybody
else in the locker room, because when JJ speaks, if
(32:08):
he's the coach for Lebron James and the squad Lebron
James plays on, everybody's gonna be looking at him and
wondering what's coming.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
From JJ Reddick as opposed to what's coming from Lebron.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
First of all, am I accurate and articulating what your
position was, and if so, elaborate.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
On what you were trying to say.
Speaker 5 (32:26):
You're definitely accurate. Are you one hundred percent accurate?
Speaker 6 (32:28):
I mean, I just spent twenty years of my NBA
career in the locker room, and the one thing that
I noticed, as the NBA progressed and the talent got better,
as these young boy started worrying more and more about
the shit they can't control, more and more about the
things that don't have nothing to do with you, and
the focus would shift from the basketball to everything else involved.
So now you're talking about bringing in a guy who
like JJ Reddick, who once again I think has a
(32:50):
great basketball IQ. I think can have a bright future
in the NBA coaching. But he has a relationship with
Lebron James. So we understand how when you walk into
that locker room and you're speaking and you're trying to
figure out how to win a championship, you got to
trim a lot of fact and you got to cut
through a lot of different things that most coaches won't
have to cut through. And the fact that you brought
this up. It's interesting because I had a chance to
speak to JJ after I made that comment, and JJ
(33:12):
understood exactly where I came from. He understood how it's
going to be when he walks in that position when
you talk about the NBA right now, you can have talent,
you got Lebron James, you got Anthony Davis, But can
you connect the dots in that locker room?
Speaker 5 (33:23):
Is it going to be quiet? Can you quiet the noise?
Speaker 6 (33:25):
Can you have one voice in that locker room because
you only need one voice going. You don't need five voices.
You don't need Lebron talking, you don't need AD talking.
You don't need an opinion from this guy. You need
one voice, one sound, and everybody listens. So can JJ
trim that fact? Can he cut through those different things?
That's going to be the challenge for JJ. Not his
coaching ability, not his talent, not of what his future
(33:46):
can look like, none of that thing, not about x's
and o's. We know JJ is smart as hell. We
know he knows the game of basketball. We knows he
can articulate things. We know he has the potential to
be a form a possible superstar coaching in this league.
He has all those things, good looking, nice suits, stick
back here. He got all that, the pat Riley effect,
the twenty and twenty four pat Rally effects, right, he
got all that going. So we know he got that,
(34:07):
But can't he cut through that? Can he trim that
fact that he got to go through in that locker room,
because it's gonna be side eyes, it's gonna be whispers,
it's gonna be a lot of that going on.
Speaker 5 (34:14):
If youre trying to win a championship, you can't have.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
That perk as in our colleague at ESPN one and only,
Kendrick Perkins told me he went up to JJ Reddick
in his face, real talk, and he said.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Look, I believe you.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
I think you're gonna do an our stand job articulated
all the positive things about JJ that you just articulated,
but he said, your arrogant ass is gonna have an issue, you.
Speaker 3 (34:34):
Know, because of that arrogance. Could that be an achilles heel?
Speaker 1 (34:38):
Or is that something that could work out, that could
end up working out for JJ.
Speaker 6 (34:43):
Nah, it's a players league. He can't be arrogant. It's
a players league right now that if they don't like it,
they get you up out of there. I mean we've
seen that, you know multiple times. Frank Vogel won a
championship in the Bubble with the Lakers, and his ass
was out of there the next year, right, you.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
Know what I mean.
Speaker 6 (34:56):
So we understand that no coach has sat in that
seat since Phil Jackson Logan two or three years, you
know what I mean. So, yeah, you can't be arrogant.
Players don't like that. It's about the players. It is
not about the coach. You are there to help the
players win a championship. You are not the first to
hold up the trophy. You're most likely gonna be the
last to hold up the trophy. So as a coach,
you got to take a back seat your players, and
you got to let them be the stars. You can't
have no egos, you can't be arrogant in that locker room.
(35:18):
But that's gonna turn your guys off. And once you
turn your guys off, it's hard to get them back.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Transitioning back to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
Was Jimmy Butler right when.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
He said, if he were healthy, Boston would have been
bounced out of there? Your now former teammate on the
Miami Heat, That's what he said.
Speaker 2 (35:35):
Pat Riley didn't like that if you ain't on the court.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
Contributing, because for whatever reason, you should keep your mouth shut.
Speaker 3 (35:40):
That's what Role said.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
He's pat rally he gets to get away with that.
Speaker 3 (35:43):
Damned.
Speaker 1 (35:43):
I ain't worried about Jimmy Butler having any push back
on that. That ain't gonna work for him in South Beach.
I'll tell you that right now. But was Jimmy Butler
correct you? Donna's Haaslin.
Speaker 5 (35:53):
I tell you this, steven A.
Speaker 6 (35:57):
We were if we could have stayed healthy, we were
looking forward to another against Boston. That's what I will say.
I don't know how that matchup goes. I don't know
who wins that matchup, but if we stay healthy, were
looking for another match up against Boston. You look at it,
three out of the last five years, excuse me, four
out of the last five years, it's either been US
or Boston in that championship. In that Eastern Conference Championship,
(36:18):
We've been battling each other back and forth to get
to the finals out of the East. So yeah, we
was looking forward to that matchup and would have been
a good matchup.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
Who's gonna be the best matchup for the Boston Celtics
in the Eastern Conference next year? You got Giannis and
Dame in Milwaukee, you got Embid in Naxi coming back.
