NBA free agency thoughts, Joe Biden’s future, BET awards, more

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Stephen A talks about NBA free agency moves including Paul George to the Philadelphia 76ers, Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks, and Chris Paul to the San Antonio Spurs. He also comments on rapper/actor Will Smith’s BET Awards performance, and spars with CNN Correspondent Areva Martin about the fallout following Joe Biden’s presidential debate appearance.

On The Stephen A. Smith Show, Smith gives you his renowned point of view, breaking barriers beyond the world of sports, and tackling pertinent issues across entertainment, pop culture, society, business, and politics. Three times a week, you’ll hear his LIVE unfiltered opinions on the day’s biggest headlines as well as straight-shooting interviews with top celebrities, game-changers, and thought leaders across the societal arena.

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oh my goodness NBA free agency is here Alive and Kicking there’s so many changes that’s going on so many big time changes as far as I’m concerned that’s been going on I got to talk about that there’s more to follow up with the Biden Trump debate I got to get into that power power power I didn’t stutter power slap not to show Power on Stars which I love by the way power book ghost you know what I’m saying I’m not talking about that I’m talking about power as in power slap okay that is the new rage taking place within the Sports World I know it sounds crazy but as Dana White would say you better recognize check it out the Stephen A Smith show coming your way right now what’s up everybody Welcome to the latest edition of the Stephen A Smith show coming at you as I love to do every week I should say every weekday but at least three days a week over the digital Airways of YouTube and of course iHeart Radio sometimes I come at you more than three times a week sometimes I don’t by the way with that being said let me take a moment to show my love and appreciation for all the love that I’ve been receiving from my followers we continue to climb and have exceeded over 715,000 subscribers on YouTube alone our downloads over iHeart Radio have exceeded over 1.2 million over the last 2 and a half to 3 months or so can’t thank y’all enough of the love keep it coming and I’m going to keep on coming to continue to like and follow the Stephen A Smith show right here on YouTube just click the Bell to get notified of all of our new content and you too shall be the latest member of the Stephen A Smith show family and while you’re doing that please make sure not to forget to pick up a copy of my New York Times bestselling book straight shooter A Memoir of Second Chances and first takes now in paperback just go to straight shooter book.com to get yourself a copy please a lot of NBA action to get into so let’s get right to it all right to get started with the NBA free agent signning period that opened yesterday the Philadelphia 76ers made the biggest splash so far Landing Allstar forward Paul George earlier this morning from the Los Angeles Clippers George got a 4-year $212 million deal from Philadelphia and the Sixers weren’t done they also agreed to resign Tyrese Maxi to a 5year $24 million Max extension so adding Paul George and extending Maxi to a roster that already includes former League MVP Joel embiid makes the Sixers a formidable franchise in the East to say the least couple of things to get out of the way number one this definitely elevates the Sixers as the number one threat to the Boston Celtics there’s no way to slice it we can’t get around it let’s not even sugarcoated I’m a diard New York Knicks fan who by the way lost Isaiah hardenstein to the Oklahoma City Thunder courtesy of a threeyear $87 million deal I can’t I can’t knock hartstein for taking that offer he deserves it major major Pops to him that’s $29 million a year over the next three years you need a rebound and an Energizer Bunny if you’re the Oklahoma City Thunder based on everything else they have at their disposal that was a player to grab and I don’t blame Sam presy for doing so but it’s a loss for the New York Knicks and when you take into account not that he was going to make much of a difference because he certainly couldn’t stop jel and beid who averaged 35 against the New York Knicks in the first round playoff series on one leg for crying out loud you look at the Boston Celtics the reigning defending NBA champions who are clearly the creme Dela Creme of the NBA and you ask yourself what’s the number one threat to them the number one threat to them in the Eastern Conference is the Philadelphia 76ers because 76ers nor anyone else may have an answer for Jason Tatum Jaylen Brown and the collective Excellence of the Boston Celtics but there’s no answer for Joel embiid if you look at the Sixers right now Philly pH 76 signed in this offseason Paul George Eric Gordon oneyear veteran minimum Andre jumm a big body who prioritizes rebounding and defense let’s make sure we understand that’s not a bad deal plus you resign Maxi in a big deal was resigning Kelly UB Jr 2 years 16.3 million give the Sixers credit where credit is due they’re clearly the number one threat to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference those three fit I thought the end of The Big Three had arrived courtesy of Kevin Durant Bradley Bill and Devin Booker and how they wet the bed by getting swept by Minnesota in the first round of last year’s playoffs but when you look at the Philadelphia 76ers Maxi is a rising star in this league jel embiid is already a superstar in this league at the center position so you got the point point guard position and the center position locked up and your third wheel is a perennial Allstar in Paul George who just finished averaging 22 a game who shot 47% from the field 41% from three-point range better than 90% from the free throw line which were all career highs for him and even though he didn’t they didn’t pan out him and kawh land it with the Clippers which I’ll get into in just a second there’s no question that the three should easily complement one another Paul George doesn’t have the kind of ego that to have a cancerous effect on the franchise he fits with Joel embiid he fits with Tyrese Maxi not to mention the fact that his defensive prowess when you got Tatum and brown and Boston that’s going to go a long way towards helping the Philadelphia 76 is because we know that Kelly UB can do a role can play a role in defending one of them Paul George can defend the other so you elevate your level of Defense you elevate your perimeter shooting you get