Stephen A. Smith hints at secret NBA world filled with affairs, behind-the-scenes drama

Stephen A. Smith did not hold back while discussing the “trouble” he witnessed as a beat writer earlier in his career, including “people screwing around in the office.”

Smith, who worked as a NBA beat reporter at The Philadelphia Inquirer before he became ESPN’s top personality, appeared on the Barstool Sports podcast, “Bussin’ With The Boys” with former NFL linemen Will Compton and Taylor Lewan, and claimed he had NSFW knowledge about players, coaches and executives, which impacted trades and business decisions.

“From day one, I always let them know don’t look for any pity from me when it comes to your game. Because everyone’s watching,” Smith said while discussing how he balanced his relationships with his takes as a beat writer. “f we’re sitting there and I’m talking to y’all right now, and we’re having a private conversation … I can shut up about it and go on my merry way and it’s between us.

“But with these cameras rolling and the world watching, I can’t help you. What you say is what you say. What you own is what you own … I’m a street-wise brother, I kind of know.

“I’m a beat writer at the time, so you get to know everybody … you don’t just know the athletes … you know their families, their friends … all of that stuff. So just imagine you’re covering sports and you’re dealing with 20-year-olds, late 20s and early 30s and imagine the stuff that you’re making all this money and you find yourself getting into because you’re living a life you that most people don’t get to live.

“Think about the trouble that brings. You think I didn’t know that you got traded because you were f–king the same girl as the coach — and the coach wanted you gone. You think I didn’t know the coach couldn’t stand you because you tried to come onto his wife and his wife was interested?