CHARLOTTE — Josh Hart said he has no time for “part-time” Stephen A. Smith.
“For me, Stephen A as a part-time Knicks fan needs to shut the hell up,” Hart said Thursday morning. “He barely knows guys that’s on the team.”
Hart was responding to recent comments from the ESPN personality, who said on his flagship show “First Take” on Tuesday, “I need Josh Hart to be quiet. Sit down. The only time I want you standing up and talking is when you’re playing.”
The context was Hart defending his struggling teammate Mikal Bridges in an interview with The Post, which drew Smith’s ire as he lambasted Bridges’ play and the haul the Knicks gave up to acquire him.
Hart had told The Post that Bridges was catching “unfair flak” because his role was reduced and was getting fewer opportunities to score.
“I’m definitely not going to listen to a part-time Knicks fan,” Hart responded Thursday before the Knicks faced the Hornets. “When Stephen A. rolls up to MSG with a ‘New York’ on his chest and ties up his sneaks and plays for us, then I’ll listen to what he has to say.”
Smith often references his diehard Knicks fandom on the air as a product of Hollis, Queens.
However, as Hart alluded to, Smith’s knowledge of the Knicks has been called into question.
He botched the name of backup guard Miles McBride — calling him “Michael McBride” — he praised the contributions of Quentin Grimes, who had been traded from the Knicks to the Pistons, and he dismissed Isaiah Hartenstein as “some guy” despite the center’s important role.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