somebody far more aggressive offensively than to bias Harris who’s now going to Detroit I think the Philadelphia 76ers voted well for themselves but to me the pressure isn’t on and be let me get this out of the way the pressure ain’t on embiid all embiid has to do is stay healthy we have no questions about his game we know what he brings to the table the question about Joel embiid is this and it’s simply this can he be healthy the real pressure is on Daryl mury Nick nurse has won a title now Paul George is you know in terms of his success and his activity as longest active ten years as a player nobody’s played more games without being in the NBA Finals than Paul George we understand that but the flip side to it is that he’s relatively a third wheel because this is jel and be and Tyrese Maxi’s team and so George Paul George playing that role it’s an ideal situation for him so again you got embiid you got Tyrese Maxi who you get to before you even think about Paul George and then after that you turn around and you think about Nick nurse who’s a champion as a coach because we saw what he did in Toronto when he had kawh Lennard the real question is Daryl mury you’ve been an outstanding executive recognized the such throughout the years but Daryl mury with all his changes with all the wheeling and dealing with all the moves that he’s made throughout the years has yet to guide a team to a conference to a Championship Finals NBA Finals appearance let alone a victory so the real pressure is inil is on Daryl mury now let me switch to the Los Angeles Clippers who lost out on Paul George Lawrence Frank has to be on the clock I like Lawrence Frank I’ve known him somewhat for years from as days a coaching the Nets I’m fond of him as a person don’t know him that well um somehow elevated from being an assistant coach to being the president of basketball operations for the Clippers you don’t see that happen very often and obviously there’s a lot of people that believe you know he derail Doc Rivers and that’s a subject for another day here’s the reality the Kawai Leonard Paul George era in Los Angeles was an absolute failure one Conference Finals appear appearance by the way one that took place without kawh Lon because he got hurt in the semi-final series never met it to the NBA finals quit on do rivers and the rest of the franchise in the bubble because they never wanted to be there to begin with and kaand is perpetually hurt missing 60% of the playoff games now Paul George is to be applauded because most people wouldn’t do what Paul George did this morning and let me explain in 2019 when Paul George was with the Oklahoma City Thunder and kawh L was a free agent do y’all remember what kawh Lona did he blackmailed the Los Angeles Clippers he told them if you don’t do everything you can to get Paul George I’m GNA go and join LeBron James and eventually Anthony Davis with the Los Angeles Lakers that’s what the hell I’m going to do and the Clippers led by billionaire Steve balma couldn’t let that happen so what did they do they sat up there and they made a deal with Oklahoma City Sam prey being outstanding executive that he is he smelled blood like Shar like Shar smell blood and Shar infested waters and what did he do he milked the Los Angeles Clippers for five first round picks along with the ability to swap first round picks to additional years that’s essentially seven first round picks not to mention Shay gilis Alexander was given away by the Clippers in that deal along with Danilo galinari I don’t know if you remember who Shay gilis Alexander is he would happen to be my league MVP this year I understand yic won the award but let me tell you something Shay Gil just Alexander averaged 30 this brother’s a superstar in this league and that brother showed up to play in the playoffs against Dallas he just didn’t have any help because Jaylen Williams and others who I believe in by the way and I’m very fond of they didn’t show up and give him the help that he richly needed and deserved but Shay Gil just Alexander is that dude and now that they went out and they got a rebound and a defender in hardstein let me tell you something right now Oklahoma City is gonna be no joke they’re going to be no joke but in the end you’re the Los Angeles Clippers you gave up all of that for Paul George and years later you let him walk out the door for nothing they had deals on the table they’ve been negotiating with the PO with with the Golden State Warriors for weeks Golden State knew they were going to lose Klay Thompson who I’ll get into in just a second they knew they were going to lose him they were willing to lose him they wanted Paul George and they were trying to make a deal one deal depending on which iteration you favor one deal involved Andrew Wiggins another deal involved CP3 and potentially Andrew Wiggins another deal involved Jonathan kaminga but according to my sources Lawrence Frank insisted on two first round picks two first round picks for Paul George knowing good and damn well he wasn’t going to get them so as a result what does he do what does he do what he turns around and does is loses him for nothing and you’re the Los Angeles Clippers and the perpetually injured kawh lonard who has no business being on Team USA by the way as in the side no business no business being on Team USA USA not when when you could he’ll get injured flying to Paris hell no hell no so you get throw that out the way then the other part is not only does that happen but then you turn around and you sign James Harden two years 70 million now Paul George had already made it clear that he didn’t like this style of play since James Harden arrived even though he ain’t got nothing against James Harden personally so you keep you you you you invest in kawh lenet the perpetually injured kawh lenet thereby compromising your Vault all right at the expense of Paul George then you turn around after that and you give hard in two years 70 million 35 million per okay that’s what you do with him all right and we saw how he did in big game situations yet again in the postseason what is there to say you look at Paul George and you’re going to let him walk out the door for nothing you don’t even work out a sign and trade the Clippers this is bad this is bad and if you are Steve balma the billionaire listen what have you gotten out of being the owner of the Clippers what have you gotten out of it you haven’t been to the finals you haven’t won a championship you got a new arena for sure okay you’re relying on a guy that probably will be sitting on the bench and Street closed for you more than half the time and a guy in James Harden who is a Mercurial