The Los Angeles Clippers star Russell Westbrook emerged as one of the promising players at the beginning of his career. He went on to win the MVP award for the 2016-17 with an average of 31.6 points. But following that dominating performance, Brook’s gameplay has considerably gone down as he averaged only 15.8 points in the last season. He then went on to sign a two-year contract with the Clippers for a meager $7 million. While fans bring in the retirement question, veteran analyst Stephen A. Smith shuts off Kyrie Irving on live TV.

A few hours before Smith took a sly dig on the Dallas Mavericks star, he sent out a strong message supporting Beastbrook. Even though the message sounded positive, the veteran ESPN analyst found it unnecessary and took a pinch at him. Notably, this isn’t the first time he has openly attacked at NBA stars.

Stephen A. Smith’s strong message to Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving took to his Instagram story and shared a video clip of Russell Westbrook’s explosive best from the Oklahoma City Thunder era. Along with it, he also wrote, “Let’s not pretend this Dude right here didn’t revolutionize the Game and inspire us all to do things YOUR way and say fu** em all.” While it seemed positive to Russ’ fans, Stephen A. Smith didn’t feel the same.

In the recent episode of ESPN’s First Take, Smith called Irving’s IG story as, “Unwanted attention.” Moreover, he criticized the Mavs star for putting up the message even before his career is over. He said, “Irving… needs to realize the time for stuff like that is when it’s over.” Furthermore, he highlighted Westbrook’s ringless journey in the NBA and said it would be great to get one before his retirement.

Smith named the former superstar’s teammates and again highlighted his empty trophy cabinet. He added, “He just don’t play, but the brother is a good good brother, it’s just that you don’t have that Championship.”

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On the other hand, former NBA player Gilbert Arenas has important information about Westbrook’s role in upcoming season.

Arenas reveals Brook’s role in the upcoming season

During the recent podcast episode of Gil’s Arena, Arenas spoke about his interaction with the Clippers head coach, Tyronn Lue.

He asked him about the shocking two-year deal of 2016-17 MVP and his future role. He answered that WestBrook is going to play the role of leader in the team while Paul George and Kawhi Leonard take care of the offense.

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All said and done, many reckon that it will take one season for Westbrook to turn the NBA world’s attention to his side.