Who knows what Philly's gonna do in the offseason. Are
they gonna get Paul Georgia, They gonna give Klay Thompson?
You know my next one hundred blue Scott's baby, a
hundred blue Gods. I mean, I'm not ruling it out,
you d I mean, when you think about stiff competence,
(36:45):
you gotta mention Cleveland and Orlando out of respect. But
who do you think is the biggest impediment to Boston
repeating in the Eastern Conference?
Speaker 6 (36:54):
So once again, I'm gonna go back because I might
not have heard what I said. The last five years,
it's been the Heat in Boston, going back and forth
out of that East. Now, I don't care about the
finals because you cannot get to the finals unless you
get out of the East. So I'm gonna say the
biggest competitor right now for the Boston Celtics is the
Miami Heat. If a healthy Miami Heat faces a healthy
(37:14):
Boston Celtics team in a seven game series, I'm interested
to see how that turns out.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
You don't think Miami needs another big I look at
Bam out of Bio. Man, I'm like, I love, I
love Bam, but I think you need another big body.
Speaker 6 (37:27):
I mean personally, I agree. I agree Bam and Bam
mcgres as well. I think Bam knows that, you know,
the center role for him is a role that he
can play, but there's another role that he can play
as a power for it, and that wull allow him
to be his best version and he can mature and
grow and step away from the basket and shoot threes
and do all these things that guys in the NBA
are doing right now.
Speaker 5 (37:46):
We definitely need a little bit of size.
Speaker 6 (37:47):
When you talk about Joker and b and all these
centers that have guard skill sets, but at the end
of the day, they're still in the center's body and
that wears on Bam. He's six nine, sixteen, and that
wears on him over the course of a season. So
I agree with you, we need an other big But
once again, out of the last five years, it's been
us in Boston fighting for that spot in the East.
And until we figure out who is gonna be with
(38:10):
us and how healthy we're gonna be, I'm gonna say
the Miami heat.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
Okay, I'm gonna leave it at that. And I used
still a VP for player development. I ain't gonna get
into those specifics with you.
Speaker 5 (38:18):
I can't.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
I know you can't get in that Jimmy Butler's future
and all that stuff. I just want the audience to
know I ain't forget about that stuff. But I ain't
gonna put this man on the spot like that Pat
Roley will kill him.
Speaker 2 (38:26):
I ain't gonna do that.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
All right, let's go out to the Western Conference. Is
Dallas going back to the finals next year? Do you
got somebody else that you're looking at now?
Speaker 2 (38:34):
Hell?
Speaker 5 (38:35):
No ant manon, I gotta go with ant Mannam and
I see. Now what I will say is Dallas called
lightning in the bottle. You know what I mean. They
made that trade at the trade deadline.
Speaker 6 (38:42):
It worked out. It couldn't have worked out any better.
It was a tremendous trade. I love what PJ. Washington brought.
I love what got football. But they were a five
seed and they called lighting in the batt I don't
think anybody saw Dallas being in the finals this year.
But now you look at ant Man and you look
at those guys, and that's two years in the row
that they done have that pain, two years in the
row that they had that pain with it and got
sent home by Denver. Now they were able to graduate
(39:04):
and conquer that Denver monster. Now this year they lose
the Dallas. I think they go back next year and
they graduate and they conquered that Dallas manster. I'm looking
at at Man and what he's doing and his leadership, man,
and how he's turned that team into a winning organization.
Speaker 5 (39:16):
And I'm saying, Minnesota, I.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
Think he's the new face of the NBA. And I
don't mind saying that because his athleticism. He's improved as
Jay got that nice fall away jump. Got an NBA
body can get to the hole. That will got to handle.
It's aggressive, talks, that shit backs it up and defense.
I love ant Man, no question about it. I am
worried though, when I think about Minnesota UD from this perspective,
(39:37):
when I bring up a name like Klay Thompson, New
York Philadelphia, they got assets. What if they could get
their hands on somebody like that, because we.
Speaker 2 (39:45):
Know they struggle shooting.
Speaker 1 (39:46):
Collectively, they struggle shooting the basketball.
Speaker 3 (39:50):
If you had Clay in a bad.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Year, shot thirty nine percent from three point range, shot
forty two percent from three point range nine of the
previous ten seasons, and shot forty or forty percent and
shot for twenty two percent.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
The second half of this season.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
If they could get somebody like that to put on
the court, where an Anthony Edwards, Lord have mercy, Lord
have mercy, it would be a little bit different to me.
Speaker 5 (40:11):
That's why they couldn't attack.
Speaker 6 (40:12):
That's why they couldn't attack Luca and Kyrie the way
that Boston was able to attack Luka and Curry, because
you only really got one guy who's a threat with
the basketball in his hand, and that's Anthony Edwards. He's
the only guy that can attack and go get his
own bucket anytime he wants at will. So you really
couldn't put Kyrie and Luca in as many actions as
you wanted to. You really couldn't attack them as much
as you wanted to. Now, if you bring in another
guy like Clay who can put those guys in action,
(40:33):
who's actually an actual threat every time down the court,
now you even up to score against those two guys.
And once again you talk about Clay who can defend,
who is a two way player, and man who can
defend who is a two way player?
Speaker 5 (40:44):
You get Klay Thompson on that team.