Talent no doubt even on the downside of his career he’s still big time the problem is he’s not big time in big moments and you lose Paul George after giving away all of that years ago and you and and you can’t recoup your losses it’s shameful it’s shameful props to the Philadelphia 76 is for doing what they do the Los Angeles Clippers are officially the Fairweather stepchildren of the Los Angeles Lakers yet again because they have LeBron and they have Anthony Davis and they got a new coach hell they even got bronny James because even though he ain’t gonna play he’ll generate more headlines than the Clippers and all you have in return is a superstar Talent who does absolutely positively nothing to promote your franchise nor the sport of the of NBA basketball and at James Harden who’s still damn good but not what he was during his days in Houston when he was leading the league is scoring on three separate occasions that’s what you have you’re the Los Angeles Clippers that’s what you gave kou who you just gave 14 million a year to coach the team that’s what you gave I mean damn damn transitioning to the one and only Klay Thompson four-time Champion one of the greatest Shooters we’ve ever seen in the history of the NBA um who by the way spent the second half of this season averaging uh about 20 points or so 45% shooting from the field 41% shooting from three-point range since the allstar break break which more than 90% of the league couldn’t do on their best days that same Klay Thompson is departing from the Golden State Warriors to join the Dallas Mavericks they worked out a sign and trade deal with the warriors uh Klay Thompson’s going to get about $50 million over three years uh via a sign and trade deal that will also see the Mavericks sending Josh Green to the Charlotte Hornets um however TNT sports analyst Chris Haynes says golden state is still working do detail with Dallas and the deal is not close at this point um various other people are reporting on this story bottom line is Klay Thompson’s lead I’m sad but it was necessary kaminga has gotten better paj jimsky the rookie from last year has gotten better Steph Curry is still playing like a superstar Draymond Green you gave a 100 million to he deserves every penny and um Clay is not what he was defensively he’s not what he was offensively but I still am not giving up on him and what he can bring to the table and what he can do from what I’m being told um Klay Thompson wanted to leave he thought it was time that makes sense to me and the reason why that makes sense to me is because at the beginning of the year a few months ago rather the Golden State Warriors offered Klay Thompson two years $48 million that’s 24 million a year Klay Thompson just settled for a little over 16 and a half for three years that doesn’t make sense to me I mean if you’re going to hold out and you feel that adamant about it or whatever I understand if it was an extra 15 to 20 million but you’re going to depart from Golden State for just $2 million more in total and that’s over a threee span instead of a twoyear span I don’t quite understand that but I will say this it does make sense that clay wanted to leave according to what I’m hearing because why would you leave Golden State for that and by the way California 14.4% state income taxes federal is about 39% we get all of that um in the case of Dallas he’s in Texas so there’s no state income taxes in Texas plus you have Kyrie Irving and Luca donic as your as your teammates so we understand what that’s about and major props to ni Harrison the president of basketball operations and Jason kid for acquiring um Klay Thompson because Dallas was like second in the league and three-point attempts were like 13 in the league and field goal percentages made okay so we get that the Lakers obviously wanted Klay Thompson LeBron obviously was willing to take a pay cut according to Rich Paul his agent just to make sure that they got a guy like Klay Thompson on board but at the end of the day if you are Klay Thompson you’re looking at stand in the state of California you’re looking at the fact that the income tax rate is still applicable there too at 14.4% you’re looking at the fact that the Lakers while they were like top 10 in three-point shooting percentage they were 28th in three-pointers attempted so you might be wondering whether or not you was going to get the ball from an Anthony Davis or Lebron James enough as you know when you just oppose that to what transpired in Gold to State then we also got to take into consideration that it is the Lakers which is a rivalry for the Warriors and Klay Thompson just may not have wanted to go to the Los Angeles Lakers he may have wanted to go somewhere other than Los Angeles so I always thought it would be the Lakers if he wasn’t with golden state I prayed I wish that it was the Knicks but not as much once I got Mel Bridges but in the end when you look at Dallas um they are a better team than the Los Angeles Lakers at this particular moment Klay Thompson’s not making anybody worse he’s only going to make you better um they lost Derek Jones Jr but again he was a guy that couldn’t generate any offense for you clay can and Klay can put the ball in the hole in a very prolific fashion when he gets hot and when that stroke starts working and so you combine that with PJ Washington with Gafford with Lively and what have you Dallas is no joke I understand it why clay made the move I’m sad that it had to happen uh but these things happen in the world of professional sports that’s just the way that it goes that just the way that it goes it’s go be interesting to see what happens with golden state now and I’m interested in seeing who’s going to talk about Steve Kirk because guys talk about it’s just their time to leave it’s just their time to move on Klay Thompson is moved on um and now CP3 is moving on uh Golden State didn’t want to keep him well maybe they did uh but I know this much they didn’t make it very attractive for him I know that there were a lot of things said and there was a lot of promises made that wasn’t followed up at least in the eyes of many when it comes to Chris Paul and Steve Kerr and as you look at these folks these notable agreements and signings hartenstein 3 years 87 million Chris Paul 1 year 11 million kavus Carwell Pope okay he’s going to Orlando 3 years 66 million James Harden stays with the Clippers at 2 years 70 million Derek Jones forgot where he’s going three years 30 million Tobias Harris with the Detroit Pistons Derek Jones with the Clippers I’m sorry three years 30 million Tobias Harris with Detroit two years 52 million yonas valent chunis uh 3 