Full Episode: NBA Playoffs Breakdown with Brian Windhorst | Nervous about Knicks-Pistons | Isaiah Thomas on shirtless Lebron.

The NBA play In Tournament is here, and that's exactly where we're getting started with the NBA playoff matchups that were finally set yesterday on the last day of the regular season. And joining me now to break it all down is senior NBA writer and host of the Hoop Collective podcast, the one and only Windy himself, Brian Wentors. What's up, Big Time? How are you man? How's everything?

this first season with the team. Talk to me about, first of all, do you think this was the right decision and what you think it means for the future the Phoenix Suns in terms of their next coach. They've failed roster et cetera. What are your thoughts.

but I'm sure Devin Booker will be there. And things didn't go well with him and Booker this year, and they have to focus on Booker now, that's got to be a franchise focus, and he and Booker did not vibe and maybe if they'd have wanted it have been different. Obviously. The best way I could describe the Suns is that over the last few years they've been really good at talent acquisition. If you look at the talent they've brought in Durant bal even getting a guy like Tyas Jones

hell that they acquired Grayson Allen. Grayson Allen led the league in three point three pointers year. This year had some injuries and didn't they get talent. But they can't do is team build And I'm not so sure how much of that is Bud's fault. There's a lot of people got their fingerprints on that, but Budd didn't get pretty much got the least out of this group. I mean, if you look at their roster and you watch them play, you're like, how could this team only produce thirty six wins?

And I know they had some injuries. I think they were thirty three and twenty nine when Kevin Durant played, and three and seventeen when he didn't. So I'm sure if I was Mike Buttenholder's agent right now, I'd say, well, you're firing me because Kevin Durant had some injuries. You're firing me because he sprained his ankle. That's fine. But still even thirty three and twenty nine with their talent with Durant, doesn't make sense. They did not get the

most out of his team. And that's just reality.

You fire Monty Williams, you bring in Frank Vogel, and then after Frank Vogel, all right, he's gone after one year, and now Budenholze is going. And then you talked about all the picks that they've given up, how they've mortgaged their future. Essentially, talk to the audience about that and how bad things are in Phoenix right now, Like what I just articulated, Yeah, I.

game seven. If you remember the team that they had, stephen A, it was Devin Booker, who was I think drafted tenth or eleventh someone thing I'm in the late lottery. Maybe it was thirteenth, but as a draft pick. He had Mikhale Bridges, a guy they got on Draft Night. They made a Draft Knight trade to acquire him. You had Cam Johnson, who not going to the Hall of Fame probably, but an excellent role player who fit alongside

Devin Booker beautifully. You had DeAndre Ayton. Now Deandrayton was taking in the Luka Doncics draft, and so if you want to say that they screwed that up, they took him one, that's fair. However, they drafted him and he led that he was their franchise center. They went to the finals. The next year. He was their franchise center. They won sixty four games. Those are all draft picks.

They built that team through the draft and then their big move after they went eight, they went you know, if they had the bubble in Orlando, they went eight to zero in the bubble. Even though he didn't make the playoffs, Chris Paul saw them and said, that's a team I want to be a part of and engineered a Trey to get to Phoenix. But the team, the core of the team was built through the draft and after that especially after Mattshpia bought the team. They just

stopped drafting. They just started trading the picks and trying to get instantaneous improvement with veteran players. Those veteran players didn't work, and now they can't rescue themselves through the draft. This is a team that actually drafted very well, built a championship contending team through the draft, and has now gotten in a situation where even if they want to rebuild, rebuilding through the draft is going to They don't have any picks. They don't control their picks. So they really

are in a situation of their own making. And it'd be one thing if they were in the middle or at the bottom, and they led to the situation they were at the top and they did this. Now, if Matti Ishpia was here and he was defending himself, what he would say is, well, you're talking about twenty twenty one. You're talking about twenty twenty two when I made the

Durant trade. You know the team wasn't performing well. That you're talking talking about a you're talking about a former version of the team, And that's a fair thing, but I know that taking the tools away from the decision makers and how they built the team, which is the draft I think is a mistake.

the Knicks is an interesting one in my opinion. I've never understood why Kevin Durant didn't go to the Knicks in twenty nineteen instead went to the Nets. I get what they were building in Brooklyn was compelling. I have heard what he said about that. I don't understand why you wouldn't go to the Knicks, and I am not going to assume or guess what Kevin has thought about that, the fact that the you know, the Knicks, as you know stephen A, they're probably not headed for a great postseason.