Speaker 6 (40:46):
I definitely give that edge to the Minnesota Timberwoods over Dallas,
the Dallas Mavericks.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
Do we just negate or forget about the Denver Nuggets.
It took them seven games series. They lost games one, two,
and seven on their home court too, Minnesota. But if
they had Jeff Green and Bruce Brown, I think they
win that series.
Speaker 2 (41:02):
We gotta look at Denver.
Speaker 1 (41:04):
They still got Yokish, they still got Jamal Murray, they
still got Porter and those boys. Do we summarily dismiss them,
or could Denver resurrect itself and come back for Boston, who,
by the way, they beat in the two meetings. They
met with them in the regular season, and everybody thought
was on a collision course before the players began, it
was gonna be Boston Denver.
Speaker 6 (41:22):
Now with those role players, Now with the road players
Boston got man the Drew Hollidays and the Derrick Whites,
and those guys who start in their role and also
on any given night can be Boston's best player. I
think that's what gets them over the hump. And once again,
I think that's what hurt that Denver. You talk about
losing Jeff Green, you talk about losing excuse me, were
talking about losing Bruce Brown.
Speaker 2 (41:43):
Right.
Speaker 5 (41:43):
Those were guys that start in their role.
Speaker 6 (41:45):
You couldn't worry about what they were going to do
in the stat sheet because you didn't know what those
guys were going to bring. So you don't schem for
the Bruce Brown, You don't scheme for Jeff Green. You
just skaming for Joker. You scream skimming for all these
other guys, and then all of a sudden, Bruce Brown
gives you twelve points, seven rebounds and four assists. All
of a sudden, Jeff Green comes out of nowhere and
it gives you twelve points, eight rebounds and three assists,
two blocks and different things like that. These are the
(42:06):
things you can't scheme for. And once again, when it
comes down to two even lea matched teams, the role
players are the guys that get you over the hump.
Talking about what Drew Holliday did in this year's finals,
talking about what Derreck White did throughout the entire playoffs
this year, there's no way you can argue that Drew
Holliday and Dereck White was just as important as Brown
and Tatum.
Speaker 1 (42:25):
So you got the Minnesota Timberwills going to the finals
next year, Yes, sir, Yes, you got them going to
the finals. Before I'll let you get on out of here,
just a couple of more questions. You know, one of
the guests that I've had on this show in the
past is KG, the one and only Kevin Garnett.
Speaker 2 (42:38):
Now that's a former boss and Celtic, former Minnesota Timbolls,
but definitely a former bosson Celtic.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
Right, if I had had you and Kevin Garnett on
the show, at the same time, what would that have
been like, I'll have been a rough.
Speaker 5 (42:51):
With steph Dad, a rough.
Speaker 6 (42:55):
But what I'm gonna say is this here, A lot
of people have made me and I listened. I listened.
I might act like I don't hear people, but I listen.
As I get to this side of things, you know,
certain things I gotta leave behind, you know what I mean?
And it might be time just to leave that grudge
in that beef behind, you know what I mean. I mean,
I was in the Boston garden the other day while
Boston Celtics won a championship, and I ain't throw up.
(43:17):
So I'm actually I'm maturing and I'm growing in full
time right in front of everybody's face. So I mean
that might be a conversation for a day that maybe
me and KG sit down over a.
Speaker 5 (43:27):
Couple of coffee and we hash that out. We gotta see.
Speaker 3 (43:29):
But what's the beef?
Speaker 1 (43:30):
I mean, I understand the rivalry y'all competing against one another,
but now that y'all don't play anymore, this should be
no beef.
Speaker 3 (43:36):
It was just war when y'all were going against each other.
Speaker 5 (43:39):
Right now, Stephen A.
Speaker 6 (43:41):
Smith Man, I'm from a place where the things you
stay at your mouth, you got to be held accountable.
And we all know KG say some crazy shit out
of his mouth, sometimes the craziesting, you know, for me,
I was waiting for a retirement to kind of hold
his ass accountable.
Speaker 3 (43:55):
So let me ask you, what's the craziest thing? He said,
what's the craziest thing?
Speaker 6 (43:58):
And the thing is, the thing is none of it
was ever said to me. It was always said to
my teammates and guys around me. But being an enforcer,
I was the guy that always wanted to step up
and protect my teammates and made sure that hey, if
you want to bring that shit to anybody, bring it here.
Speaker 1 (44:10):
Now you know KG, well, Kendrick Perkins was guilty of
at the Subsegree.
Speaker 2 (44:14):
I mean, all of those guys were the boss and
something was guilty of that stuff.
Speaker 4 (44:16):
The thing that they used to say the opponents back
in the day, I.
Speaker 2 (44:19):
Mean that was J.
Speaker 3 (44:21):
J Reddick.
Speaker 4 (44:22):
JJ Reddick had a problem with the things they said
to him.
Speaker 6 (44:25):
Man, listen, let me tell you something like I said,
and we would have been at the par guy that
had popped the trump.
Speaker 5 (44:30):
They talket crazy, They talked crazy.
Speaker 6 (44:33):
Man, and I understand it's in the context of a
game of basketball, man, but I was always taught as
a man from my father, don't tolerate no disrespect on
no levels from nobody.
Speaker 2 (44:41):
Got you for.
Speaker 1 (44:42):
I'll let you get on out of here. Man the
O G Podcast, talk to me about that. Why you're
doing it? What is your what was your goal when
you first jump started it?
