Stephen A. Smith never bit his tongue over the decision made by Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant to join the Brooklyn Nets. Even years after that decision, and a few trades/big decisions by both players, he’s still willing to call out both players for picking the Nets, especially over the New York Knicks.
During a recent appearance on “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” Smith dumped the duo and specifically called them out about the money they lost, in his opinion, by choosing to sign with the Nets instead of the Knicks.
As the Let’s Talk Knicks uncovered and revealed on Twitter, Smith said he believes Irving and Durant cost each other about half a billion dollars just for that decision in off-the-court opportunities.
It’s an incredibly bold take, especially considering that while there may be more off-the-field opportunities for a member of the Knicks, attempting to gauge where they would make the most money would be an incredibly daunting task.
Unsurprisingly, a number of fans and analysts jumped at this statement, including Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, who responded by first stating, “Okay, no.” And he went on to point out that while Irving may have cost him some money, “no sponsor is paying him an extra $500 million because they play for the Knicks.”