years uh 30 million now who is that for the Washington Wizards yeah they needed to pay him more to get him to go to the nation’s capital the swamp these days and age this day and age but anyway with all of that being said I just think that um CP3 I have mixed emotions on one hand he went to San Antonio Victor wiana is there he is the future and when you look at the talent they have around them the the Spurs are one of those teams that have talent but talent that don’t really know how to play they are very talented they’ve got a lot to learn once they learn it they’ll be incredibly formidable Victor wian is not one of those dudes he’s one of those dudes who’s going to be special 7 feet5 can go out block shots he’s got a lot of Courage a lot of Moxy he can put the ball in the hole he can rebound he can do a lot of different things change shots Alters offensive schemes all the time and now he’s going to be playing with somebody in Chris Paul that is um a quintessential point guard a point God by the way and somebody that’s incredibly valued and pursued by Greg papovich and RC Buford they didn’t want him to just sit down they didn’t want him to just be the good soldier that was a quality individual that just coached Folks up and got them ready while he was riding the bench Chris Paul wants to play I’m GNA say it again Chris Paul wants to play and he knows that he still can play and I would say we shouldn’t look at his numbers in Golden State because he’s playing behind Steph Curry we need to look at this brother when he’s on the basketball court for significant chunk of minutes like he’s accustomed to being on the court for Mas in the pick and roll pick and pop uh pulling up with those Wing those red whether it’s right or left wing jump shots Chris Paul can still play and he is a born leader and he is going to elevate San Antonio my issue is is that when you’re as illustrious as Chris Paul has been in his career as a point guard I’d like to see you Vine for a championship now he’s of the mindset Anything could happen anything could happen I’m of the mindset you ain’t wi no damn championship in San Antonio they’re just too young that ain’t gonna happen so that’s where I’m at with it but I do understand this notion that he wanted to be near home and be with his family that would have been nice if he could have got traded back to the Clippers that didn’t happen but why should Chris Paul want to be at home if you’re playing in front of your family but you’re not playing because you’re riding the bench think about that that’s not something that he wants to be and if you’re in the Clippers and James Harden is De Chris Paul’s going to be playing behind James Harden that wasn’t going to work so I’m glad he didn’t end up there it would have been nice to see him ending up in La instead of D’Angelo Russell that’s me personally but he’s in San Antonio so it is what it is Major props to Chris Paul wishing him nothing but the best happy for him as long as he’s happy he’s he deserves the opportunity to be happy I personally believe what he deserves more is a legitimate shot to compete for a championship but that is something that simply has not happened before I go to break and I transition to subjects other than Sports I want to take a quick I want to take a quick moment to get to the WNBA last night Caitlyn Clark met Diana terasi on the court for the first time as the Indiana Fever took on the Phoenix Mercury and the game lived up to expectations where the rookie won the duel you may recall terasi set expectations for Clark and other rookies entering the league saying quote there’s levels to this end quote when she was talking to Scott veld on Sports Center months ago well Clark met the moment dropping 15 points 12 assists nine rebounds and the FIFA 8882 went over Sunday or went on Sunday as for terasi she scored 19 points with three rebounds three assists and three steals besides the clar to rasi matchup some other WNBA records fell on Sunday Banna Stewart tally 22 points and 12 rebounds three assists by the way and two steals in New York’s 8175 victory in doing so Brian Stewart became the fastest player in WNBA history to score 5,000 points surpassing the record held by the one and only Diana terasi and finally rookie Angel Reese also made league history this weekend becoming the first player ever with 10 consecutive double doubles surpassing previous record holder Candace Parker major props to all of them every single one of them I think the aces are going to win the championship I think Asia Wilson is the best player in women’s basketball having said that box office appeal is box office appeal and that is still Caitlin Clark largest audience largest crowd over the last 19 years in Phoenix Mercury history that’s who showed up never mind that they were on National Television on ABC ESPN rather I mean it was a big time game came down to the wire mad love and respect to all the ladies Dan terasi nor Caitlyn Clark neither had a good shooting performance per se but they got done what they needed to get done plain and simple before I get on out of here uh for this segment UFC president Dana White has launched America’s first official slap fighting League called Power slap now if you’re not familiar with the sport it’s fairly simple two competitors stand in front of each other and try to slap the out of one another okay I’m serious I’m not joking There Are Rules to This after a coin toss the first Striker has a time limit of 60 seconds to deliver an open-handed slap to the opponent slaps must be below the eye and above the chin those being slapped may not flinch raise their shoulders or tuck in their chins after being slapped the slapped competitor now has 60 seconds to recover and get back into position before it’s their turn to slap fights that don’t end in a knockout and go three rounds go to the judge’s decision according to Dana White in just 15 months power slab has more subscribers than the NHL MLS NASCAR PGA and over a billion YouTube views and eight of the top 12 YouTube shorts against other major sports are power slap I’m not necessarily the quote unquote biggest fan because I don’t like people seeing people get the slapped out of them collapsing on the ground I mean it’s just it’s it’s it’s pretty bad but pugilistic sports stuff happens you know I just saw you know Alex Bara knock out somebody the other night caught him with a left hook ultimately dropped him he gets back up second round caught him with a left kick to the Head I’ve seen people get knocked out I just saw javante Davis knock out Frank Martin I’ve seen it and so this is no different and Dana White’s been talking about this for