Stephen A Smith DESTROYS LeBron James Over Their HOSTILE Altercation as Stephen A joins Gilbert Arenas & The Gil's Arena Crew inside Gil's Arena and tells the real story of what went down between himself and LeBron James during the Los Angeles Lakers vs New York Knicks game. Stephen A breaks down why King James felt the need to confront him in public and sparks a HOSTILE Debate over if the criticism of Bronny James is fair.
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Gil’s Arena premieres every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 11:30am PT / 2:30pm ET.
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FunTranscript
00:00What do you make of LeBron confronting you in the aftermath of that situation?
00:04I thought it was weak. I thought it was some bullshit.
00:10But in the moment, I knew that I was listening to a father. Here's what happened.
00:21I'm represented by William Morris Endeavor. The founder of William Morris Endeavor,
00:25Ari Emanuel, had courtside seats right next to the Lakers bench. He had Larry David with him,
00:35star of Curb Your Enthusiasm. I'm sitting with them. I get there in the first quarter.
00:42I'm sitting courtside, and I stand up, and then I got my head turned.
00:48And then I turned back around, and a lot of people thought this was the end of the game
00:53or something like that. This was in the third quarter. Apparently, LeBron had walked out of
01:01the timeout, and I turned around, and he's right here in my face. He said, yo, you got to stop
01:09talking shit about my son. You got to stop fucking with my son. That's my son. That's my son.
01:15And I was like, what? He said, nah, fuck that. I said, yo, let's talk later. He's like, fuck that.
01:21Nah, fuck that. You got to stop fucking with my son. And I said, all right, though. And he walked
01:26off. So I remember during the timeout in the first quarter, seeing Bronny. And Bronny looked over at
01:38me, and he had this sad look on his face. And I'm imagining Pop saw that shit, and it hit him.
01:48And he couldn't hold it, and he rolled up on me. And so when I went on the air the next morning,
01:56first things first, believe it or not, I know this is shocking for people to believe,
02:00but I didn't have any intentions on talking about it until I woke up that morning and saw that the
02:05shit had gone viral. Once the shit had gone viral, the bosses at ESPN said, now you got to talk
02:12about it. This is you and him. You got to talk about it. I said, fine. So I go on the air,
02:19and I said, the first thing that I'm going to do is establish that this was a father talking to me,
02:27not a player. And that was what threw me off. And I was glad, even though I thought that he
02:36misrepresented the argument, I was glad he did. Because you see, what he was really talking about,
02:43which was confirmed with his conversation with Richard Jefferson, is that I was talking about
02:49him as a father. And so what happens is that had he said that to me, then I wouldn't have
02:57been thrown off. I'd have came right back at him. Yes, I was. I was talking about you.
03:03You did this shit, which I'll get to in a second. But because he didn't do that, I said,
03:10fine, you let it go. Mind you, I just agreed to my contract. Of course, that day was when it was
03:17announced. It's all over, all over everywhere. It's a nationally televised game. The cameras
03:28are rolling. And I'm like, if I do anything, there's going to be a scene. Now, we can sit up
03:34here in front all we want to and act like we don't work for somebody. Damn it, I work for Walt Disney.
03:41And if I had gotten into some shit with him at courtside right there at that moment, no matter
03:47how right I would have been, it would have been wrong. And I was like, I'm not going to do this.
03:54But once I saw the tape of him talking to Richard Jefferson Saturday night in Boston,
04:02that was when I got really pissed, because that was confirmation. Now, let's get to the father
04:08thing. And I want and I definitely I'm so glad y'all asked me about this shit, because
04:14all I would ask is that I've been around for 30 years. Tell me the parent that said they heard
04:18me talking about them. I've never done it. What happened was this man was the one that said,
04:28you want you want me draft him. I'll come play anywhere he's at. It ain't even about the money.
04:36This man is the one who said he better than some of the NBA players are right now when he was in
04:44high school. If you go back and look at the tape back then, I said, stop, you can't do this.
04:54If you do that shit, you're bringing more pressure on your son, LeBron. Stop. I said it then. This
05:03is before he got drafted. Stop doing this. He goes to USC. He got the heart ailment.
05:11I'm like, thank God he's OK. He going to be I. But I know I'm not going to go see him at USC,
05:20just like I didn't go see him at Sierra Cannon, because like I see Mello son. I heard your son
05:26is all world. I see him, your son. I never saw these guys until they came pro, because I know.