They've had a very good regular season, they won fifty games, They've got some really good pieces. They have been slacked by the teams ahead of them in the league, not even schalect. They have been totally washed out. They have no wins over any of the teams better than them in the league essentially, and so they have some pieces that they could offer for Durant. Now, I'm not gonna make any assumptions here because that's how you get out over your skis. And you got to see how this

the Knicks. Maybe the Knicks will surprise us in the playof But Durant has on the record with Draymond Green saying, I want to control my destiny.

around it. Let me transition to New Orleans right now, because the Pelicans have fired their president of the basketball operations, David Griffin. In six seasons, the team's made the playoffs twice but never won a series. I blame obviously Zion Williamson from the standpoint of his lack of availability. I'm just looking at his numbers here, Windy. In six seasons in the NBA he arrived in twenty nineteen twenty twenty season, he's played thirty games, or less than four of them.

He missed the entire twenty twenty one to twenty twenty two season, all right, we know that due to his injuries. But he played twenty four games as a rookie, twenty nine games the year after missing the entire season in twenty twenty two to twenty twenty three, and initia he's only played thirty games. Lack of availability. Bottom line, I think if he's available, he's a career twenty four point per game scorer or so. I think if he's available,

David Griffin probably still has his job. Your thoughts.

of things around him that didn't work. Number One, they traded for Dejonte Murray this year. They paid up a pretty penny for de Jontay Murray. Now he tours Achilles, but before he tore's Achilles, it was not going well. He traded for and then extended the contract of CJ McCollum. CJ McCollum is a quality player and excellent person to have in the locker room, but has not been a difference making player. And he you know, you can blame

one side or the other. But the relationship they had with Brandon Ingram, who was a core player for them, went south. He wanted out of there and they ended up having to trade him. The return on that trade is not ideal. We'll see there's still draft picks out there could happen, but the direction of the talent inflow and the talent outflow and what was thriving there and

what was not thriving was not ideal. There were these brief flashes over the last couple of years where the Pelicans were all together and they looked really good, and there was these stretches where you said, oh, now I see the vision, but those didn't last. It would not have surprised me if David Griffin was given one more year, but it would only have been one more year, and so he got unlucky. But he also made some choices that didn't work out.

retained by the Philadelphia seventy six ers. What about you.

board with it. So I think they are giving him the grace that this was a terrible year in terms of injury and misfortune. But what I would say to both Darryl and Nick is you have no margin freer now if next year isn't an excellent year, you're gonna that's probably I would say that the hottest seats in the NBA right now looking into next year. We got to see how this season ends, But right now the hottest seats in the league are probably Daryl Moray and Nick Nurse.

gotta pay some bills. Don't go anywhere. It's the stephen A. Smith Show right here with my man Brian went to us to talk about the NBA play In matchups up next. Don't go away, all right, folks, I need you all to stop what you're doing and listen up. You know I love this time of year, right The NBA play In Tournament is set to begin this week, and with all its action going on, that STEPHNI Smith Show wants

to make sure you take advantage of it all. That's why we've partnered with Prize Picks, the best place to win cash while watching sports. The app is easy to use. Just pick more or less than a few player stats and you can win up to two thousand times your cash on a single lineup. That's right to two thousand times payout. Just drop. So build your lineup, lock it in and went up to two thousand times your cash.

The rewards have never been this big. Best of all prospects will give you fifty dollars when you play your first five dollar lineup. Win a lose, You'll get fifty bucks for playing. Use promo code say yes and download the app now again. Download the app and use codesay has to get fifty dollars instantly after your first five dollars lineup prize picks. Hey, hey, run your game today. I'll give you my picks for tomorrow night's game between Atlanta Hawks and the Orlando Magic. So let's get right

to it all right. First up, will Atlanta's Tray Young score more or less than twenty seven and a half points? It's ice Tray, It's who he is, this is his time of year. I'm going with more. Next up, follow Ban Carro of the Orlando Magics. Will he score more or less than twenty nine and a half points. I'm gonna say more because I think he's a stud. If he had been fully healthy this year and Orlando wouldn't be in a player, and they'd be one of the

top six seeds in the Eastern Conference easily. As far as I'm concerned, I love Bean Carroll. That brother is the real deal. Make no mistake about it. I'm gonna go with more on this next up, Will the Atlanta Hawks on yek ge A Gungwu score more or less than fourteen and a half points, I'm gonna go with less. I'm gonna go with less. I don't know why, honestly, because Orlando could be suspect from time to time. But

I'm still gonna go with less. And finally, will the Magic's Franz Wagner score more or less than twenty five points? Even though I know he's more than capable of scoring more. I think Bean Carroll gonna eat up so much of the offense. I'm gonna go with less on this one for Wagner. So there you have it, Young Ben Carrol, Congo, Wagner more and young more on Bean Carrol, less on a Congo and on Wogner. Rather. That's it. That's all

I got to say. Help you love it to stephen A Prospects in the house, it's Tom Yeah, y'all's tom of Year. Welcome back to Steven A. Smithshow. My man Brian wind Toss, one of the ultimate NBA insiders right here with yours truly right here on the Stephen A. Smith Show of the Digital It was a YouTube and of course iHeart radio. Let's get to the Western Conference playoffs. The Clippers in the Warrior season came down to a battle to stay out of the play in and the