a long time and I’m watching these numbers and they’re just getting larger and larger and larger got to give credit where credit is due to danana White and and and and this power slab contest because you’re right everywhere you turn you see the views on YouTube you see the views all over social media it’s just the truth I got to get some more numbers about this to really crystallize for us how popular the power slap league has become but it’s not going away y’all that’s why I’m talking about it it is not going away this is here to stay and we better get used to it coming up the Fallout continues from the first presidential debate where Joe Biden failed to impress so what’s next for the incumbent president I’ll get into that with the one and only ARA Martin even with my own comments beforehand by the way stick around you’re watching the Stephen A Smith show right here over the digital Airways of YouTube and of course iHeart Radio back with more in a minut [Music] okay everybody you know what time it is it’s time for Stephen A’s weekly picks everybody knows that I live and breed Sports and that I need to be right there in the middle of all the action and how do I do that exactly there’s only one way I use prize picks that’s how you see priz picks is the largest fantasy sports platform in all the land with more than three million members not only that it’s incredibly easy to play you just choose two or more players and then pick more or less on their projected in-game stats but the best part is you can pick and choose players from any of the sports you love to watch whether it’s Caitlyn Clark Amon judge or even Coco Golf and if you go to prospects.com right now and use promo code SAS you’ll receive a 100% deposit bonus up to $100 that’s right I didn’t stutter go to prospect.com type in my initials SAS and get a firsttime deposit match up to $100 and if you go to prospects app you’ll be able to see my picks for today now let’s go right on to them it’s the WNBA season and the ladies are on fire so I’m all about the W with today’s picks all right and tonight’s match up between the Phoenix Mercury and the Connecticut sun will the Mercury’s Dian terasi score more or less than 14 and a half points she’s Diana terasi she shows up in big moments against Big Time competition I’m going to assume she’s going to score more than 14 and a half points I believe in the sister yes I’m going with more on this particular situation all right here’s the next question will the sons danana Bonner score more or less than 16 eight and a half points H Suns can be relatively balanced evidently sometimes people can expose Bon is no joke but I’m still going to go with less in this particular outcome I can see it’s scoring around 15 points something along those lines I can see that I’m going to go with less on this particular one all right to the next will the Mercury’s Britney grinder score more or less than 19 and a half points I’m always going to go less ladies and gentlemen because I don’t consider Britney gr a scorer I consider her an enforcer somebody that’s going to block shots it’s going to rebounds it’s going to be a defensive formidable presence I don’t consider her to be a prolific scorer I can see her scoring less than 19 A2 points in this particular encounter last question on the list the Seattle Storm also playing the Dallas Wings will the storms juel Lloyd score more or less than 21 a half points oh this is a tough one I’m going to go with less I’m just going to go with less I have no idea why I’m just guessing on this particular one I’m going to go with less on this one those are my picks ladies and gentlemen it’s less it’s less it’s less but more with Diana terasi you know I had to have somebody in the more category somewhere it’s prize picks after all we’re always thinking more welcome back to the Stephen A Smith show right here over the digital Airwaves with YouTube and of course iHeart Radio let’s move on to a little politics and let’s talk about the race for the White House where the final numers are in from last Thursday night’s presidential debate ratings indicate that more than 51 million people watch the debate where former president Donald Trump repeatedly made false claims by the way and President Biden struggled to dispel concerns about his age the debate opened up new worries over the stakes of a possible Trump presidency and sparked discussion about whether Biden should be his party’s nominee personally speaking I’m on a record I don’t believe that should be the case I’m not apologizing for that to anybody um but I want to emphasize something it’s of no disrespect to President Biden if you are on the left you’re looking at the economy you’re looking at Job participation you’re looking at you know the the economic numbers you’re thinking about so many other things that are transpiring you’re thinking about Ro v Wade and Biden’s desire uh to turn that back to what it once was before it was overturned a year ago you’re thinking about so many things on a positive note and you’re of the mindset that this president has done a relatively good job if you’re on the right you think we should be smoke we should be drug tested because we must be smoking something you’re thinking about inflation you’re thinking about the borders border security you’re thinking about crime percolating throughout the United States of America you’re thinking about wal culture and you’re saying what on Earth are you talking about either way you slice it I’m not going to apologize for what I feel because I think the point that everybody is missing is that for me personally I’m not judging the job that Joe Biden has done as president I’ll leave that to the afficionados to do on both sides of the aisle for that matter what I’m talking about is an individual if you look at the tape if you look at video if you see him from just four years ago in 2020 compared to what he looks like now yes as represent representative James klyburn uh said Sunday morning on CNN along with various other surrogates of Joe Biden he’s always had a stuttering issue we didn’t see stuttering ladies and gentlemen we saw brain farts that’s what we saw and you see a man that as Chris quore articulated Friday on this very show has clearly lost his fast ball I think that people are conflating the arguments they’re talking about the job that he has done the job that he has done because if you’re a leftist if you’re a liberal if you’re a progressive you certainly appreciate the job that Joe Biden has done and the job that Biden has tried to do compared to what you would get from a Donald Trump presidency that’s one argument and I get that part that’s