I think Adelaide should stop talking too though. But I think that of any team. When you're silent it speaks.

Is he the sort of person who would have shut up long ago if people stopped reacting to him and not give him the the credit he deserves? I know nothing about him.

He knows what he's doing, just trying to cause a stir on purpose.

This bloke is a card carrying, class A fuckwit but hey, we're talking about him which is obviously what this tool wants.

He wasn't trying to cause a stir when he said what he did about the Wildcats championship in 2020, it was nothing other than sour grapes pure and simple.

As a Sixers fan I don't care too much about what he said about them they deserve it after that humiliating loss to the JJ's but to say what he said about the Hawks a team that is clearly struggling to stay afloat financially with a roster that reflects that is absolutely classless. Especially given what the Kings would've spent on their roster last season.

The shock factor and any entertainment value from Smith's comments are gone now

If he wants to actually create a stir, he needs to wait longer before saying something new that's obviously stirring the pot

I guess it's good to have characters and villains

36ers have talked themselves up a lot - which is fine too - but they also deserve people having a crack at them for it

He's a knob, but he is a knob that is good at what he does.

Yawn, he is boring now after peaking in 2020.

Even bogut facepalmed the comments of smith on twitter

He's just trying to get more punters to the game, it’s a very American thing. Yes he’s a knob as previously stated but it’s all about publicity. There are players out there that tell everyone how good they are and no one says boo. He has been excellent for the kings.

He's correct about Adelaide. Sorry if it doesn’t suit the agenda of 'Paul smith is a jerk’, which he is, but he’s spot on here. That opening game display was putrid and they weren’t much better against the Hawks. Facts can be hurtful, but Adelaide need to check themselves.

"He's just trying to get more punters to the game, it's a very American thing. Yes he’s a knob as previously stated but it’s all about publicity. There are players out there that tell everyone how good they are and no one says boo. He has been excellent for the kings."

Yep, 100%. Folks are talking about it, even if it's to call him a dickhead, it's doing exactly what he expects it to do. His comments made it on various sports media here in Sydney also, which is generally very rare outside of 15 seconds of NBL result recaps throughout the regular season.

I think some might be giving Smith a little too much credit. Sure this current rant might've been made to drum up interest but the massive months long dummy spit about the Wildcats beating the Kings in the 2020 GF was not.

No it wasn't, but most have moved on from then I'd say.

Paul Smith is a very Sydney kind of guy

Clearly has an arrogant streak

And a bit of an inferiority complex from being part of Australia's biggest city and biggest commercial hub, but nonetheless an under performer on the sporting stage with fickle, small fanbases and a glaring lack of success at the highest echelons of sport

But I also hear a bit of showmanship there too

Either way, I don't really mind, if he's getting the sport attention that's a good thing. The risk he runs though, as I said earlier, is becoming irrelevant by his constant stream of trolling. You gotta get the balance right and I reckon he's gone past the "too much" line

No it wasn't, but most have moved on from then I'd say.

Paul Smith is a very Sydney kind of guy

I've seen that mentioned here before, but not sure it's actually true.

Despite holding onto Andrew Gaze for 3 years, Smith I believe is a shrewd operator.

Stirring things up to generate interest is what he does and as long as people understand that's all it is we can all move on.

He's had a crack at many things, even the Wildcats indigenous round jersey once, people have become dulled to such outbursts so he has to up the ante.

The crack at Adelaide is just noise, other than someone saying championship or bust, I have not heard the team proclaiming themselves as NBL/A champions.

I do hope though that the Sixers thrash the Kings more than ever.

He did want the hawks, was knocked back. Another bad mistake by hawks. He's very passionate about the kings, to him it’s all hype and marketing.

Smith never owned the kings until gaze, left. He bought the franchise after Gazes three seasons.

Did some googling

Yes Smith only purchased the Kings in 2019

He's like Kestleman in making an unimaginable amount of cash from a previous business- $260m from selling his business in 2016, much like LK and Slepoy made $203m from Dodo a few years earlier

Basketball is indebted to guys like them, super wealthy dudes who want to invest in fun and interesting things

He lives in Minnamurra, near Kiama south of Wollongong

The thing is though, we need them to stick around for years on end

LK has done that, let's hope Smith does likewise

Not like the previous Hawks guy who bailed after 2 years I think soon after Goorjian left?

Smart words LV.

Smith is exactly the type of owner you want, canny businessman with deep pockets. He was actually a rugby league man and I believe turned to basketball after seeing a hawks game.
LK roped the American businessman to buy the hawks with the Australian guy to buy in I believe, problem is he left after two seasons with only bringing his guys who all left when he walked. Again I'm hearing that the US businessman is not happy at what it was costing him, and the wages have been slashed.
LK gets a lot right but the Ball and that local guy who is now main sponsor would’ve been a better option in hindsight.

Reluctantly admit he is good for the league.


Easy to act arrogantly that we are are the best in the land when you have very deep pockets as Smith does.

Gives the league publicity and people through the door for Kings games. Kings used to be underdogs and were the violet crumbles and wanted them to win.

Not now he is playing the us against the world.

He's spot n about the 6ers. Kings are winners / grinders

Enjoyed the 36ers walking towards smith after the game and giving him some feedback lol

36ers had "Road Warriors" post pre-prepared surely

Will "the Smith spell" become the NBL's version of the Kennett Curse?