05:34No, no, it's not that I don't want. I know that because of who I am and what I've established
05:40for myself in this industry. If I walk into an arena, everybody is looking for me to critique
05:45that person. And I don't want to do that because they want to come up. I don't want to. I'm not
05:50covering college. I'm covering pro. And they kids, huh? And they kid. Well, I'm saying it. But if I
05:55was a kid, if I was a college reporter, then I would have had to. But I wasn't. So why am I
05:59going to be there? I didn't want to put that extra pressure. So I never went. I went on national
06:03television and announced to the world I'm not going to see him. He goes to USC. I'm not going
06:08to see him. It's too much. It's too much. And then now he's got to overcome this heart ailment.
06:14So I can't judge him. But then they said, oh, he going pro. So then once you say he's going pro,
06:20OK, you're talking to the scouts and the evaluators, everybody else. Yo, man, this is
06:26them. He'll be lucky to be a second round pick. He'll be lucky he ain't ready, blah, blah, blah.
06:33And I'm like, I ain't seen him, y'all. I haven't seen him. Then all of a sudden,
06:38Rich Paul and others a clutch. And then the story headlines follow. Boston might be interested.
06:44Golden State might be interested. Phoenix might be at the Clippers might be. You start hearing
06:48all of this. And you like, I, you know, this could be true or this could be them wielding
06:54their magic to make it look such a way. I say nothing. He gets drafted by the Lakers,
07:01which everybody knew was going to happen because, you know, the skis, the skids were greased
07:06and he gets drafted. I still say nothing. He goes into the pro is open tonight. Now, remember,
07:14most cats talk about the league. I cover it. What I mean by that is that you can give your opinion.
07:24You might not be on the phone with the commissioner. You might not be on the phone
07:28with the executive VP. You might not be on the phone with other people that work in these offices.
07:33I am. So because of that, I'm hearing all of this. Yeah, you know, we just gonna go along with it.
07:40Open the night. I'm talking about open the night and run. We just gonna go along with it. Or you
07:46hear in the Lakers is just going along with it. You're hearing this stuff. Now, I'm not saying
07:50they told me that meeting the commissioner or Jeannie Buss, but I'm saying you're hearing that
07:53from those organizations. So I'm getting all of this. I still say nothing. I'm cool. I'm at
07:59Crypto.com arena. I'm one of those cats standing. Staple said, Hey, Griffey, see, see you, Junior,
08:06who all stars Hall of Famer. They can't give you juice. They got them there. And again, I've been
08:14covering it for 30 years, not NBA sports. You understand. So how you think it's all looking
08:20to me? It's a little bit too choreographed, but I'm still like this. Because I'm thinking
08:32let's have this moment because LeBron deserves it. The brother, I got him number two all time
08:39behind Jordan, right? He's done so much for the league. He's generated so much money.
08:44I want to hear about Bronnie and the 8 million. As far as I'm concerned, LeBron underpaid
08:48the shit. That's 8 million he should have had in his pocket. It's no big deal to me.
08:52But the one thing I did say was that one game right there is the moment.
08:58Now you got to go to the G-League and earn your stripes. Instead, he's playing and playing
09:07and playing. And I'm getting stats and he go against Philly. They put him in in the first
09:17quarter and Tyrese and them gave it to him. And then they plaster on SportsCenter, 0.3 points,
09:300.3 rebounds, 0.4 assists, blah, blah, blah. And I said, damn. Why? Because I'm like,
09:40now I can't ignore it because how am I doing my job?
09:46Now you've put me in a position where because they put the stats up,
09:51everyone is blowing it up. They're putting it on all their social media pages. And it's like,
09:58how do all of that's happening? But Stephen A. Smith got nothing to say.
10:02I can't get away with it no more. So I go on air and I say
10:08the same thing I said over the summer. Yo, LeBron, if we see this, you're his dad and you're a
10:18basketball savant. You must see this. Don't do this. Because you're putting him under such a
10:27microscope. It's going to be too much for him to over, give him a chance. So that's what I said.
10:34And because I prefaced it by saying as a dad, the only reason I said as a dad is because you
10:42marketed yourself as his dad to help him get into the league. You didn't do that.
10:49Melo didn't do that or hasn't yet. And I know he wouldn't. D-Wade, Tim Hardaway Sr., Rick Barry,
10:58the list goes, none of them did that. None of them. He's the only one. And I said, yo,
11:05that's why I'm saying this to you. I don't want to do this. I know your intentions are honorable.
11:10Go back and watch the whole tape of me saying it. I know your intentions are honorable. I know you
11:14don't mean harm, but there's some vultures out here and they're going to come for him.