Speaker 6 (44:50):
Oh Man, Me and my brother Mike Miller, who were
college roommates, Go Gators Florida GA has talked about Yes, sir,
we just talked about getting out Dan just you know,
keeping it real and you know, talk talking about, you know,
things that wasn't necessarily clickbait things. Giving people opportunity to
tell their stories and also tell some of our stories.
Speaker 7 (45:07):
Man.
Speaker 6 (45:07):
I got twenty years in the league, Mike has about
fourteen fifteen years in the league. So we have so
many tremendous, amazing stories that we just want to give
people insight on and just let people know, you know,
part of our journey and how we got to where
we were and you know, how the journey went for us,
and also once again give other people a platform to
tell their stories and tell their journeys as much as
I'm a basketball player, I'm a fan of so many
(45:27):
different people, of so many different sports. So I'm actually
enjoying interviewing people and asking them how they got to
where they were, what their journey was about, you know
what happened you know during your journey? Is there anything
that changed your life that made you do the things
that you're doing? So as a fan, I've been having
an opportunity to bring on people who I'm a fan
of Ice Cube, you know, Jaylen Wallall people know I'm
a huge Dolphin fan. So you know, these are things
(45:48):
that I'm sitting here living my childhood dream because I'm
interviewing people that.
Speaker 5 (45:51):
I'm a fan of. I'm getting autographs and jerseys.
Speaker 1 (45:53):
And you know, the Miami Dolphins ain't gonna win nothing, right,
you do know that?
Speaker 2 (45:57):
Right? You do know that? Right?
Speaker 1 (45:59):
Wait a minute, listen, Can I tell you why can
first Cowboys.
Speaker 2 (46:04):
That hell, now we know they ain't gonna win.
Speaker 3 (46:06):
But here's why I'm telling you what.
Speaker 1 (46:06):
I hold this against the Dolphins all the time. You
cannot live in beautiful, warm weather, in sunshine and then
go in the inclement weather and win. The second for example,
Kansas City, Kansas City got to come to Miami. I'm like,
all right, I want to see Tour and Waddle and
the Cheetah against Mahomes and Kelsey and those boys.
Speaker 3 (46:29):
The second we knew.
Speaker 1 (46:30):
They had to go to Kansas City, I said, what's
the weather?
Speaker 3 (46:33):
They told me gonna be minus fort I said, they
ain't got chance.
Speaker 2 (46:36):
That's the problem with the Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 3 (46:38):
See, you play in.
Speaker 1 (46:38):
Doors, no matter what the weather is like outside the arena,
the same as in the arena wherever you go. But
in football, the conditions change. That's why I say that
about your Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 5 (46:49):
January and February being rough on us.
Speaker 6 (46:51):
But I tell you one thing, we ain't want a
playoff game in twenty four years since two thousand and
Mike mcdaimes has been doing everything at twenty four on
the hour, ain't the camp.
Speaker 5 (47:00):
So now they.
Speaker 6 (47:01):
Understand what the expectation is. We got to break that.
You know what I'm saying, We got to break that.
Every day Mike mcdanie's is drilling that into their head,
focusing on breaking that curse of not winning the damn
playoff game in twenty four years since two thousand.
Speaker 5 (47:12):
Man, So this will be the year we win a
playoff game. I don't know.
Speaker 6 (47:15):
We got Odell when it got John new Smith. We
got Shaq buried over there. We're getting back Chubbed, we
getting back Phillis.
Speaker 5 (47:21):
We' getting healthy.
Speaker 6 (47:21):
We got a new defensive coordinator working on signing.
Speaker 1 (47:24):
Have all of that, got eight chain, we loaded, you
have all of that. But you brought up Odel Odell
in South Beach. I don't know about that. I don't
know about that.
Speaker 3 (47:29):
It give me distractions. It could be a distraction.
Speaker 2 (47:32):
My boy.
Speaker 3 (47:32):
Oh bja's my man. I love your b jail. I'm
wishing nothing but the pussle.
Speaker 1 (47:36):
But I mean, it's a lot of damn distractions. Okay,
let's just leave it at that, right, It's a lot
of damn distractions. But look, man, keep up the great work.
I'm looking forward to showing up. I know I owe
you in appearance on your podcast. I'm coming through. I'm
gonna be there, appreciate the work that you're doing, your
rise of starring this business.
Speaker 2 (47:52):
One man. Happy to have you on board. All the
best to you.
Speaker 5 (47:54):
Thank you, Steven the Man.
Speaker 6 (47:55):
I'm looking forward to lunch again in Miami, my brother,
I got another spot for you.
Speaker 2 (47:59):
That's right. That's right. I'll be there next week. Let's
do that. Do that. I appreciate you, bro, thanks so much.
Speaker 5 (48:05):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (48:06):
The one and only your Donna's hassling right here on
the Steven A. Smith Show over the digital areas of YouTube.
Coming up, I want to hear from you. It's time
for your tweets and calls.
Speaker 3 (48:13):
That's next right.
Speaker 2 (48:14):
Here with your boy. You know who I am, you
know where I'll be.
