Stephen A. Smith alleges Draymond Green hurting his chance to succeed Charles Barkley

As Draymond Green produces more ejections than podcast episodes this season, Stephen A. Smith notes the NBA star is putting his media future on the line.

Green was ejected for the third time this season Tuesday night, after he was issued a flagrant 2 foul for essentially punching Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkić. Early in the third quarter of the Golden State Warriors game against Phoenix, Green was battling for position when he spun around and took a swing at Nurkić, connecting on the side of his head.

This type of action is nothing new for Green, who was already suspended this season for putting Rudy Gobert in a chokehold. Green was suspended in the playoffs last season for stomping on Domantas Sabonis. And there was also the time Green infamously punched his own teammate, to name a few incidents.

Wednesday morning on First Take, Stephen A. Smith reacted to Green’s latest ejection and looming suspension, citing the impact it might end up having on what was once viewed as a bright media future.

“You had people talking about Draymond being [Charles Barkley’s] successor. You don’t hear that now.” pic.twitter.com/5v3q1POX4T

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 13, 2023

“Once upon a time, when Barkley, my brother who continues to lie to the public about wanting to retire, one minute he’s talking about retiring and the next thing he’s talking about how much he steals money doing his job every day with his lying self, but I love him to death,” Smith said.

“But we talked about Charles Barkley ultimately one day walking away from this, you had people talking about Draymond being his successor. You don’t hear that now. You hear people talking about Draymond having problems.”

Despite branding himself the leader of the “new media,” Green has also sought “old media” outlets, where he’s been a presence on TNT for years, signing an official deal with the network in Jan. 2022. There has long been a thought that Green’s willingness to be brash, paired with his charismatic delivery, could make him a strong candidate to eventually succeed Barkley on Inside the NBA.

Last year, Barkley signed a decade-long contract with WBD Sports to remain on Inside the NBA, but the Hall of Famer continues to claim the end of his TV career is near. A claim he’s been making since 2018, so take that with a grain of salt. But if TNT once eyed Green as Barkley’s potential successor, is Smith right in wondering whether recent transgressions will cause the network to waver?

Did Barkley’s past actions impact his ability to land a TV gig? Barkley was ejected from a game 16 times, spit on a little girl in the crowd, started a brawl with eventual TV co-star Shaquille O’Neal, and was arrested for being involved in a bar fight. Despite those actions, Barkley is one of the most successful athlete-turned broadcasters ever. But Smith is right, after once seeming like he similarly had a bright future in broadcasting, Green’s media career has been absent in recent months.

[First Take]