Warriors lost. What do you make of it and what kind of position do you believe that puts the Warriors in in terms of living up to Draymond Green's guarantee that the Golden State Warriors are going to win the NBA Championship.

will be a challenge. Who beat them a couple of maybe the week and a half ago, but they You know, the difference between the number two see the number seven seed in the West is negligible between those teams. What I would say is they lost three of the last five games coming in yeah, and and and at home. These were home games. And now they've got Steph with a thumb injury. They got Jimmy Butler with a thigh contusion,

and he played forty eight minutes. And you're already got an older team, that's a smaller team, so you're you're asking them to play almost down the line with bigger guys, and you're now wearing on them a little bit. I'm not sure you gave yourself the best chance to succeed. I will say Jimmy Butler has routine been amazing in single elimination situations. This is why they traded for him for this game. Even though he's banged up and he just played all those minutes, I would expect him to

be great on Tuesday Night. My faith in the Warriors has been a little shaking with the way they finished, though. You know, they went nineteen and two during that stretch when Stephan and Jimmy were in the lineup together. You and I talked about him a lot in there, and then they after all that, they still didn't get what their goal was, which is to get a top six seed. And the way they were out played on their home court in basically a vitally important game against the Clippers,

it was worrisome. And so I take nothing off the table, but my confidence in him has definitely been shaken.

and you would have an experienced edge over them. And the one thing I would say about Golden State is I don't doubt that Jimmy Butler or Steph Curry or Draymond Green can go into a road arena and win. The Lakers had a lot of success against the Warriors this year. Now the last time they played, the Warriors did get them. But the Lakers are an awesome home team.

They've been an awesome home team throughout the year. The reason the Lakers are the three seed is because they were so good on their home court, specifically against the West teams. They just absolutely are a different team on their home court. And when you think about the challenge of dealing with Luca and all everything that comes with them, and we've seen Luca be a difference making player and

playoff series, we know Lebron can still be Yes. Stephen Ah, I think you're a if you're a Warrior, you're not devastated, but you got to handle your business on Tuesday. You've got to because the last thing you want to do is have to play another game where you're facing elimination and then you got a quick turnaround and then you're looking at the thunder, and so yeah, I get it. But I'm also a little bit cautious to make assumptions in this Western.

that Norman Powell gives you a third option. I mean, when we talk about Austin Reeves in LA with Lebron and Doncs, look at what this brother, Norman Powell has been with James Harden and Kawhi Leonard. After Kawhi Leonon missed first thirty four games of the year, So I'm looking at Kawhi Leonnard since March, averaging twenty five on better than fifty two percent, shooting forty three percent from

three point range. This brother looks terrific. And suddenly you're looking at the Los Angeles Clippers and you got people speculating this is the second best team in the West, not the Lakers, but the Clippers. What are your thoughts about the Clippers?

drilling the shots. He was hitting them with haymakers. He delivered a huge fourth quarter, absolute full dosage of a playoff Jimmy Butler who basically didn't leave the floor in that game, and the Clippers absorbed every blow and basically controlled It was the Warriors trying to get leverage the whole game, including throughout the entire overtime. Hardin was great.

You mentioned Kawhi and his stats. I mean, he has never shot the ball better than he did down the such of this season, and you could say, well, that doesn't mean anything if he can't make it through the playoff series. I agree, and you know who else agrees? The Clippers. I spent some time with them last week and their response was, Hey, we're doing great. We just got to keep Kawhi healthy. Everything we're doing is trying

to keep Kawhi healthy. Stephen A. They played them in a back to back the second to last week of the season, then on the game on Sunday, they played them forty seven minutes. Yes, now, they don't do that unless they feel like they got He's in a good player. He looks great, I know, and sometimes he can be in a good place. He can can go left at the drop of a hat. That's the Kawhi Leonard experience. But they're gonna try to They're gonna try to ride it.

You know, when he won that title in Toronto, that jump shot was so calibrated. You know, people talk about and have seen the Steph Curry shooting displays and warm ups where the dude makes eighty five consecutive shots. I'm telling you, I remember watching Kawhi before the finals games in twenty nineteen. He would make sixty five jumpers in from the mid range in a row. They would have when.

ain't won, but they ain't five. And when Jamal Murray is playing on the top of his game, the Nuggets are very very hard to beat. Four out of seven now, You've got Oklahoma City on that side of the bracket. You know how I feel about them. I am gonna believe that they can win the West. But I am telling you this looks like Kawhi Leonard of twenty nineteen today. I don't know about tomorrow. I don't know in ten days. Today, that's what he looks like.