11:21And how many times over the years to get to your point in terms of what you asked me about what
11:25you expect from me, Stephen A., blah, blah. How many find the brothers in the industry that will
11:31tell you, I did not give them a lookout. I'll go up to them all and say, yo, come here. I'm not
11:38going to be able to help you if you get to this point. You need to stop this shit right now
11:44because it's coming. It's coming. That to me is where I reach back and I pay back.
11:51By giving cash, the heads up are the minefields because I've been here for 30 years. I got fired.
11:57I lost my job. They thought my career was over. I've been through all of this shit,
12:00all of it. And I'm like, yo, I know where the minefields lie and I'm telling you what's coming.
12:06And then this shit go down and everybody act like I never said none of this. I'm like, I said,
12:13this fucked up because if you go, it's all on tape. If you go back, I gave the heads up.
12:18That's the reason for people to do it. That's the reason for people to do it.
12:21So we shouldn't uplift our kids. Like we can't, we can't uplift our kids. We can't say he's better
12:28than some of the players in the league. But you gotta be truthful.
12:32What you mean truthful? It's my son. Don't give a fuck if your son suck, your son suck.
12:35Regardless or not. Don't give a fuck, but it's my son. No, your son suck, he suck.
12:39No, no, no. Yes. Not in his heart. Yeah, I understand. Listen, you can be that dad,
12:45but you made it to the heart. You're not trying to live, but you, you're not trying to live.
12:50You're not trying to, you're trying to, you're not trying to live. And I seen it. So I'm not
12:58saying Bronnie suck, but I'm just saying, but you just, you are. Yes, you can be that. Listen,
13:04I listen, I coach lonely rec girls basketball, right? Trust me. When I tell you some of them
13:15parents being there, cheering they fucking hard out for they child. Yeah. You supposed to shit.
13:21It's my child. You see that product. They ain't got nobody athletic in they family tree.
13:29Whoa, whoa, man. They looking for an anomaly.
13:35They ain't got an athletic bone in they family tree. And they got they child out here and they
13:39ain't no motherfucker with signs and shit. Right. Go get them. But no, I'm saying this.
13:48My child is better than something. They don't mean that. Wait, don't you coach your son on the
13:52girl? No, no, no, no. I thought they ain't going to do this in front of me. Don't y'all play the
14:03same league? I got a six year old son. Yeah, my son. Nice. Oh, no, I got no food. I thought you
14:11was coaching ass boy. But the other part that I would bring to you, the other part I would bring
14:16to you swag is this. That's all I'm saying. Because you played in the NBA. Yeah. It ain't
14:21just about how you feel. It's about how you know what's coming. And then I got it. And so now as a
14:28parent, you got an obligation to protect from what's coming to your point. Right. I used to
14:36tell you all the time. Internally, I see it. You have what it takes to play in the NBA. Right. All
14:42you got to do is keep getting better. Right. Right. This is my whole message. Right. Right.
14:48Keep getting better. Right. And I'm pretty sure Brian is telling Bronnie the same thing, but
14:54it was in here. It was interrupted. Not saying that he can't get there, that he would never get
14:59there. I think he got a chance. But it was interrupted. And they pivoted. And they pivoted
15:05in a way that we all said. We all took pause in it. Right. We're like, but that's their family.
15:13That's their decision. Right. So we all go sit back and whatever comes with it, comes with it.
15:19And we're the same. I'm the same way to sit on this couch and say, we're going to treat him
15:24as the 55th pick. Right. My son was the 52nd pick. I fucking get it. Right.
15:32It worked out for KJ in year five. He listened. He got better. He did. There was a decent situation
15:38to play. It just right. It's just unfortunate. My name ain't to that. Everything that KJ has
15:46done, everything that he's doing is being critiqued. But it's helped. Right. It's helped
15:50because with you, you were a rough rider. Everybody know you could defend your ass off.
15:55Everybody, you wasn't scared of shit. You know what I'm saying? You wasn't going to be some soft
16:00ass playing alongside you. You wasn't having it. No one disrespects your son.
16:07Because they're scared of him. But no, it's not about being scared. No, no, no. It's his makeup.
16:13No, no. It's his makeup. If you don't tell him, he's going to make sure you tell him.
16:21Yeah. But what I'm saying is he was, he was, so he comes into the league, but it's not just
16:30about respect for him as a player. It's respect for how he handled his son coming into the league.