not what this is about this is about Joe Biden looking at him and asking yourself is he the ideal candidate for the next four years starting in January of 2025 that’s what this argument is about that’s what this discussion is about and before anybody else wants to sit up there and look at somebody a novice like myself talking politics or somebody like Chris quo who you want to undress or anybody else let me remind you New York Times calls Biden’s campaign for reelection quote a reckless gamble the New Yorker magazine says Biden quote is no longer a fluid or effective Communicator the Chicago Tribune said last week’s debate should be met with just one word enough the Atlanta Journal Constitution says quote it’s time for Biden to pass the torch I won’t get into the CBS uh uh you know uh youg poll the USA Today suffk University poll the morning consult poll the CNN flash poll of debate washers that saw Trump beating Biden 67% to 33% I won’t even get into all of that I’m only articulating those points to point out that there’s Millions upon millions of people that are concerned about what we witnessed Thursday night in that debate when Biden mumbled and Trump said I don’t understand what he said I don’t think he understands what he said this is a sound bite you’re going to hold on to when he sat up there and forgot what he was talking about and buried his head and looked like he was about to fall asleep and then looked up and said Medicade this is what they’re going to talk about Chris CUO brought this up not me and so I just think it’s important for me personally to say to the president President Biden I know you categorically and emphatically Deni that you ever said that you were a transitional president and so did your Administration I get those denial but there is no question that there were many people who thought you said that and had the impression that you were just in it to save our democracy because in 2020 we were in such bad a bad State of Affairs that we desperately needed you but those four years were supposed to buy four years for KLA Harris for Gavin Newsome governor of California for West Moore even the mar the governor of Maryland for hakee Jeff who’s in the House of Representatives or various other viable candidates to take over the job that are considerably younger Joe Biden has been in the senate for 36 years that’s how long he was in the Senate then he served eight years as the vice president of the United States of America and now he’s given us four more years as president that is 48 years as a servant of the people as an elected official as somebody who’s committed to serve how come we can’t look at the president of the United States and simply say we appreciate your service to this country thank you so much you’ve done a great service in the eyes of millions of people throughout this country but it’s time for somebody else what’s wrong with that let’s keep in mind that bill M for Real Time with Bill M on HBO called Biden on Friday Ruth bad Biden why did he say that because the former Supreme Court Justice of the of these United States who’s done a who did a phenomenal job as a Supreme Court Justice in the eyes of so many millions of American citizens the most glaring mistake she made was when the when Obama administration was calling for her to retire so they could select her successor and to make sure that there was another liberal on the court she said no because she was convinced there was no way in hell Donald Trump could win the election she thought Hillary was going to win it and she wanted the first female president to elect her successor as a Supreme Court Justice she was wrong Trump won she ultimately passed away and he got to select her successor along with two others which has drastically flipped the balance of the Court 6 to3 that’s what we’re looking at and so if that happens and that’s in a backdrop for the Democratic party why ignore the Spectre of Joe Biden potentially making the same mistake not direct correlation not with direct correlation but nevertheless if somebody else younger sharper with their fast ball as Chris K articulated Friday was available to fight that fight against Donald Trump why approaching the age of 82 with 48 years of service as your backdrop would you not take the position let me step aside before the Democratic National Convention and pave the way for somebody else younger to make that move and I don’t mean young as to engage in age discrimination because there are plenty of people in their 70s and their and their 80s that are sharp as attack Joe Biden doesn’t appear to be one of them and the reason why use the word appear is because a is all you need because AER is all that matters in an election this tight why would you not take that position for the betterment of the country that’s all I’m saying no disrespect no shade no questioning the job that he’s done none of that simply saying it might not be your time anymore ladies and gentlemen I cover Sports and I’m gonna cover Sports till the day I die every single season we’ve seen somebody who are past their Prime it’s a player it’s a coach it’s an executive hell it’s even an owner we say your time has come in Minnesota right now with Glenn Taylor what is Mark Lorie and Alex Rodriguez saying your time is up bro you signed an agreement with us give us ownership vast majority ownership your time is up you’re in your 80s it’s your time it’s not your time anymore we’ve seen that happen with Executives we’ve seen that happen with coaches we’ve seen that happen with players we’ve seen it happen in a World of Sports in a world of politics where you are in possession of dominion over our lives economically Health Care National Security borders the list goes on and on you trying to tell me that it’s okay for an 82 for an 81 soon to be 82 year old who’s clearly lost his fast ball to not have the decency to say hey I serve my time I’m good you can’t do that you can’t do that that’s all I’m asking and it’s not a statement as much of it as it is a question and it is a question that is perfectly suited for my next guest because she has an absolutely awful lot to say on this particular subject and she wanted to get at me and everybody that thinks remotely like me on this particular subject to set us straight I couldn’t wait to introduce her my next guest is an author award-winning civil rights attorney radio show host and goto expert on compelling legal and political matters please welcome to the Stephen A Smith show yet again the wonderful ARA Martin how are you ariva good afternoon how’s everything going everything is good good I’m I’m excited I’m fired up I’m ready to go okay I