Austin Reeves has really elevated his level of play. Jj Reddick, as far as I'm concerned, as a candidate for Coach of the Year, I think he's done an outstanding job along with his staff. I think Minnesota's lone shot to win this series is Anthony Edwards has to be the biggest star on the stage. And here's the thing, even with Luca and Lebron, I think he's capable of doing it. I still don't think it'd be enough for them to win the series. I got the Lakers winning the series.

But do I think that Anthony Edwards has it in him to potentially be the biggest star on the stage even with Lebron and Luca. I think he could do it. What do you say to that.

his energy. The advantage that he's had since Luca has been back because it's sometimes he's able to moderate his energy and then hit the gas in the fourth quarter if the war, if the Wolves are gonna play the way that they like to play, there is opportunities for Lebron to rest on defense. They'll put him on Rudy Gobert because he's not afraid to fight him in the post, and he doesn't have to run around on the perimeter. He'll have to be in some screen and roll action.

They'll put him on Jade McDaniels, who you know has momentary hit shots, but like Lebron, will be able to come off of him.

And so that's why I want to see The Wolves are not as good defensively as they were a year ago, but they are better offensively, and you can trace that to Ants being and the guy by the way, he hit seven threes on Sunday and became the season leader in most three pointers made. The guy is a verified weapon from three point range. This guy, he gets to go from outside. He can beat you with that as well.

worried about them in the first round against Detroit. I give them no shot against Boston in the second round if they were to get there. I'm worried about them losing the Detroit business. And I'm worried about Tom Thibodeaux potentially being on a hot seat even after a successful season, because he didn't the work and developed the depth that the Knicks would need to utilize, and so they don't

run their starters into the ground. I'll give you the last common about the Knicks in this series against Detroit, real quick, go ahead.

they've got a lot going for them. I do not think that they are as good as the three teams that won sixty games this year. Because I'm gonna include the thunder who also swept them this year. I think the Knicks will pleasantly surprise in this first round. I respect the Pistons. I also think that they have almost they have very little experience at this level and and of their core guys like you know, I know Tobias Sarris and Malik Beasley have played big games before. I

know Tim Hardaway Junior's play games. But I'm talking about you know, you're asking, you know, Kate Cunningham and stuff to go into the guard and maybe he will, maybe all maybe in ten days again, I'll think that he can. I think the Knicks are I think the Knicks have a lot going for them. I think their weaknesses are big. I think they've got a lot going for them. I think that'll win out in this series. But I think

you may sweat. I think there could be some cursing emanating from you as you're in here watching watching games over the next week and a half.

It was a hall of fame with significant credentials. Wait till you hear it. You hear what he had to say, Trust me, you don't want to miss it. More to Steven A. Smith Show coming in your way in a minute after I pay these bills. All right, everybody, listen up with all the big time sports action that's happening each and every day, The Stephen A. Smith Show wants to make sure you are taking advantage of it all. That's why we've partnered with the Prize Picks, the best

place to win cash while watching sports. The app is really easy to use. To make a lineup, all you have to do is pick more or less on a few player stats. Choose from any of your favorite players Luka, Doncic, Jimmy Butler, and Zach Lavine all in the same entry, then sit back and watch. The list is absolutely endless. You can play Prizepects in over forty states, including California and Texas. Best of all, Prospects will give you fifty

dollars when you play your first five dollar lineup. Wanna lose, You'll get fifty bucks. Just use promo code says and download Prizepects right now again down the app and use code essay has to get fifty dollars instantly after your first five dollar lineup. Prospects, run your game. Let's stay in the NBA for a quick topic that raised a

few eyebrows this weekend. That's because Hall of Famer Isaiah Thomas called out the one and only Lebron James himself for being quote unprofessional end quote for wearing no shirt during early shooter round on Friday. This is what Isaiah Thomas had to say about Lebron while NBATV role the warm up video. Y'all gotta see this. Take a look at this. I just totally one hundred percent object to this. If I was a GM or coach, I would never let one of my players walk out on the floor

looking like this. The professionalism in our NBA league is the minute so much. I like Lebron, but to walk out on the floor before a game with no shirt on and shoot. I mean, come on, man, where are we at? What we doing? Adam Silver, If you want to find somebody, find that, put a fine on that end. Quote Isaiah Thomas is one hundred percent right. It's just a bad example to use because you see, contrary to what some of you trolls out there want to instigate

and fabricate and start up. When it's talking about Steven A. Smith and Lebron, I told y'all, I'm gonna always be fair. I'm going to do my job regardless of how we feel about each other, I'm going to do my job. Lebron James is not the greatest example to use because ninety nine percent of the time the brother epitomizes professionalism. Lebron James is usually dressed up. Lebron James carries the mantle and conducts himself with the level of decorum and professionalism.

