Jalen Rose knows Stephen A. Smith isn’t going to win the battle of words with Kevin Durant.
Durant called Smith a liar last week in response to rumors he supposedly considers the Los Angeles Lakers a top destination next year when he hits free agency.
Smith didn’t take the accusation lying down and went off on ESPN’s First Take on Monday morning, threatening Durant on air: “You don’t want to make an enemy out of me. And I am looking right at the camera,” Smith said, via Richard Deitsch of SI.com.
Speaking about the situation on Thursday with Charlamagne Tha God on “The Breakfast Club,” via TMZ.com, Rose gave his take on the entire situation.
“As a media member, when a former MVP calls you out, that’s not a good look,” Rose said. “So, Stephen, I’m pretty sure, was upset. I watched “First Take,” and I know he wanted to, you know, roar back at KD. To me, I would have just let it ride. I wouldn’t have said anything back, because you can’t win that battle.”
As much as Smith certainly has shown he wants to fight this battle, he should probably listen to Rose on this one. Durant doesn’t say things frivolously, and he isn’t the kind of guy who has a bad reputation in the NBA.
So even if Smith did get good information from a source, he’s the one who is going to look bad in this exchange. So he can either continue beating the drum nobody wants to hear or he can just come to the conclusion some battles aren’t worth fighting.