got to ask you let’s get right to it because you and I speak privately you know uh you know texting back and forth and all of this stuff um I’d like you to explain to people as a political analyst as somebody who is definitely a supporter of Joe Biden in this upcoming election what the hell do you have to be excited about on this particular day I’m all ears I am excited about the record that Joe Biden is running on I AMC excited about our vice president KLA Harris I’m excited about katangi Brown Jackson uh holding up our democracy in the minority on our Supreme Court I am excited about billions of dollars of student loan debt being relieved for students I’m excited about6 billion dollars being dedicated to historically black colleges and universities I got a whole lot to be excited about hey did Joe Biden have a bad night at that debate absolutely positively yes but do you throw out a candidate because they have one bad debate Donald Trump said grab women by the pee he has 34 felony convictions my brother DL hugley put it best if we can forget all of that we can forget one bad night on a debate stage Joe Biden is not a debater he’s a doer okay that is fair and and I and listen I’m willing to acknowledge and articulate some of the successes that Joe Biden has had as president of the United States I don’t think that’s debatable but I think that respectfully folks like yourself and you and I have talked about this privately so I can say this I here’s where I think y’all missing a boat nobody’s questioning Biden’s record nobody would sense as far as I’m concerned is really really questioning Biden’s record we might lament inflation and stuff like that but that’s for the right to doing all of that stuff there’s a lot of positives emanating from his administration that is not the point the point isn’t about what he’s done the point is when you see what you saw Thursday night during debate what reason in God’s name would you have to believe or feel confident about four more years you can feel both you can look at him in his record and say I’m pleased with what he has done but in the same breath why are we asking an 82 soon to be 82 year or 81 soon to be 82 year old to give us four more years particularly when there are candidates like AA Harris our our reigning vice president like a Gavin Newsome governor of California like a hakee Jeffrey speaking there’s a Ab an abundance of candidates out there why are we looking at Joe Biden and saying four more years that is the subject Reaver okay and let me tell you why I’m glad you raised those points here is why because when you all you all being all of you folks that want to replace Joe Biden when you had an opportunity to pick the black woman Cara Harris to pick a gay guy Pete Budd to pick a Latino when they were all running against Joe Biden in 20 20 Guess What KLA Harris could even get to the general election because folks would not support her they would not give money to her campaign she had to drop out before the California primary y’all got select of Amnesia so don’t tell me you all want KLA Harris to be your president when KL Harris ran for president she could not get the support even of black folks in our community reality is you’re not just electing Joe Biden you are electing an Administration and K Harris will be in that Administration I really meant what I said I love that woman I she’s just great television she’s great to talk to highly intelligent incredibly passionate and I don’t agree with everything she says but she just reminds me of my sisters she really really does she’s wonderful she’s welcome back on the show anytime the wonderful ariva Martin by the way um listen there’s so much to talk about with her and you got to check it out because the interview in its entirety will be on my channel the Stephen A Smith show on YouTube channel so make sure you check that out plus you can check it out on iHeart radio as well the interview in its entirety with the one and only ariva Martin will be posted today as well along with this episode so um just want you to make sure to look for that I only played a couple of those questions trust me when I tell you she had a hell of a lot more to say a whole lot to say about a whole lot of people she wanted to set straight make no mistake about that anyway moving on one more note before we go to break Steve Bannon a former political iCal Aid to president Donald Trump at the time reported to federal prison today Bannon is serving a four-month sentence for contempt of congress after defying a subpoena from the house committee that investigated the capital attack on January 6 2021 Banning a podcaster and former bright bought executive chairman who remains popular with Trump supporters to this day by the way was convicted in July of 2022 in addition to his four-month sentence banon was fined 6500 $100 let me say this it should have been more he should have been fired a hell of a lot more and it has nothing to do with his politics and I want to be very very clear about what I’m saying about Steve Bannon I’m not one of those people that’s going to look at breit Bart news and just because I’m not of some flaming conservative I’m a registered independent just because I’m not some conservative means that I’m going to speak against him like that no that’s not what this is about the fine should have been significantly stiffer and I would not have minded if it was 6 months instead of uh instead of just four months for one reason above all else the Lord is the law every American citizen if you get subpoena to show up on Capitol Hill you got to show up you got to show up you don’t get to subvert Law and Order when you’re especially when you’re being hypocritical because you were assisting a president at the time who lived on Law and Order and I don’t mean at the time as if it was at the time of the Insurrection in our nation’s capital at the US capital I’m not talking about that I’m talking about the fact that Trump has been about Law and Order from day one from the moment he arrived at the White House that’s what he preached about so guess what you got to follow laws and if Congress op you you got to show up Steve banon could have showed up and answered questions you could have showed up and been defiant with the answers to your questions but you do have to show up anybody else would and the fact that he did it he deserves to be in jail for four months it’s just that simple we don’t have to get in politics I’d say the same thing about an elected official on the left or a surrogate of an elected official on the left as well I don’t care who you are when we talk about laws being followed in this country we