Media interviews, post games, availability stuff like that. Lebron James shows up big events representing the NBA brand. It's Lebron James you lean on. So to mention a word unprofessionalism and him with a broad brush would be incredibly unfair. But if you're isolating an incident which Isaiah Thomas dead, then it's more than fair. And the reason why it's more than fair is because you're thinking about what's going

on in a moment. You're a man out there with no uniform, no T shirt on, in a professional environment. You're not in a closed door practice. You're out at the arena where fans have already been allowed to enter the arena. It is a professional environment. But most importantly, it's about who this critique is coming from, y'all? Do understand at that champion that is Isaiah Thomas was also

the president of the Players Association for years, right? Did y'all know that when it came to diversity in the sport covering the NBA, that one of the biggest people who spearheaded that movement was Isaiah Thomas who brought it up and made it an issue during collective bargaining negotiations in the eighties. Did you know that because he did it, so people like me and Michael Wilbon and various others who have been blessed and fortunate enough to cover the

NBA for years, including women. By the way, Isaiah Thomas was one of the people who spearheaded that movement, and when they talk about the level of professionalism law before David Stern in the aftermath of the brawl at the Palace in Auburn Hills in two thousand and four, so implemented a dress code law. Before that, it was Isaiah Thomas who was a leader amongst many the Michael Jordans of the world, the allowance on mornings of the world the shack deesel go back and look at the footage.

Did you see how they came to a game? Did you see how they were dressed. Do y'all know who the most popular coaches were at that time? Pat Riley, remember how he dressed? Chuck Daly, Daddy Rich as my man John Sally would call him. Remember how he dressed? Everybody would would would bow to the altar of Chuck Daly.

Now in terms of the media, I think it's safe to say that if anybody had the right to speak on this issue, it would be made in case y'all didn't notice your brother dresses quite nicely. Matter of fact, I gotta talk to my damn nephew Josh and how he been dressing. He gotta upgrade his wardrobe because there's a standard that comes across associated with your boy, Stephen. They you don't believe me as first take. It ain't no accident. I might say it with a smile on

my face, half jokingly, but I'm all so serious. Oh you're gonna dress on first take. You ain't gonna just show up dressed in the old kind of way. He ain't going down like that. Professionalism matters. This was a rare moment when we could look at a lebron and somebody like Isaiah Thomas would ever dream of of the word unprofessional when it came to him, But it doesn't mean that particular critique wasn't appropriate for that one time. It's worth mentioning it, playing and simple. Coming up, the

WNBA Draft is tonight. Paige Beckers is expected to be the number one overall pick, but she also has another deal in the works. I'll get into that, but first, the University of Tennessee is now looking for a starting quarterback after nil contract negotiations broke down over four million dollars four mills. We'll talk about that and then some up next. This is Steven A. Smith Show in the house, back with more in a minute. Back here with the Steven Date Smith Show, let's get to some quick hitters

from the world of sports. Did y'all hear about what happened to the University of Tennessee this past weekend? The university has moved on from starting quarterback Nico Iamalava. Nico was a no show at practice on Friday while it was nil contract negotiations with the university were ongoing. University was prepared to pay Nico two point four million dollars, but apparently representatives for Niko wanted four million dollars head coach Josh for his hypel had this to say about Nico. Quote,

this program has been around for a long time. There are a lot of great coaches, a lot of great players who came before that laid the cornerstone pieces, the legacy, the tradition that is Tennessee football. It's going to be around a long time after I'm gone and after they are gone. End quote. On Friday night, Iamalava notified the team that he was in the process of filling out his paperwork and planning to enter the transfer portal when it opens up this Wednesday. This is a bad look

for this kid. Let's get that out the way first. It's a bad look for the kid. It's not entirely his faulty. His kid, they say supporters, reportedly his fathers, and obviously he's got an agent. We all listen to our representatives, we all listen to our lawyers, but the adults in the room ultimately have to concede and acquiesce to what the client wants. In this case, it would be Iamalava. When you look at Nico, he's a kid, he's a young man, and in all likelihood he's following

his father's advice. And they're going from there. The NCAA is the ultimate corporate, of course, because they've been exploiting kids for ages. This is why they ultimately had to acquiesce to things like nil deals and transfer portals and what have you, because they utilized the system to their own benefit at the expense of kids for decades, and now they're receiving their come uppens. But along the way,

we also have to recognize the losses we've suffered. Mike Krzyzewski, although he was in his mid seventies, there's no doubt that the these kind of things played the role in his willingness to walk away from the game. The same could be said for Roy Williams at the University of North Carolina and their basketball program. It most certainly could

be said said. I can speak directly to this because Nick Saban told me himself as to what played the role in his deciding to walk away from college football as the greatest coach the game has ever seen, along with various others. It's also why you know, folks you know didn't want to participate in it. When you think about Dabbosweeney at Clemson, why you think that this stuff is a headache for him why he never wanted to

