Draymond Green And SAS Exchange Fighting Words Over The Airwaves As The Pair Declare They’ve Lost Respect For One Another

Stephen A. Smith and Draymond Green have been engaging in a back-and-forth over national airwaves in recent days, with the pair each declaring that they’ve lost respect for the other.

While appearing on Shaq’s podcast earlier this week, the future Hall of Famer was speaking about the reactions to his indefinite suspension earlier this season and specifically name-checked Stephen A.

According to Green, despite the numerous times he believes he’s stood up for Smith over the years, SAS did not reciprocate that same loyalty during Green’s suspension.

“Even people you think you respect or like are just going on TV and feeding into the narrative. I haven’t talked to him much since… Stephen A. Smith really pissed me off,” Green began.

“The reason he pissed me off is because he hit me [up] and was like, ‘Yo, it’s been hard for a lot of us to talk about you these last few days.’ And I’m like, ‘Okay, it’s been hard for me to watch,’ but I’m watching it because I want to see everything everyone else has to say,” Green explained.

The controversial Warriors forward then got into the meat of his argument, detailing how he would often defend Smith against the perception that others had of him based on what they’ve seen on television.

“Anytime I see someone and they say something about him, it’s never like, ‘Yo, I like him, he cool!’ It’s always like ‘Man, f— that dude, he’s a character, he’s this, he’s that.’ And I always say back, ‘I actually know the guy. The guy is actually a cool dude. You can take what you want from the TV screen but I actually know the guy: he’s a cool dude. And a real dude.'”

Green then says Smith, when given the chance to stand up for him, instead fed into the narrative against him.

“And then you get the opportunity to talk about me, and I know you’ve got a job to do and say what you’ve got to say, but not at one point did you [stand up for me the same way I have for you]. To sit back and see those who claim to know and appreciate me as a human being just flow with the narrative because it was easy to do, I lost a lot of respect for a lot of people.”

On Thursday, Smith then addressed Green’s comments and openly declared that he’s now lost respect for the 34-year-old former Michigan State Spartan.

“Draymond Green just went on a national podcast with Shaq, my brother, and said he lost respect for me. Well, I’ve now lost respect for him,” Smith said.

“I love this brother, I got mad love for Draymond Green. I have an abundance of receipts where I can show you how many times I’ve spoken up for Draymond Green. It’s been countless times. This man has been ejected from games 20 times in his career. Only Rasheed Wallace has been ejected from more games in his NBA career.”

With the NBA’s rights likely leaving Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT) and heading over to ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video, Green will likely be one of the most sought-after analyst talents should he retire in the coming years. And if he does, it would be wise to have a veteran in the industry like Smith in his corner.