Stephen A. Smith explains issues he has with Steve Kerr, Andrew Wiggins on 95.7 The Game

Stephen A. Smith is not one to shy away from the limelight, or criticism. He's back in the Warriors news cycle because of comments he made regarding Stephen Curry's leadership, following the indefinite suspension of Draymond Green.

Smith was criticized by Steve Kerr at the time, who said "For anybody to question Stephen Curry’s leadership, it’s actually kind of sickening to me. Disgusting.”

Green brought up Smith's comments on his podcast, discussing his return to the NBA after the 12-game suspension. Smith joined Steiny & Guru Wednesday to clarify those comments and discuss his issues with Kerr and Andrew Wiggins.

Smith, had the comments replayed here, when he said the following:

"I understand that Steph Curry is not a vocal leader, I get that," Smith said. "But I gotta tell y'all something, if this were LeBron James, if this were a teammate of LeBron James, we'd be all over LeBron James.

'Where's the leadership? Where's he at? What kind of impact is he having?'

I don't think we should be holding Steph Curry to lesser standards...

Steph is not being blamed. Just like I'm not quote-unquote blaming Steve Kerr or whatever. But there is no doubt that organizationally, especially when it comes to the coach and when it comes to the star player, that it appears that more should have been done.'"

On Steiny and Guru, Smith ripped Kerr for his reaction to his comments, and later criticized Andrew Wiggins' lack of availability.

Smith's argument is that he was not saying Curry was a bad leader, and that the question he asked about Curry's leadership were fair. He also argued that they presented a chance for Kerr to highlight Curry's leadership qualities.

"I'm saying there was nothing wrong with asking it to see what Steph Curry or Steve Kerr would have to say about it, as opposed to Steve Kerr automatically insinuating you're questioning Steph Curry's leadership," Smith said. "No, we're questioning you about his leadership so you can highlight exactly what kind of leader he is and what makes him so special. But Steve Kerr took it wrong, because that's what Steve Kerr does on occasion."

Smith said Kerr can be passive aggressive and said it "was disgusting" to insinuate Smith was calling Curry a bad leader. He went even further, arguing that Kerr is directing frustrations over this season at Smith instead of his team.

"For me, when Steve Kerr alluded to that, albeit without saying my name, I thought it was disgusting for him to go there," Smith said. "Because I'm like, really? That's what you're doing. You reach in?

I know you're having a bad season. I know you're not living up to expectations. I know you're seeing the dynasty disintegrate before our very eyes, but that's something you need to take up with your players and your coaching staff. Don't try to put this on the media. We're covering the team and we're covering events that took place."

Despite all that, Smith said that he has the utmost respect for Kerr as a coach, saying that he is a top-five coach of all time, and that he expects him to stick around next season as long as Curry does.

"Steve Kerr, I mean, listen, he wants to be selective on who he chooses to speak to and who he chooses to ignore, or who he chooses to allude to. It's one of those passive-aggressive maneuvers that he consistently exercises that on occasion annoys the living hell out of me, but it is what it is," Smith said. "I know a lot of people within the organization. I'm incredibly friendly with a lot of people within the organization. I have profound respect for their leadership.

"I think Steve Kerr is one of the top five greatest coaches in the history of basketball, and oh, by the way, I think he's a pretty good guy. It's just that on occasion, I think he comes across as a bit passive aggressive, and it gets on my nerves, and on occasion, I think he needs to be called out for that, because I'm not one of his players. Okay, you're not my boss."

Smith, as always, had more left in the tank. When he was asked if he likes Andrew Wiggins, he was hilariously blunt.

"No," Smith said. "Never have."

He praised Wiggins' MVP performance in the Finals, but said that the main criticism he's had is "that fire," which "far more often," is not there with Wiggins.

He continued to criticize Wiggins for his lack of availability, saying it's a luxury most people don't have, even given his family situation:

"I remember last year, where guys within the organization had to educate me and tell me to calm down a little bit because I knew he was having family issues and God bless him and his family. You certainly don't wish anything to go wrong in that regard. And I'm certainly not going to get specific because that's his business, even though I heard details about what transpired.

But my position was, well, you have a job. And I understand you have to be at home, but in the same breath, I'm sure you leave home to make sure that check is cashed unless you hop on a laptop to make sure it's in your bank account.

You're getting paid, okay? And so if you take the money with such ease, then you should go to work with a level of ease as well as opposed to missing chunks of the season, even if it for personal problems.

We all got personal issues. Stuff happens. If it's a death in a family? Of course. If somebody's disabled, you got to take care of them? Of course.

But for you just not to be in the mood to go to work because this family illness that's going on is preoccupying your mind, well, most people in the world don't get to make those kinds of decisions."

Smith also cited the example of Tyson Chandler. He recounted how Chandler's mother was ill while he was playing for the Knicks, and how Chandler remained available to the team.

"I remember when he was playing for the New York Knicks, he was with his mother all the time," Smith said. "He would leave on game day because owner James Dolan would send the private jet to pick him up. He would get on a plane, go to the game, play with the team, and then go back home to his mama.

"I'm using that as an extreme example to highlight that there are extreme examples upon which — it's perfectly understandable if they can't play, but if you can play and you're accepting the check, try not to take so much damn time off. That's my position."