16:36You said, listen, you talk. I asked, I had to ask you about your son the other day. I've been
16:42hearing about his son for a while. I had to ask him about him. You got to ask. I mean, Mello,
16:48listen to Mello talk about how he had to step back. You know, he was desperate for his son to
16:52go to Syracuse, but he didn't want to influence him. You said Mello never talked about his son
16:57like that. You had to ask him. And so you see a lot of this stuff happen. And then you see this
17:04and I'm like, so as a media member, now this is the part y'all may not take into consideration.
17:10You don't have to care, but we do. If I don't say nothing, wait a minute now.
17:18I had to say something about somebody else. I had to say something before. How long am I supposed
17:29to go without doing my job? The brother is in the NBA. He is wearing a Lakers uniform.
17:38So it's like, wait a minute here. You got to a point where it left you no choice. So then all
17:46you could do is speak respectfully, but honestly, and then everybody was caught up in as a father,
17:52as a father, as a father. And I'm like, come on, man. This is how simple it goes. It goes this
17:59simple, please. You've always been stand up Steve. So whenever it's a situation that we look
18:07into Steve to stand up and they're trying to take that away from you, you got to look at it from my
18:14perspective. I'm like, I'm always the one that's going to say something. Right. And I'm going to
18:20be always the one that's the hater, because what I'm saying is in opposition to what everyone
18:26either believes or has been told. Okay. So I've always taken the Stephen A. Smith seat. Okay.
18:33I'm going to say it. Yeah, I said it. I know some of y'all feel that way. And I know some of y'all
18:39watching what I'm watching, but it's not a critique. It's just what I'm seeing. It's
18:43an observation. I want to play with a brother like that. The asses. Yeah. Who didn't? You
18:50weren't on the show. They got criticized, bro. I said he was taking up a goddamn roster.
18:56What's wrong with wanting to play with somebody you love? When J.R. Smith, J.R. Smith and Chris
19:01Smith. J.R. Smith. He got criticized for that. Yes. I'm not in the media like every day like
19:06Ron is. Their dad is in LeBron James. He's not in the GOAT debate.
19:14In a couple of ways. Yannis is a bad example. Yannis is a bad example. He's a superstar. He
19:21came. He comes over to America and they were talking about how he was alone and he's not
19:25comfortable. He's not trusting. So you got that man there to keep him comfortable. Wait a minute.
19:29He's worth it because you ain't going to the 12th man on the bench any damn way. So stop that now.
19:33Now, to get to your point, to get to your point, you're right. Except for one thing.
19:39I haven't always spoken first. There's plenty of times in my career where I've laid back and I
19:45haven't said anything and I've waited. It's just that when I spoke, that's what I'm saying. It
19:49resonates. That's what I'm saying. But you holding back sometimes works against you because you
19:56could have said it when everybody was feeling it and everybody knew it was supposed to come out and
20:01you're supposed to say it. Right. So you're holding that brownie. OK, information. OK,
20:05holding on to it. No. And we all saying it. Right. Right. And we wait and don't stand up,
20:10Steve, to say because that's going to validate it. Right. It's like if these see it,
20:14we know it. Yeah, but but but but in that situation, I don't know if he said anything.
20:18I didn't know. He's the only foreigner that needed somebody next door. No, I said it.
20:24No, I said he's the only foreigner that needed help. He's the only four with a brother that
20:29wasn't there. How about that? What's his name? OK, well, I don't know. Yeah,
20:34everybody. Yeah. Joker brothers to be on the bench. Like I get they are on the bed in the
20:39league. And I was taking up the right. Yeah, I agree. He was in the league before. Yeah,
20:43but you're not wrong with what you're saying. You're not wrong. I'm just saying
20:47it depends on the story. Everything isn't meant to be put on Front Street. They won.
20:53Sometimes you wait because sometimes the story is more potent when you wait, as opposed to you
20:59being just get it out there first. Now, sometimes you want to wait and see. You can do that. You
21:05get to make that decision as a media member as long as you honest about it. Let me ask you this.
21:10Is the timing right now as potent as it is? Is it bubbled up at the right time now? Well,
21:15he made it that way for everybody, for the league, for Steve. You just signed your deal.
21:19That happened. The league is just got Luca. They just turned a viewership coin. Everything has
21:26turned due to all of these interactions. I'm still saying it still depends on the story.
21:30It depends on how much something is resonating, how much is percolating. If it's just percolating,
21:35damn right, you touch on it. If it ain't that big of a deal in people's eyes, then you might wait.
