Stephen A. Smith’s Attack on Jaylen Brown Was a ‘Planned’ Scheme, per ex-NBA Stars

Two biggest names in the NBA world, Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown and renowned ESPN sportscaster Stephen A. Smith, recently locked horns. It all started barely a day ago when the latter quoted an anonymous source stating that Brown’s alleged ‘attitude’ is the reason why he allegedly has such low marketability. The player was quick to react to his, asking Smith to state his source. With the feud being fresh in the minds of NBA enthusiasts, a couple of them chose to discuss their own opinions about it.

A few hours ago, former Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas released another episode of his long running ‘Gil’s Arena’ show. Joining him as guest hosts were former Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Rashad McCants and former Milwaukee Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings. Arena’s permanent co-host, Josiah Johnson, was present as well. During the segment, they highlighted the Smith-Brown feud, in which Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas had gotten himself entangled as well. McCants highlighted his belief that Stephen A. Smith’s ‘source’ was his own “notepad”. Furthermore, he also questioned whether the sportscaster’s remarks were something that had not been a spur of the moment thing.

“He had that quote ready to go” said the 39-year-old former player. “So, he planned that. That was an onslaught”. He further stated that such a thing is of a “predictable” nature when it comes to Stephen A. Smith.

Unlike the person sitting across from him, Jennings was reportedly of the opinion that there was a legitimate source and Smith is well within his rights, as a journalist, to protect his/her identity. The crew spent a good 20 minutes in discussing whether Jaylen Brown deserves to be called a ‘marketable’ person and arguing from where the source could have emerged from. In the end, they concluded the discussing by highlighting a survey which showed that almost 63% of voters agreed that Jaylen Brown is ‘marketable’.

It may be hard for NBA enthusiasts to determine whether Smith’s move was planned or not. This is a reason why, without proper details of the source, people are questioning this criticism towards Jaylen Brown. Isiah Thomas was amongst the first people to come to Brown’s defence, stating that the player, who he has known since he was a student at UC Berkeley, is “100 percent marketable”. He further asked Smith to reveal his source before engaging in any more “slander”. With all of this ‘unwanted’ attention being directed towards him, the 56-year-old felt that he had to speak out.

Stephen A. Smith asks Jaylen Brown and other critics to hold him accountable for what “HE” says

The feud was out in the open, and Stephen A. Smith had to respond. He took to his X account to tell Jaylen Brown that he would not reveal his sources. Furthermore, he highlighted that if the player watched the entirety of Smith’s remarks, then he would have known that he and his co-hosts disagreed with what the source had said.

After putting his response, he also devoted a segment to discussing the same on ‘The Stephen A. Smith’ show. Given the intensity with which this feud has taken hold. Smith made it clear to his co-host, Kendrick Perkins, and others. He does not wish to add any more fuel to the fire.

“I’m getting to a point now where I’m just not going to be responding to a lot of these people that’s saying this bullshit” said the 56-year-old host. “I just got better things to do with my time. I’m almost at the point, Perk, where I’m begging people. Hold me accountable for what I actually say and mean”.

What are your thoughts on this whole Smith-Brown debacle? Let us know in the comments down below.

If you wish to know more about the latest happenings in the world of the NBA, be sure to check out what Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, had to say about the marketing genius.