get involved in it. You have players now in colleges acting like pro athletes or acting like as if they're pros, because the system now allows it and mandates it. What it ultimately comes down to, ladies and gentlemen, is the need for a collective bargaining agreement. There are no uniform rules or regulations in college football anymore in college basketball because of the money involved, and the only way to rectify that is to have a collective bargaining agreement. And

let me tell you why it's necessary. You know it's bad when a corporation like the nc DOUBLEA is begging for congressional interference, usually they run from such things. Now they're running to that because they want Congress to solve problems for them that they can't pull off themselves. So there's no doubt that the NCAA probably likes something like this going on because they know it's going to create a public uproar and as a result, elected officials are

going to be clamoring to get involved. Similar to what Corey Booker, Senator Corey Booker alluded to a couple of weeks ago right here on this show, along with other elected officials. This is what the nc DOUBA wants. So if you're the players, if you're representatives of the players, if your parents, you want a collective bargaining negotiation to take place, so they are uniform rules and regulations that everybody has to follow. That's what's going to take to

save the sport of college football and basketball. Without it, the support is going to die. I'm telling you that right now, because the NFL or somebody else is going to find a way to infiltrate the proceedings and take advantage, whether it's the NBA, to NFL or anybody else, because business is business. But in the end, let's not forget

the most important thing in all of this. The most important thing in all of this is that this was necessary because the NCAA spent decades taking advantage of the student athlete. Yamalava is not a bad guy here, but his representatives are making him look like the bad guy because they're chasing an extra million, a million and a half dollars. His valuation was at three point one million. He's getting paid two million, around two point two million. Tennessee was willing to go as high as two point

four million. His valuation was at three point one million, but he's asking for four million. So worst case scenario, we're talking about a difference of one point six million dollars a year. And that's what all of this is for taxes. Take off half that fifty percent. Come on, now, we could do better. Collective bargaining resolves this issue, getting adults in the room and negotiating a collective bargaining agreement. And the good news there is that finally, after all

of these years, players will have representation. That's what the NCUBAA had denied them the opportunity to have for so long, and they got away with it. I don't want to hear about Cener, the Ted Cruz, or anybody else trying to get involved in all of this in any constellation's way whatsoever. I want to see you collectively bargain a deal with the nc DOUBLEA that doesn't require Congressional interference, because Congress clearly took the side of the NCUBA for

far too long. Otherwise, the athletes wouldn't have been exposed for as long as they were exposed, or exploit it. Rather, it wouldn't have happened that long if you had done the right thing decades ago. So you know, you know, I'm alla is not the bad guy here. He just looks like it. Because you sign a contract, you want to honor it. Your quarterback shouldn't be looking to just desert your team. That's how he looks right now. But

it ain't all his fault, it really isn't. It's just that he's the face of change that apparently is imminent. Now let's get to the WNBA that's preparing for the draft tonight. Paige Becker's, fresh off her national championship with Yukon, is expected to be the projected number one overall pick. But that's not the only deal Beckers is in the works. Sources told ESPA yesterday that she's also signing a three

year deal with the three on three Unrivaled League. Page signed in an il deal with Unrivaled last year, which gave her equity in the league. Sources to tell the ESPN at Becker's first year of salary for the ten week Unrivaled season will exceed what she would make in four years of her WNBA rookie contract. Now, keep in mind her WNBA rookie contract was scheduled to pay her

a little over seventy eight thousand. This year. The highest paid player in the WNBA is Kelsey Mitchell in Indiana, who's getting paid about two hundred and thirty nine thousand right now. Paige Beckers, they're saying, over four years she would make a little over three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, whereas in this ten week league she's scheduled to make

more than that. If you all remember last year, in its first year, it was projected that the unrival league would make approximately twelve to thirteen million dollars, and they made over twenty seven million. So consider that. Pay attention to that. Now, pay attention to the brilliance of this girl's Paige Beckers, who just won a national championship, by

the way, who is spectacular all season long. National Player of the Year went to Juju Watkins of USC, of course, but Paige Beckers was something sensation that went to the final four all four years of her career, got injured to an ACL, came back, overcame it, finally won a national championship and now is considered on the Mount Rushmore of Yukon basketball, which is a great, great tribute to have along with the people like that Anderson Rossi Brond,

the Stewards of the world, the Mores of the world, that kind of thing. But let's get back to what the brilliance of Paige Beckers truly is. Do y'all know that she invested in the unrival League last year while she was still in college. Did you know that she has an equity stake in the Unrivaled League? Do you know that she's making money as a partner as well as a player, And on top of it all is only gonna build her profile even more so when she gets drafted and goes to the WNBA, she gonna get

more money and endorsement dollars from that. Paige Becker's is doing her thing, clearly guided by the right people. She knows what the hell she's doing. Major, major props to that young lady. She's doing big things. And it ain't just Caitlin Clark now it's Paige Becker's and soon, hopefully it's gonna be Juju Watkins when she comes back from that knee tear, and she's gonna recav it too. Wishing

nothing but the best for her. Let's not forget Asia Wilson, who's the best in the business right now, let's not forget her for WNBA best in the Business. Our last quick takes us to golf where history was made at the Masters yesterday as because Rory McElroy became just a sixth golfer to win all four major championships in the