21:39But he made it. He made it what it is when he came when he rolled up for me.
21:43Okay. Okay. Isn't this, isn't it weak though? Like when you think about it,
21:48you know, he wasn't ready, right? As a father, as a father, you're still a father to your son.
21:56You're still trying to praise them and make them feel like they're worthy of playing basketball
22:01because they can get discouraged at any moment in time. Right? So I'm pretty sure every game
22:06he's already like, you got it. Don't worry about it. Just go out there and play your game. That's
22:09that part of it. The NBA part knows he's not ready yet. Right. Right. But as the father part,
22:15him sitting there nervous and shit, you're like, no, no, no. Hey, relax. You're going to go out
22:19there and play. At what point when he gets drafted 55, do you supposed to sit back and be like,
22:27all right, there's nothing to talk about here. He's 55. It's, he wasn't 17. He wasn't a first
22:33his draft status actually let you know what he was. But what I'm saying to you,
22:41that very draft status that you pointed to all of us would have that attitude.
22:48If his pops had it done what he did. So what I'm saying is, is that because of what he did
22:57publicly, we had no choice, but to ultimately address it. And as a 55th, all he had to do is
23:04this, listen, I got this moment with my son. All right, now it's time to go to the G league
23:10and do what you're doing. And we'll see you next year or let the draft happen organically.
23:16And if somebody's going to draft them, let them drive. But you never know just for shits and
23:22giggles. Right. All right. What if somebody at 44 wanted to pick it? No, I'm just, but shits and
23:28giggle. No, I get it. Right. 44 wanted to pick him, right? Yes. So you're going to stop? Yes.
23:37Cause he wants to play with his kid. He don't want to see his kid. He don't want to see his
23:40kid. Okay. He wants to play on this. Yeah, that's way different. That's way different. And here's
23:48why my son could have died. Yes. I've been in the league 21 years, right? So what is the,
23:55hold on. I've been in the league 21 years. What is Bronnie's dream? I bet to be an NBA. I've been
24:00in the league 21 years. I missed 19 to 20 years of his life. You know how we are as parents. We're
24:10in, we're out. We're in, we're out. My first born with my name almost passed. And you're telling me
24:18that I'm going to keep, I'm going to keep playing this league to miss this. Fuck no. This is going
24:23to be the first time in my career where I get 360 fucking five days with my son, but you don't,
24:31I'm not letting someone else drive him. I want him near me because of what happened.
24:35Are you going to do it? But you don't get every day. I do get every day. If he's on his team,
24:40but he's not, he plays more than I did for the last whatever he gets to come home to me though.
24:45He lives by himself. I don't want to say he gets to come home to me. He's a pro. Are you not? Are
24:49you understanding? Everything that you're saying is true, Gil. Yes. Yes, absolutely. 100% factual.
25:00I hear you. Yes. But what is Bronny's dream? Bronny's dream was to be in the NBA, right?
25:06Bronny's dream was this. I don't give a fuck where I get drafted. I just want to hear my name.
25:12So why not? So therefore what I'm saying is- That was his dream.
25:16Let that happen organically. As a father, I don't want it to happen organically on your draft.
25:23Hold on, Gil. I want it to happen on my draft. Hold on, hold on, swag. Hold on, Gil.
25:27So you don't think it meant something for me to hear? Listen, I told y'all sitting in this
25:32motherfucker, I was a bigger wreck on KJ's draft day than he fucking was. For sure. You shouldn't
25:38be. A bigger wreck. I'm trying to stay away from him because I don't want him to sense this shit.
25:45So yeah, I wanted more than he fucking wanted. Absolutely. But it's his dream and his journey
25:54is what I'm saying. Who cried? I'm happy for him. I did. No, no, no. Who cried when
25:58Bronny got drafted? I didn't watch. They said it was Bronny. I thought I saw him crying.
26:03Yes, I'm pretty sure. Of course. I'm pretty sure he did. His only dream was to hear his name.
26:09Hear his name called. Yes. I'm with you. I'm saying yes, Gil. Yes. Absolutely. Hear his name
26:15called for any fucking team. Right. For any team, right? Right. But here's what he's saying.
26:26He said any team, right? Which means that when we're talking about the Lakers, that's about
26:31LeBron, not Bronny. Bronny wanted to get drafted by any NBA team. He wanted to hear his name.
