"Who the f*** are you to decide that?" - Gilbert Arenas calls out Stephen A. Smith's rebuttal against Kevin Durant's 'clown' comments
Over the last two weeks, Kevin Durant has found himself in a war of words online with Stephen A. Smith. As the controversy drags on, one former All-Star has come to the defense of the superstar forward.
It all began on the October 24th edition of ESPN's "First Take." When talking about the Phoenix Suns, Stephen A. declared he doesn't have much faith in the team with KD as their lead star.
Kevin Durant ended up responding to Stephen A.'s remarks, calling him a clown.
“Yeah, Stephen A., I don’t understand how people even listen to Stephen A.,” he told The Athletic. “I’ve been in the league for 18 years. I’ve never seen Stephen A. at a practice, or a film session, or a shoot-around. I’ve never seen him anywhere but on TV talking s— about players. … He’s a clown to me. He’s always been a clown. You can write that, too.”
Stephen A. added fuel to the fire by going off on KD again, this time on his podcast. This resulted in former NBA star Gilbert Arenas chiming in on the situation. He clapped back at Stephen A. for making such comments when he's not around the team to fully know their situation.
"When a Stephen A. Smith or anyone says he's not a leader," Arenas said. "The player is asking a question, who the f*** are you to decide that? You've never been in this locker room, you've never been to practice, you've never seen me workout. What are you judging it off of?"
After being eliminated in the first round last year, the Suns have come out of the gates strong to start this season. Durant and company currently sit in second place in the Western Conference with a 6-1 record.
What did Stephen A. Smith say in response to Kevin Durant's 'clown' comments?
Part of what has made Stephen A. Smith such a success in the sports world is his larger-than-life personality. This was on full display on his podcast when he responded to the shots Kevin Durant took at him.
As expected, Stephen A. did not take what KD had to say lightly. He sounded off on the Suns' star for saying these things but also wanting to work on projects with him.
"I'm a clown," Stephen A. said. "That why your team called me to be a part of you documentary? That's why y'all called me? Because I'm a clown?"
"Kevin Durant, can anyone talk about you?"
Stephen A. did not end there, as he began to sound off on the moves Kevin Durant made throughout his career. Specifically his signing with the Brooklyn Nets, which he dubbed a terrible business decision.
"And then at the 11th hour you got convinced to roll over to Brooklyn," he continued. "Which might be one of the worst business moves, mister 35 ventures, that we have seen from a basketall superstar in the modern day era."
35 Ventures is one of Durant's numerous companies outside of basketball. They invest in a wide range of start-up companies and works closely with his media company "Boardroom."