Speaker 1 (48:23):
Everybody knows I demand excellence and I'm in it to
win it. So that's why I've teamed up with the
one and only Prize Picks Okay, America's number one fantasy
sports app to help turn my sports knowledge and it's
some big time money. In case you already didn't know,
Prize Picks is a daily fantasy app where you choose two, three,
or even up to six of your favorite players and
(48:44):
then simply pick more or less on their projected stats
and honestly takes less time than it does for Asia
for Asiah Wilson to drible up the court and hit
that long range game winning three. You know, every basket, strikeout,
all goal gets bigger and bigger and bigger each week,
So go now and download the prospect app today to.
Speaker 2 (49:02):
Join a community of more than three million.
Speaker 1 (49:04):
Members, and if you do, prize picks will match your
first time depositive up to one hundred dollars. Yeah that's right,
you heard me, So go to Prospects dot com right
now and use code sas mind.
Speaker 2 (49:16):
This is, of course, in case you didn't figure that out,
Just use promo.
Speaker 1 (49:19):
Code sas or prozepects to receive a first deposit match
about the one hundred dollars, and then let the games begin.
Speaker 2 (49:26):
Prize pickts, pick more, pick less. It really, really, really
is that easy. Welcome back to the Steven A. Smith
Show right here over the digital airways with.
Speaker 3 (49:39):
YouTube and on heart radio.
Speaker 2 (49:41):
I wanted to get.
Speaker 1 (49:42):
To an item that recently caught my eye involving former
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton on his YouTube show Fourth
and One. I was a guest on There Do It
Bowl Week. I actually enjoyed it. Cam spoke about the
perceived racial discrepancies when it comes to white professional athletes
like Tom Brady, Tony Romo, and Troy Aikman, who seemingly
ski hit the line when it comes to opportunities to
sign mega profitable TV contracts in the broadcasting booth after
(50:06):
their retirement from Sports for Reference. Seven times Super Bowl
champion Tom Brady signed a ten year, three hundred and
seventy five million dollar contract with Fox Sports in May
twenty twenty two to become their top NFL analysts. He
will finally make his broadcasting debut this fall. Months after
retiring for the Philadelphia Eagles, Jason Kelsey signed a multi
year contract with ESPN and would join a Monday Night
(50:28):
Countdown pregame crew and will be an analyst for the
Monday night football halftime program. Cam questioned why the same
opportunities aren't given to athletes of color too, and he
said this quote, I'm always going to tell Tom Brady,
Tony Romo, Greg Olsen, Troy Aikman, Matt Ryan, and go
get the bag. What I am doing is saying, how
(50:49):
in the world are they the only ones that's getting
access to these types of contracts because somebody told me, well,
you don't get these contracts because you're not polished yet.
What type of media training did Tony Romo had before
he just popped up commentating on the game end quote?
Let me try to be highly sensitive to this because
(51:12):
this is my brother. We talked about Cam Newton.
Speaker 2 (51:14):
Here.
Speaker 1 (51:15):
Take Tom Brady out of the out of the sentence,
take him off the subject matter. He's a seven time
super Bowl champion. Okay, he has the credentials to talk football.
He knows it inside out as a quarterback of Super
Bowl champion. Quarterback, you played the same position. You went
to one super Bowl and lost. He won seven, he
(51:39):
went to ten. You see the difference. You can't put
Tom Brady. You got a point with Tony Romo. I'm
not talking about Tony Romo's talent in the booth. I'm
talking about the road he traveled to get to the booth.
You do have a point there, but one could argue
he's a cowboy.
Speaker 4 (51:57):
Take Troy Aikman out. Three time super Bowl champion for
the Dallas Cowboys. So not only does he have the
backdrop and the cash shade and the prowess of being
a former cowboy, America's team worth nine billion when everybody
else is worth five billion with the common Commanders. Josh
(52:18):
Harris bought that for six million with his group. But
the Cowboys do resonate, So you can't use Troy Aikman,
who's got that and three super Bowl championships, and your
damn sure can't bring Tom Brady into the equation when
you win seven Super Bowls, when you won more Super
Bowls than Terry Bradshaw, than Joe Montana, than Troy Aikman,
(52:41):
than Steve Young, did John l Way, then Roger Starbuck,
when you won more Super Bowls than anybody in the sport,
when you yourself as an individual, has won more Super
Bowls than ninety nine percent of the teams in the league, actually.
Speaker 1 (52:59):
One hundred percent, because I don't know one franchise that
has seven Super Bowl championships.
Speaker 2 (53:03):
Because he got one with.
Speaker 1 (53:04):
Tampa, you can't question anything about Tom Brady. Ten years,
three hundred and seventy five million dollars. Demnity deserves every penny.
Troy Aikman deserves his bag. Tony Romo, he was a cowboy.
He's damn good.
Speaker 2 (53:18):
At his job. But Cam makes a good point.
Speaker 1 (53:21):
Matt Ryan yet to be seen, went to Super Bowl
through blew a twenty five point lead, never won a
Super Bowl championship, might be going to the Hall of Fame.
But I get where Cam's coming from. Overall, Cam, here's
what it gets back to. You have to look the part,
to some degree, be the part you have to be somebody.
(53:43):
It ain't just about being polished. It's about a willingness
to be. It's not about telling the world you want
to do what you want to do, when you want
to do it, how you want.
Speaker 2 (53:49):
To do it. But I want your money.
Speaker 1 (53:52):
You got to show a willingness to capitulate to those
who are paying the money and what they want to
some degree, not totally. We need to talking about selling
your soul. We're not talking about shedding who you are
and what you bring to the table.
Speaker 2 (54:05):
But if the.