Masters era. McElroy joins Jeans Sarazen, Zarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicholas and Tiger Woods is the only golfers to win the Masters, the US Open, the British Open and the Tour Championship. Here's the story. It's really a story about perseverance. The man was suffering an eleven year drought, came close numerous occasions, finishing the top ten at the Masters eight times over that time span, and still couldn't

close the door until he finally did yesterday. It's a story of perseverance, and here's why you should love it. Never giving up, always coming back to fight the good fight, to try to strive to be all you can be. That's what Rory Rockleroy did and it paid off. He's thirty five years of age and regardless of that huge

monkey that was on his back, he kept going. There's a lot of times we could look at people and we can look at their talent and we could say, hey, we just don't have it, that ability, we just don't have that greatness. But you know what we all have inside of ourselves. If we really dig deep enough, the ability to persevere, no matter how rough times get, we can somehow find our way through the maze and come out better than we were when we entered the fray.

That's the lesson to steal from Rory McElroy, and major props to him for his accomplishments. That's all I wanted to say about that. Coming up, Gail King goes into space and some idiot set fire to the home of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. I'll get into those stories and more up next right here on a steven A. Smith Show. Back for more in a minute. Welcome back to the steven A. Smith Show. I want to get into a

serious headline from the world of politics. Police in Pennsylvania have arrested a man they say broke into Governor jos Shapiro's residence early and started a fire while Shapiro and his family were sleeping. Shapiro, his wife, Laurie, their four children and another family were forced to evacuate the home, which was significantly damaged by the fire. Thankfully, no injuries were reported. Thirty eight year old Cody Balmer turned himself into police and is being held on charges that include

attempted murder, aggravated arson, and terrorism. According to an affidavit, Balmer said he was angry with the governor and would have beaten him with a hammer if confronted. I'm gonna repeat that he would have beaten him with a hammer if confronted. There is a quote from the fire chief in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and he says, I have absolutely no

compassion for anybody who commits such heinous crimes. Fire chief Brian Interline told The New York Post following a press conference Monday, just hours after Bamba lobbed multiple malotov cocktails in the Governor Jos Shapiro's home early Sunday morning. He said, to anybody that affects my firefighters and American citizens, you don't deserve any of the luxuries that we have here when you create such heinous acts against our own people.

That's what he had to say. He said, I would hope that they send him to El Salvador for a tough crime, and absolutely I would support that one hundred percent. The fire chief continued, he has no business getting any of the luxuries that we have to offer here in the United States of America. I have to tell y'all, ladies and gentlemen, I don't disagree with a single syllable,

the fire chief otter. And before I explain why, I'm going to put up this quote from Governor Josh Shapiro so you see what he had to say via tweet in the aftermath of what transpired. He said, last night, at about two am, my family and I woke up to bangs on the door from the Pennsylvania State Police after an arsonist set fire to the Governor's residence in Harrisburg.

The Harrisburg Bureau of Fire was on the scene, and while they worked to put out the fire, we were evacuated for the residents safely by Pennsylvania State Police and assisted by Capitol Police. Thank god, no one was injured and the fire was extinguished. Every day we stand with the law enforcement and first responders who run towards danger

to protect our communities. Last night, they did so for our family and Laurie and I are eternally grateful to them for keeping us safe at Pennsylvania State Police is on the scene leading this investigation and will keep the public updated. End quote the fire chief back to him is absolutely correct. See ladies and gentlemen, this is what I talk about when we're talking about little old me

as a sports commentator being a presidential candidate. Think about the vitriol that exists on both sides of the eye. I'm not going to accuse any politician of being at fault for this heinous act. Mister Balmer should be thrown under the jail. There were children in there, to adults, a different family, and what does he say to the police. I would have beat him with a hammer if I

could have. Clearly, you want to inflict violence. Why. We don't know whether this is anti Semitism or not, but there is no doubt that there will be people who are supporters of Governor jos Shapiro who will say so, and who's to say they are wrong. Anti Semitism is certainly a problem that exists in this country right now, especially in light of what's been transpiring over in Gaza and other areas with the Palestinians and Israelis. We all know what's been going on over the last year and

a half or so, if not more. But here's the deal. We can't have this as a society. We can't make this okay, and the rhetoric that we spew we have to be very, very careful because of the potential impact that it has. I've often said this as a sports guy. In the end, no matter what you say outside of the actual participants whose livelihoods are directly affected, for the

rest of us, it's a game. We're covering games, and we're covering the exploits of magnificent athletes that most, if not all, of us wish we could be but can't. It's just that simple. But when you're talking about politics,

that's real life. When you're talking about the economy, when you're talking about inflation, when you're talking about the potential of a recession, when you're talking about the borders, when you're talking about safety in the streets, when you're talking about national security, when you're talking about taxes, when you're talking about inflation, when you're talking about health care, you're

talking about real life issues. When you're doing that, you have a responsibility to make sure that you are incredibly, incredibly sensitive to the potential fallout of one's words and actions about what transpires in our nation's capital, along with our state and local governments. Now one would say that has absolutely nothing. I'm certainly not pointing the finger at