26:40It was LeBron that wanted him as his teammate. So what I'm saying is- Now why? So what I'm
26:45saying is, because of the reasons you pointed out. So what I'm saying to you is, what I'm saying to
26:50you is, if LeBron had rolled up on me, this is all he had to say. Because I said this to Rich Paul
26:56when Rich Paul called me. I said, Rich Paul, I only asked for grace in one level, on one point.
27:02If you had called me and said, Bron pissed off, motherfucker mad as hell,
27:08he wants to see you man to man. I said, what would I have done? Rich Paul said,
27:13you'd have hung up the phone and you'd have flew to LA. I said, thank you. So my point is,
27:19rather than come up to me at courtside, all you had to do was say, yo, I need you to stay. Don't
27:25leave this game. I need you to see you after the game. So all he had to say to me. Then as we speak,
27:32he says that, let's take the example he said, what you just said, I stand down.
27:39My bad. And not only that, I'm going to make sure I go on the air. I ain't looking at it that way.
27:47That's on me. He didn't do that shit. You said you fucking with my son. No, I wasn't.
27:54I was talking about you. I was talking about you. Wasn't about your son. I know he's number 55.
28:01I know he got work to do. I believe that he got potential. I believe that he got the potential
28:07to go pro. I truly believe that. It's going to be tough, but I think he could pull it off. And
28:11by the way, I'm rooting for him. I ain't rooting against nobody, but I was talking about your ass.
28:17You, you did this. You're the one that had us as reporters, as a league, as an NBA franchise,
28:25all of us got to sit back and be quiet and capitulate to your shit. You did that.
28:30And so when I see people talking and I'm like, oh my God, can somebody, I mean, I know I got a show
28:38and I know I got my podcast, but I'm like, goddamn y'all I'm fair. I don't give a fuck who it is.
28:43It's you. It's you. It's you. It don't matter who it is. Damn it. I'm just meeting you.
28:47It's somebody unfair to you. I'm going to be like, that's not fair. That's not fair.
28:52But when it come to me, everybody get crickets. That motherfucker, Stephen A on his own,
28:57that respectfully, excuse my language, that's fucked up. I'm on my own. When, when number one,
29:03we know I'm right. Number two, we know the perspective that I'm coming from is real.
29:07And it's authentic. Number three, he set this up. Number four, all you had to do was tell me
29:16it. Listen, Kenya told me you keep talking about bringing this up for all fun. He talked about how
29:21he approached me in Puerto Rico. I swear to God, I don't remember. I swear to God, but I know that,
29:26but I know this much, but you do. And let me tell you what I did. I was writing for the Philadelphia
29:30Inquirer. It's from 1993 to 2010. Shit. I said, what the fuck are you talking about?
29:37I called Philadelphia Inquirer. I said, I need, I called Marisa, look up the archives. I want every
29:41goddamn article I wrote about Kenya Moore. And I don't know what he's talking about, right?
29:45Because I'm looking at articles. I said, I knew that brother was a stud. I knew that brother
29:49deserved his money. What the net, where the nets going? Nets ain't going no fucking back-to-back
29:52finals without you. I'm like, I know, what is he talking about? You know what I'm saying? So I'm
29:57looking for the shit and I found some shit where you got it. It was about some shit with Byron Scott
30:02or whatever, but I don't know. But I'll take your word for it. My point is, Kenya and Mark would
30:07talk about, I rolled up on Stephen to hate. I'm like, he ain't the only one. There's plenty of
30:14motherfuckers that rolled up on me. Glenn Robinson and I, I mean, buttheads because I thought he got
30:19Randy Aires fired. I couldn't stand his ass. Let me tell you, let me tell you. I mean, it got to a
30:25point where motherfuckers like just walk in between us because it was just hostility. I couldn't stand
30:29his ass. And then I was in Houston and I saw Glenn Robinson III and he saw me and he put his head
30:39down and he walked by me. I felt like such shit. I stopped him in the hallways of a Houston Rockets
30:45game and I said, come here, man. Whatever's going on between me and your father, it's my fault.
30:52And when I see him, I'm going to apologize because for him to look like that, we done took this shit
30:56too far. There's no reason for it. I just thought that you showed Randy Aires the same breasts as
31:02you show Larry Brown or some shit. That's all it was. But for it to get like that, I didn't mean
31:06for that to happen. So I instantly told him, whatever it is going on between you and me and
31:11your father, it's my fault. Your father's fine. I'm the journalist. I'm supposed to know better.