Speaker 1 (54:05):
Look, along with how polished you come across is what
matters to them, and they're the ones with the bag.
Speaker 3 (54:15):
If you want the bag, you got to capitulate.
Speaker 1 (54:18):
See what we got to stop doing is lying of people,
especially youngster's gonna come up. You could do what you
want to do, when you want to do it, how
you want to do it, without giving a damn about
what anybody else wants.
Speaker 3 (54:29):
To what anybody else feels. But I still want your money. No,
go ahead and pay yourself.
Speaker 1 (54:37):
If you want somebody else's money, you gotta give them
a little bit of what they want too. So how
you present yourself matters. Your willingness to listen matters. Your
ability to articulate and disseminate a message to the masses
in a fashion.
Speaker 2 (54:52):
That everybody can comprehend.
Speaker 1 (54:53):
Where you're coming from and what you're trying to say matters.
Speaker 3 (54:58):
That's just the way that it.
Speaker 1 (55:01):
I'm not talking about right and wrong, because that could
be debated till the cows come home. I'm talking reality.
That's what you gotta know, damn right. There should be
some brothers in the booth Monday night football stuff like that.
Lewis Riddick was.
Speaker 2 (55:18):
In that Monday Night booth a couple of years ago,
and he's fabulous he was in there.
Speaker 1 (55:23):
You didn't bring him up. Let's think about it, Cam.
I appreciate the question you being a conscientious observer. Love
you for that, bro, But you got to take all
things into consideration.
Speaker 2 (55:37):
Let's go to the big screen.
Speaker 1 (55:38):
Right now to look at some of my tweets before
I get on out of here with some calls for
the day.
Speaker 2 (55:41):
Right, Let's go to some of these tweets here. Let's
see what they're saying to me.
Speaker 1 (55:44):
At what is it preda mame or preda mame or whatever.
Alex Predholm, preda mammy, preda mammy.
Speaker 3 (55:51):
In the spirit of Olympic Track and Field.
Speaker 2 (55:53):
Trials this weekend, What time you think you could run
for a mile? Me?
Speaker 3 (56:00):
Fifty six?
Speaker 1 (56:01):
Well, first of all, let's get this out of the way.
I haven't tried in decades.
Speaker 2 (56:04):
Let's get that shit out the way right now. Okay,
I haven't tried. Secondly, however, I mean, what is this?
Speaker 3 (56:11):
It?
Speaker 2 (56:12):
Could I run a mile in under six minutes? I
think so?
Speaker 3 (56:18):
Is that bad? B Chris some my train?
Speaker 2 (56:22):
Is that bad?
Speaker 3 (56:22):
A mile in under six minutes? I think that's solid.
I think that's solid.
Speaker 2 (56:27):
I could right, No, no, no, no, no, no no,
hold it.
Speaker 1 (56:30):
That's assuming I don't catch a cramp. I don't want
to catch a cramp. If I don't catch a cramp,
I could do it, and I can do it in
about six minutes. I think I could do it in
about six minutes. Definitely seven, but I think I could
pull off six. Next question, next tweet, please bring it
(56:51):
up here, hurry up now. This is from what is this?
Jake Bates Bulge?
Speaker 5 (57:00):
What is this?
Speaker 2 (57:00):
Karum misses me fave? What the hell? These names?
Speaker 3 (57:03):
C O R U M I S.
Speaker 2 (57:05):
M y my fave. All right, as Steven A.
Speaker 3 (57:09):
Smith, what's the best.
Speaker 1 (57:10):
Sandwich of all time? Well, we gonna get this out
the way right now. I don't even know what.
Speaker 2 (57:15):
The hell that is.
Speaker 1 (57:16):
That's a lobster rod. No, what the hell is? This
looks like peanut butter and jelly? What's this right here?
The steak sandwich? That looks like a cheese steak? And
this is just like a chicken, says, So we're gonna
take out this. We're gonna take out this turkey club
now the cheese steak. I'm tempted to say, because I
do cheat at least once a month and eat one
(57:37):
of these, but I gotta say peanut butter and jelly
for this reason.
Speaker 2 (57:43):
It's to go to when all else fails.
Speaker 1 (57:46):
The likelihood is you got peanut butter and jelly and
your refrigerator. When all else fails, you can go to
a hotel and they got peanut butter and jelly in
the refrigerators. Okay, if all else fails and you ain't
got anything else to eat, you got to cook that steak.
You can't eat it raw, so you gotta cook it.
If you're me, you want to toast the bun. All right,
(58:07):
you want to toast the bun the right amount of cheese,
maybe a little sorteate on you some pepper as well. Yeah,
all right, but peanut butter and jelly is money.
Speaker 3 (58:17):
It's cheating, and on top of it, all is quick and.
Speaker 2 (58:21):
It'll fill you up, although not necessarily healthily if you're
eating it with white bread. That's just me last tweet.
Let me get it. I don't know who is this.
Speaker 3 (58:29):
At seven thirteen capital rights.
Speaker 1 (58:31):
Are Caitlin Clark and Andreuries being used to create race wars?
Speaker 2 (58:37):
I don't think so, But that's a valid question.
Speaker 1 (58:42):
If two black girls or two white girls were going
at it, would it be nearly as appealing.
Speaker 2 (58:48):
I would say no, you could say race. But the
reality is.