understand there Different Strokes for different folks and the all powerful are subjected to rules and regulations to a lesser degree than the rest of us and we get that but there’s some basic tenants that everybody should have to follow when Congress subpoenas you you must show just like if if if if if law enforcement file charges against you and you have to show up for to be indicted or to be arrested with that’s what you have to do we don’t get to shove aside that and that’s not about left that’s not about right that’s about America if we’re going to debunk Law and Order and shove it aside like it means nothing and think that we could get away with that where is that going to leave the rest of the country if you’re Steve Bannon why would you want to assist in any way in supporting folks to subvert the law why you think these people yeah it’s our house it’s the people’s house well damn it stop being stupid I’m speaking in general not to Steve Bannon stop being stupid there barricades that was surrounding the US capital for a reason there’s security for a reason there’s metal detectors for a reason Windows two three four stories up is not to be broken into and you think that’s a legal way to get in because you’re a voter and it’s your house stop being stupid you violated the law you endangered legislative officials that’s what happened on January 6 2021 and when that was being investigated every nook and cranny of it and you’re subpoena to show up and speak you must show up and speak no matter who you are no matter who you are I had nothing to do with it I wasn’t there but if Congress had subpoenaed me to show up and speak I have to show even if it’s to say I have nothing to say I have to show and Steve banon didn’t do that and what we can’t have are people in our society who encourage folks to break laws marching protesting that’s different busting through barricades penetrating the corridors of the the United States capital five to six people ending up dead nah that’s not what this is about it’s not what this is supposed to be about so Steve bis showed up and the fact that he didn’t as far as I’m concerned he lucky he only got four months he lucky he only got four months and he lucky his F was only $6500 the fine could have been seven figures at the very six figur what if they had charged $650,000 he’s lucky it’s just $6,500 and he’s lucky he got just four months that’s all I want to say about that coming up the BET Awards took place last night in LA and it was a star stad of the fear featuring The One and Only Will Smith and a career nod to the one and only Usher himself we’ll get into all of that next right here on this a show over the digital Airways of YouTube and of course iHeart Radio back with more in a minute everyone knows I demand excellence and I’m in it to win it so that’s why I’ve teamed up with prize picks America’s number one fantasy sports app to help turn my sports knowledge into some big time 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months or so thank you again so much before I get on out of here for today let me transition to the BET Awards they were held in Los Angeles last last night the show was hosted by the incomparable taji P Henson and among the many performances was Will Smith who debuted his new single you can make it standing in a circular ring of fire and backed by a gospel choir Smith opened the set with the words quote I don’t know who needs to hear this right now but whatever is going on in your life right now I’m here to tell you you can make it the performance also featured a surprise appearance by God goel great Kirk Franklin who delivered a spoken word sermon which nobody is better at than Kirk Franklin first of all it was good to see Will Smith performing um it was an incredible performance as far as I’m concerned I was really really happy for him really happy how he was received by everybody involved obviously there’s a lot of people that have moved past the slap which is something we talked about I mean his own version of a power slap we’ve tried to move past that bad boy Bo ride or die that that that movie has been spectacular big time at the box office resurrecting Hollywood in the theaters to some degree a lot of people would say and he deserved a lot of credit for that so Will Smith did his thing I’m happy he was received I think that guy Chan LaMore the gospel singer he was out there performing with him as well he was spectacular so Will Smith did his thing and he reminded everybody this ain’t a guy that was performing out of his element I mean Will Smith was a rap artist before he came an actor in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air before used within movies like one of my all-time favorites ioot and of course I love hitch um I Am Legend Men In Black Independence Day and you know now of course the bad boy movies one through four now so give him love and props where his due he deserves a lot of credit for it and I’m just happy he received um what he received but anyway it is what it is and um we ultimately move past It ultimately him and Chris Rock ultimately will handle that stuff eventually whenever they choose to do so uh but it ain’t for me to speak on anymore let’s help the brother help brothers and sisters like he’s been doing employing people in the movies you know with his albums with his exceptional work hopefully he’ll get back on track that’s all I got to say about that with Will Smith the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BET award Sunday night was one and only Usher as in Usher Raymond um you know he was celebrated last night and he deserved to be celebrated um it’s not just because of his half time performance at the Super Bowl it’s because his talents have withstood the test of time uh I’m running out of time don’t have much time to talk about this but don’t need much time Usher’s spectacular he’s a great great talent I could have done without some of the profanity Usher I could have done without some of the profanity but I’m still very very happy with what he what he did what he received it’s welld deserved major major props to him I got to get on out of here for the day but I’ll be back in uh tomorrow sometime so make sure you stick around look for me I won’t be on the ESPN Airwaves because I’m on vacation pretty much for the next month but make no mistake I own and operate this right here the Stephen A Smith show so I will be back here on ihart radio to help you all contribute to continuing to download my podcast and of course um on the Stephen A Smith show over the digital Airwaves with YouTube until next time everybody I’m signing off see you soon peace and love and