31:16That's my fault. That's on me. Shit like that could happen with somebody like LeBron. But LeBron up
31:22here and he know he up here. He don't give a fuck. The problem is when it comes to the media,
31:29goddammit, I'm up here. You understand? And as a result, you can sit up there, you can make some
31:35noise and make a scene and do whatever it is that you do. But you see, I got 10 hours of airwaves a
31:39week live. And I got my podcast. And I got other outlets. And y'all don't even know what the fuck
31:46is coming down the pike in terms of opportunities I got coming my way. I'm just getting started.
31:50You should've tripped him. As soon as he turned his back. Bob.
31:53Nope. Not necessary. Not necessary. It's like, yo, this is what it is.
31:58Question for you. This is what it is.
32:00Serious question. What was he going to do?
32:02No, I'm just saying, what was he going to do?
32:04But the thing is, you rolled up on me, motherfucker.
32:06See, the thing is, so when we get to... So I told Angela, she does our social media. So we're going
32:13to start a segment, right? And you remember the old bracelet they used to serve like WWJD?
32:20So we're just going to change the letter J to a K. And what would Kenyon do?
32:25I don't know what. That's a good one.
32:28See, people do that to people, right? People do that to people where they know what the response
32:36is going to be, right? If he thought that Steve was going to be on bullshit in the moment, I
32:43didn't know what he would've did at that moment, right? If he thought there was a slight chance
32:50that this shit could go left, right? They're not going to put themselves in that situation.
32:55Trust me. You approach me, it ain't going to be the fucking narrative. It's going to be way worse
33:01than what... Listen, it started out as you... Motherfucker. Motherfucker. Motherfucker. And
33:08then take me out in cuffs. Cool. You bought this ass whooping upon yourself in public because you
33:13thought that was going to be the narrative. It's not going to be the fucking narrative.
33:16They do that shit to people who they think and they know they can get away with it in public.
33:20You ain't got to be swinging. I'm not doing that shit. He's not. That's him. That's why I said,
33:24what would Kenyon do? A little trim, though, just for us. And I said,
33:28I'll listen to him. The Lord don't put me in no kind of situations because I'm going to fail
33:31tremendously. What is LeBron wrong with? I'm going to fail at this. Josiah, you're going to
33:34have to try a little harder. Serious question for you, Steve and Ed. I know y'all don't fucking
33:40listen to shit I do anyway, but I'm a movie star now. Serious question for you. If LeBron would've
33:47came up to you, we got bags coming. We got bags coming. We got bags coming. We buy bags.
33:56Serious question for you. Now, you're my dog. We got bags coming together.
33:59If LeBron would've came up to you and said, let's talk after the game.
34:02I'd have waited. Would you have brought Larry David with you, though?
34:04No. I'm bringing Larry David. What you going to do now, bro? I got Larry David right here.
34:11You can meet him. There's some smoke coming, Larry.
34:13But seriously, it's like, yo. Listen, when you got people, they got the podcast,
34:20they got the shows and all of this competition going on. Most people in my position don't do
34:28a lot of interviews. You can't find them. So why do you find me? Because I feel I owe it.
34:36I've interviewed you before. I've interviewed you before. Yo, I'm talking about people.
34:43Why am I going to run? What license do I have to... If you had something to say,
34:48you said, Steven, are you free today? Man, I got to rap to you about this LeBron shit.
34:52It's a scheduling issue if I don't show up. I'm not running because, yo, Steven,
34:57I think that's some fucked up shit you did. Okay, let me tell you what happened.
35:01Now, if you still think I'm fucked up after I give you my version, I'm good with it.
35:04But the point is, is that to me, when some of these players do shit,
35:11it's like everybody just taking this gold. I'm like, really? I'm like, they don't lie.
35:18You know, they don't lie. They don't bitch up sometimes. They don't come up with narratives
35:24to make you look bad to cover themselves. Oh, they just paragons of virtue. Come on, y'all.
35:30We know better than this. And I'm going like, yo, that's... And I'm not saying any of...
35:34You know, you got cast... I had my man Cam'ron interview me. He was like this,
35:39you know, do players talk to you? Oh, so, you know, and that's my man. He's like this. I'm
35:45just asking. I said, people see four or five players getting on me and they think the other
35:50440 plus don't talk to me. So you think I have information by accident? I said, do you know?
