Sam Mitchell and Chris Miles may be trying to do some damage control after their very awkward on-air moment this week.
Mitchell and Miles made headlines on Friday night with a tense exchange live on NBA TV. During a segment previewing the NBA preseason, Miles cracked a joke about Mitchell’s paycheck from the network. Mitchell then responded by going off with personal barbs about Miles’ own finances. At one point, Mitchell even appeared to leak the supposed address to one of Miles’ rental properties in Florida while still live on the air.
You can watch the bizarre exchange here.
On Saturday morning, basketball writer Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson spoke with both men, who issued clarifications about their exchange. The two both said that they were just joking around, and Mitchell added that the address he supposedly leaked was a fake one that he had just made up.
“Chris and I were joking, and the address is one that I made up in my head,” Mitchell was quoted as saying. “I don’t even know if that address exists. He knows that’s not my address. For people to think that I would actually know another man’s address to his rental property is stupid. It was a joke. Chris was laughing, and I was laughing. Case closed.”
Miles echoed that same sentiment as well.
“We saw [the stir] on social media and we were surprised,” Miles told Robinson. “We’re not just co-workers. We’re neighbors, and we’re friends. This is how we joke. I was shocked that it went this far on social media. It’s all good!”
Mitchell and Miles are putting on a united front after the fact, but there definitely seemed to be something very personal going on with that on-air exchange. At one point, Mitchell even said to Miles, “I done told you, young fella. You’re gonna stop messing with me on national TV,” (indicating that something had already been brewing between them).
The 61-year-old Mitchell, the former Toronto Raptors coach who won NBA Coach of the Year in 2007, has had several on-and-off stints with NBA TV (from 2008-10, from 2013-15, and now from 2016 to the present day). Meanwhile, Miles has been working for NBA TV ever since 2017.
