It’s no secret that the Stephens don’t agree with each other. Most players turned sportscasters don’t acknowledge Stephen A. Smith’s credentials. But where Shaq and Chuck are his brothers, the hosts of All the Smoke have a complicated beef with the ESPN analyst. That feud is not dying down anytime soon. Especially after Smith’s polarizing take on Russell Westbrook. Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes took grave offense to the ‘snitch’ debacle, and it only escalated from there.

Stak was on PHLY Sixers to talk about All The Smoke and the beefs they had on the show. Without taking names, Jackson gave his honest thoughts about certain sportscasters with an interesting analogy. “It’s not really rocket science. Like you go to a doctor, doctor tell you ‘Hey, I got to cut you, I got to repair this,’ you won’t ask them a question. ‘You’re right, doc,’ because he’s the expert as a doctor,” he said. “Well, I expect that same respect in basketball.”

Not an uncommon perspective. Even Shaquille O’Neal touting his made-up ‘G-14 classification’ claims that, as an NBA player, their opinions hold more weight than sportscasters who haven’t played at the pro level. That’s Stak’s bone to pick with Smith.

“When we speak, I think we have the experience enough to not have to debate with everybody about a topic… If you haven’t been in those locker rooms, it’s kind of hard to dispute what I’m saying.” He proceeded to say, “[There’s] a difference between debating something you know you’re wrong, or a situation where you having a healthy conversation and you agreeing to disagree…”

The locker room talk seems to allude to the biggest dispute between Jackson and Smith. It started in April, when Smith controversially said, “I felt so serious about this, fellas, I called the league office, and I said, ‘I need an explanation. Tell me why Russell Westbrook wasn’t suspended,‘” on his show. He felt that Westbrook should have been suspended after his actions in Game 3 of the Clippers-Mavericks series.

Many didn’t agree but Jackson and Barnes were different. “He a snitch,” Jackson said on All the Smoke. “You snitching, bro. You called the league and tried to get him suspended. That was the league’s decision, bro.”

Jackson all but accused Smith of using his cushy studio reach to influence the league into suspending Westbrook. The retired NBA pros were extremely defensive about Russ. Barnes calmly disagreed and would later drop by The Stephen A. Smith Show to present his counter-argument. “I felt like that was out of pocket because if anyone who hasn’t played should know how we feel, it’s you,” Barnes told Smith. SAS was defensive, yet it appeared that he buried the hatchet. With Barnes, at least. Stak is another story.

Stephen A. Smith is not in Stak’s good graces

Smith defended his stance to Barnes, “You are a player, [Jackson] is a player, I’m a reporter, not just a personality.” He claimed he called the league for information to present a complete report, not demand a suspension.

Barnes seemingly accepted it but he also doubled down that Smith has a significant position within sports media. So sometimes his presentation of information needs a little work or it rubs players the wrong way. Even Jackson has a problem with his handling of the Westbrook drama.

“I think a lot of people are more concerned about being first and wrong and just debating about things when they know they’re wrong instead of having a healthy conversation and seeing both sides of and just being able to disagree and keep the respect.”

From what we’ve seen, SAS is doing SAS. Stak is doing Stak. Nothing’s changed.