35:56I mean, again, I've been around. It's GMs, it's presidents, it's player personnel directors,
36:02it's scouts, it's evaluators, it's owners. I remember one time, KD, one of the many times
36:10he talking shit, was sitting up there talking about, well, you know what? Fuck he know. Who
36:14the fuck he talk to? He in Brooklyn. Fuck he know about Golden State. What the hell he know about
36:22what's going on? He turned around and did a double take. Because that night I was sitting
36:26with the owner. Another night it was a GM for another team. Another night it was one of the
36:34GMs, assistant GMs. It's like, you don't know who I know. There isn't a team in the league
36:42that I can't get information from. And trust me, it might take a day, it might take an hour,
36:49it might take a month, but I'm going to get it if I want it. If I want it. Because when you've
36:55been around that long, they feed it to you. As this show continues to grow, remember I said this
37:02to y'all. All you motherfuckers got phones. You get text messages. Watch as you get a million
37:10and 2 million, because y'all going to be around because y'all doing a hell of a job. Why the hell
37:13I'm here? Thank you for the bottom line. Thank you. Remember this. You're going to get to a point
37:20where your head going to be down a lot. Because they're going to be texting you
37:26about shit all the time. Because when you grow and you got a voice that resonates,
37:34they're going to start feeding you information. I'm at a point now I don't have to go to a game.
37:38I don't have to talk to anybody. Do you understand that there's nothing in my contract that says I
37:42have to talk to you? I'm talking about the players. Okay, I thought you're talking about-
37:44No, no, I'm talking about players. And I would understand if it was in your contract.
37:47There's nothing in my... I get paid. When they get ridiculous, I'm like,
37:52I don't get paid to talk to you. I get paid to talk about you. I don't have to look at you.
37:59But, but Rashad, I still go to the games. I still make sure they have access to me. I haven't
38:07changed my number in 23 years for the sole express purpose of making sure you can find...
38:13And we both know I got an excuse to change my number. Because when you make a little paper,
38:17everybody wants to know. Everybody want to hold something.
38:19I got it damn right. You know that shit. Oh, especially now. Boy, listen, Jack.
38:26And I still can't change. And I don't change my number for the sole express purpose.
38:32I'm not hard to find. He ain't hard to find.
38:34I had the same... I run into people, hey man, let me get your number. And I give it to them.
38:38They be like, oh, I already got... Yeah, my number ain't changed in years.
38:41That's right.
38:42I don't change numbers. I'm not one of them guys. I ain't change numbers in fucking years.
38:45I've been tempted to, but I ain't change... I get you, because listen.
38:49I change mine every three months. I don't want to talk to you.
38:51My number ain't changed. Because one thing for sure, two things for certain. I can pick and
38:57choose who I communicate with, how I respond, and who I fucking respond to.
39:03If I don't want to fucking respond to you, I don't. If I will, if it's accordingly,
39:08or if it just want to be a one word answer, I'm...
39:11The whole shit is this. When you have platforms like this and shit like that,
39:17you got cats that's just real. You understand what I'm saying? You ain't bullshitting.
39:22And so you're going to come at shit from a real perspective. What happens is, is that
39:28if you take issue, you might call a cat out, me or somebody else, because of what we said.
39:35This is where my problem lies. We got players in the league
39:40that do that shit and then start complaining about, you know, you talk about another brother,
39:45you selling out, you know, it's black. They do a shit like that. And I'm going like this.
39:50Y'all don't see what they doing? They trying to make it so it's difficult for you to walk
39:55the streets because it's like, yo, I, when you see him, look, that motherfucker ain't for us.
40:00That's what they trying to do. Oh, because you playing like garbage. Oh, because you ain't
40:04leading because you ain't living up to the expectations that you promised when you walked
40:09into the negotiating room and said, yo, I deserve this paper. And then you're going to come at me
40:14and I'm like, y'all letting them do this shit? Because if they do, this is the one thing where
40:21my cachet comes into play. If you can do it to me, what's up for everybody else?
40:29Because if you covering the league and you calling it like you see it and you see what they doing
40:34and they able to twist the narrative, all I'm saying is, nah, don't let them do that.
40:40Fuck that. Yo, if, if I'm wrong, do you, but if I'm right, yo, Steve, it ain't right.
40:48Don't let, don't let them get you like that. If they come and they get, nah, fuck Gilbert,
40:54who the hell is he to talk? Hold on. Was he right? Yes or no? Don't give me all that shit.
41:02Was he right? If he was right, then why are you doing that? Cause you can't take the criticism.
41:08It's going to be a butt with it. And that's what it is. It's going to be a butt with it. And that's
41:12all I'm saying about a lot of these cats. Not most, not all, but it's too many of them. And
41:16they get in the way with that shit. So how does Colby move out of your top two?
41:20Cool. Colby? I wanted to say that. You said moved out? I never had a move out.