Governor Shapiro. I'm simply saying the vitriol emanating from folks arrive in large part due to how folks believe their personal lives are being affected or that of their loved ones, communities, etc. Which is why to me, it's important to be moderate and centrist. Understanding that both sides don't get to get everything they want, Understanding that both sides have to engage and compromise, understand and that both sides need to be pulled from the fringes to the center. Pulled from the

fringes to the center is incredibly important. Why do I say that. I say that because if both sides have something to complain about equally but even more to celebrate, then people are not just thinking about what they have to lose, They're also thinking about what they have to gain, and as a result, decorum and common sense kicks into the equation and we don't have to worry about the level of vitriol we're witnessing. We have to think about that.

We have anow obligation to think about that. That's why you've been seeing me talk about these issues on this show. That's why you saw me on this week on ABC. That's why you'll see me on Hannity's show, in Cuomo's show, That's why you'll hear about me leaving the door open. Even though I have no desire to be a politician, not with the kind of success that I've been enjoying in my career, Why the hell would I want to

do that. There's only one reason. If the world is so jacked up that whatever I achieve doesn't even matter, because nothing but mayhem in degradation is surrounding me in our society. That's the only incentive. I think Josh Shapiro has the potential to be an excellent Democratic nominee for the presidency of the United States of America. I think some people fear that, maybe even mister Balmer himself. I've mentioned names like Wes Moore, governor of Maryland. I've mentioned

names like former governor of New York Andrew Cuomo. I'll continue to mention others as the names come along, But the goal is common sense, a pull to the center from both sides of the aisle. Just like we got people on the left worried about what they're worried about, whether it was woke or cancel culture or abortion or you know, now with what Trump is doing with the tariffs and how it's potentially hurting small businesses in this country.

Even though small businesses, some small business members say they are a support of the tariffs, far more might say otherwise. You got other people on the right talking about a excuse me, what about a third term? Like Steve Bannon going on with Bill Mahd real time this past Friday, talking about circumventing the twenty second Amendment of the Constitution so Trump could run for a third term, implemented in

the Constitution in nineteen forty seven, ratified in nineteen fifty one. Oh, you're gonna sit up there and say, well, it's relatively new, and just like there were people that work to make modifications and alterations and changes to the Constitution back then, we could do it now. O hell to the No, we gotta come to the center, otherwise we'll be talking about the lives of the few flourishing at the flagrant

expense of the very many. We can't have that. We gotta be in search of more things to celebrate, not more things to lament. Speaking of celebration, finally, I want to get props to mis Gail King, Katy Perry, Ais Shabo, who was just on the show last week, and the other women who went up in space today. They were among six women who traveled aboard Blue Origins, all females,

suborbital space Tororism mission. The ladies took off just after nine thirty am Eastern in the company's new Shepherd rocket in West Texas. The company shared that the capsule flew more than sixty miles above ground before landing nearly eleven minutes later. Jeff Bezos, who's fiance Laurence Sanchez was also on a flight, greeted the ladies shortly after they landed. Major major props to them for their bravery as well. Because you ain't catching me up in there, I tell

you that much. I'm not that curious, ladies and gentlemen. I'm a human being. I'm meant to be on Earth. I don't need to be on Mars. I don't need to be above Earth's orbit. I don't need all that. I'm a god that fear an individual, you know what. You know when I want to go that high, when I wanna go high, and that because I wanna go to heaven. That's about it. But I ain't knocking anybody who thinks otherwise, who feels otherwise. Those ladies are tremendous

tribute and props to them for what they did. We celebrate them, we congratulate them. It takes courage to do what they did, and I'm quite sure it was a wonderful life altering experience for them, which we'll be hearing about in the days and the weeks to come. My major props to all of you wonderful ladies. You did something I'll never think about doing. I can tell that much. But I thank you for it nevertheless, as I'm sure the rest of America does as well. That's it for

this edition of the Stephen A. Smith Show. I will holler at y'all at a later date. Hope y'all enjoyed it. Thanks again on my man Brian Wenttors from ESPN for dropping his NBA knowledge on this show. Until next time, everybody, as in the next couple of days. Peace and love, Stephen A signing off