Speaker 1 (58:54):
Is that it wasn't really any kind of warfare per
se until Caitlyn Clark was busting everybody's living you.
Speaker 2 (59:01):
Know what, and waving their hand and their hand in
their face like that you can't see me whatever.
Speaker 1 (59:06):
And then arew Reese met her in the NCAA tournament
and smoked her with LSU took out Iowa, and that's
what made Angel Reese famous to this level. And Angel
Reese Caitlyn Clark says the right things, tries to avoid controversies,
et cetera, et cetera. Andrew Reese is a proud black
woman who doesn't run from any noise. And so when
(59:29):
you look at that, that's what I think it's about.
Speaker 3 (59:34):
You can say race. I think it's styles.
Speaker 1 (59:37):
I think if Kitlyn Clark was as outspoken as Angel
Reese their battles and they played the same position, their
battles would be embraced more favorably. But Adrew Reese is
a foeet Kitlin Clark is a guard. Their style of
play is completely different. Caitlin Clark actually plays with more
sizzle in her game because she can pull up from
(59:58):
the logo. Angel Rees ain't that kind of player, but
she's rough and tumble. She can get it done. She's
gonna have a long career in a WNBA, I believe, and.
Speaker 2 (01:00:08):
She's gonna talk that talk. And she ain't trying to.
Speaker 1 (01:00:11):
Be politically correct and polished to the point where she's
afraid of being a political in any kind.
Speaker 2 (01:00:18):
Of fashion whatsoever.
Speaker 1 (01:00:20):
That's not her thing. And it's the antithesis of a
Caitlin Clark. So you could say it's race.
Speaker 2 (01:00:26):
I don't think that.
Speaker 1 (01:00:27):
That's what it's all about. But race always plays a
role in something like this to some degree. It's not
completely out of the equation. It's always that because America
is America. The white population, once ninety percent, once eighty
percent to seventy percent, now reportedly has dipped sixty percent
and sliding.
Speaker 2 (01:00:46):
That's why you got a lot of people.
Speaker 1 (01:00:48):
In the United States of America right now very very
iffy about some of the things that they're seeing, because
there is a fear that society as we once knew
it is evaporating before eyes. And some people handle that
better than others. A lot of people think it's a
good thing. A lot of people think it's absolutely awful
for this country.
Speaker 2 (01:01:08):
That's the way it goes. And if that's the case.
Speaker 1 (01:01:11):
And that's what's in existence, it's inescapable that race is
going to play a role, because depending on what community
you come from, you may not look at this nation
as being as bad as some other people view this
nation as being.
Speaker 2 (01:01:25):
Right now, that's just my thoughts.
Speaker 1 (01:01:27):
Let's get to the phone calls before we get on
out of here, please, all right, Ah, Let's see who's
on the line with us right now, let's go to
Frank in Baltimore.
Speaker 2 (01:01:39):
You're live with Steven A. What's up? Man? How are
you is that? Frank?
Speaker 7 (01:01:43):
Hey, Steven, how are we doing it?
Speaker 5 (01:01:44):
All right?
Speaker 2 (01:01:44):
Talk to me? What's going on?
Speaker 7 (01:01:46):
All right? So, you know, there's a lot of mixed,
you know, emotions about Derek Henry going to Baltimore. I'm
a Baltimore fantastic fan of it. A lot of people
have been saying, you know, he's getting older, not your firepower.
In your opinion, how well Derrick Henry compliment Lamar this
upcoming season.
Speaker 2 (01:02:03):
I think it was a perfect pick up by the
Baltimore Ravens.
Speaker 1 (01:02:05):
I think the biggest team that made a mistake not
going after Derrick Henry was the Dallas Cowboys. I think
the Dallas Cowboys were absolutely foolish not to go after
him and find the money. Baltimore was only paying him
about sixteen million over two years. I think they're paying
him like eight million per or something along those lines.
You should have definitely gotten him if you were Dallas
because it'll took pressure off of Dak Prescott. And if
it's gonna take pressure off of Dak Prescott, why wouldn't
(01:02:26):
it take pressure off of Lamar Jackson when you got
to stack the deck to make sure you prevent this
brother from running with the football. That's less individuals in
the secondary to defend against the.
Speaker 2 (01:02:36):
Receivers you're trying to throw the football too.
Speaker 1 (01:02:38):
So I would say, based on that reality, I think
the Baltimore Ravens did a big time thing in getting
Derrick Henry on their squad. I think it's gonna work
wonders for them. I love the move by them. If
getting him, they gonna run the football. Make no mistake
about it. This is a man child we're talking about.
He's a different beast, make no mistake about it. Again,
(01:02:58):
the number to call in his triple eight seven seven
fifty three zero three.
Speaker 2 (01:03:01):
That's a S A S five three zero three. Oliver
in New York City. You're live or steven A talk
to me? What's up?
Speaker 5 (01:03:08):
Okay?
Speaker 8 (01:03:09):
So my question is, like, what gives you the motivation
to get out of bed and do your job to
the best that you can, And like, was there ever
a moment for you that you knew this is what
you wanted to do with your life.
Speaker 1 (01:03:21):
Well, I've always loved sports, So any opportunity to work
in the world of sports was appealing to me because
I knew I wouldn't be bored getting up to go
to work every day. But ultimately, success is your ultimate inspiration.
Everybody tells you you can do what you want to do.
Speaker 2 (01:03:38):
That's not true. The goal is to discover your skill.
