After Jaylen Brown said “F— Stephen A. (Smith)” and called for the ESPN personality to retire during a live stream Sunday night, Monday’s “First Take” program dedicated nearly 20 minutes to Smith’s ongoing war of words with the Celtics star.
Smith, whom Brown has ripped for prioritizing “clickbait” over “journalism” in his commentary, told the five-time NBA All-Star to tread carefully, threatening to reveal reporting that would paint Brown in an unfavorable light.
“Jaylen Brown, be careful what you wish for,” Smith said Monday morning. “You really want me to start reporting on that level? You understand? Locker room? How the organization might think about you? How the city may feel about you? How Jayson Tatum may or may not feel about you? Sneaker deals? Endorsement deals? The list goes on and on.
“The season is over, bro. You’re on Twitch trying to do what I do and talking about me needing to step away. It makes no sense.”
Smith went on to say he “wasn’t trying to be disrespectful” when he criticized Brown for calling this Celtics season the “favorite year” of his career one day after Boston was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Smith also noted he was not the only pundit who expressed that opinion — and accused Brown of creating his own form of clickbait by attacking him for it.
“I’m not being disrespectful,” the ESPN talking head said. “I’m simply making the point that it is not wise, after 24 hours of having your season over in the first round, for you to be coming out talking about that’s your favorite season. It ain’t the smartest thing in the world to do. … I was trying to sit up there and look out by letting you know this is not a good look. It’s not wise. That’s all.
“And I would have respected Jaylen Brown more … had he come at everybody who said exactly what I was saying. But evidently, when you’re talking about clickbait and all of that stuff, somebody told you the best way to get it is to bring up my name, and that’s what you did. So who’s really looking for clickbait? Is it me, or is it you? And obviously, you would think you wouldn’t need it — $304 million, NBA player. You don’t need it. What are you doing it for?”