Speaker 1 (01:03:42):
What is it that you possess that is something that
can work, that you can transition into being monetized for
yourself a career.
Speaker 2 (01:03:52):
What is your gift?
Speaker 1 (01:03:54):
What is it that you bring to the table that
most people don't have.
Speaker 2 (01:03:57):
It's something in all of us.
Speaker 1 (01:03:59):
The objective is to find it, Oliver, the objective is
to find it. And what you have to understand My
motivation for getting up every day is on several levels.
Number One, I'm a black man and I know that
the world ain't gonna give me a damn thing.
Speaker 2 (01:04:12):
I'm gonna have to earn it.
Speaker 1 (01:04:14):
Number Two, I want to be successful because I want
to be able to provide for my family. I'm a
man and I believe that's my responsibility. That's not a
responsibility that belongs to somebody else's hands.
Speaker 2 (01:04:26):
It belongs in my hands. It's my responsibility to provide
and to.
Speaker 1 (01:04:30):
Protect it'd be nice if my woman, my wife can
pay some bills, or we could go out to dinner
and you know, she could pick up the tab every
now and then or something like that.
Speaker 2 (01:04:42):
But it is not her job. That's my job. It's
my job to pay the bills. It's my job to
hold down the fort.
Speaker 1 (01:04:51):
It's my job to make sure that I'm responsible for
providing for and protecting my family. Is your number one
responsibility as a man. And if you don't do that,
you're not a man. You're just a grown child walking
around in disguise.
Speaker 2 (01:05:13):
You are not a man.
Speaker 1 (01:05:15):
If you I'm not talking about what you have, I'm
talking about what you commit yourself to.
Speaker 2 (01:05:19):
You could be dead broke.
Speaker 1 (01:05:21):
But if you out there pounding that pavement and doing
everything you can to make sure that you're the best
that you.
Speaker 2 (01:05:26):
Could possibly be for the purposes.
Speaker 1 (01:05:28):
Of providing for your family. If you have that mentality,
that's where it starts. That's manhood. Anything else is boyhood.
Never forget I said that, all right, Oliver, Never forget
I said that.
Speaker 2 (01:05:45):
Last call Joe and Queen's you're live or Steven A,
what's up?
Speaker 8 (01:05:48):
Joe's going on TV? And I make this quick. At
the beginning of the playoffs with Boston, the sentiment around
them was if it is when the season would be
considered than epic failure on the tail end of the
playoffs going into the finals. That have been around Boston
was that they cake walked all the way through the
playoffs to get there. At the end of the finals,
(01:06:11):
it was well deserved. That being said, in terms of
difficulty in regard to the most recent championship runs, where
do you rank Boston to win in terms of difficulty?
Speaker 2 (01:06:24):
It wasn't that difficult. They deserve it their champions they're
worthy champions because they have been the best team all
year long.
Speaker 1 (01:06:31):
And as Your Donna's Hasslam eloquently stated, they committed to
their habits and they didn't deviate. So it's not like
they show up and they were flashing the pen and
all of a sudden they got it done. No, they've
been showing us this all year long. So they deserve
all the credit in the world. And Jalen Brown and
Jason Tatum are not to be denied. But against Miami
(01:06:51):
in the first round, you didn't have Jimmy Butler. Against
Cleveland in the second round, there was no Donovan.
Speaker 2 (01:06:58):
Mitchell for the last three games.
Speaker 1 (01:07:00):
There was no Jared Allen for the entire series against
the Indiana Pacers in the Conference finals, well you didn't
face the New York Knicks because Julius Randam went down,
Mitchell Robinson went down. Ultimately, Ojuan Enobe went down, and
then Josh Hart got hurt too, and Jalen Brunton ended
(01:07:22):
up breaking his hand or wrisked.
Speaker 2 (01:07:24):
Whatever it was.
Speaker 1 (01:07:25):
So we all know that even though Indiana was prolific offensively,
defensively they were very very challenged. The New York Knicks,
on the other hand, and by the way they did
lose Halliburn and New York Knicks, on the other hand,
were a big time defensive team, especially since Ogn Andobi arrived.
So the path to prosperity wasn't as arduous as in
(01:07:50):
difficult as we thought it would be for the Boston Celtics.
Speaker 2 (01:07:54):
But that ain't their problem.
Speaker 1 (01:07:56):
They beat what was in front of them, and they
handled their business and they deserve credit for and they're
worthy champions. And Jayson Brown's a worthy MVP, and Jason
Tatum is a superstar in this league who's worthy of
the praise that he's getting to go along with that
five year, three hundred and fifteen million dollar extension he's
about to get his hands on.
Speaker 2 (01:08:16):
That's it for the day's edition of The Stephen A.
Smith Show.
Speaker 1 (01:08:19):
Once again, my heartfelt condolences to the family of Willie May's.
The world lost a great one, one of, if not
the greatest of all time in the sport of Major
League Baseball Willie May's passing away at the age of
ninety three. And also that everybody out there celebrating June teenth,
we know what the day is supposed to me, We
know what it's about. Remember that on this day and
(01:08:41):
hold on to it as we move forward, striving for
even greater days ahead. Again, that is it for this
edition of The Stephen A.
Speaker 2 (01:08:49):
Smith Show. I will be back with you on Friday.
Speaker 1 (01:08:52):
Until then, I'm signing off peace of love everybody until
next time.