No matter how long a basketball player has averaged on the court, if their NBA team wins a championship, they’re being fitted for a ring. Throughout NBA history, some players have found themselves as the target of scrutiny for flaunting their championship rings when they weren’t instrumental in bringing home the trophy, but many have argued that teams both win together and lose together. Matt Barnes, however, goes by a different creed, and he recently admitted that he refuses to accept his 2017 championship ring.

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While on his All the Smoke podcast recently, Matt Barnes discussed his 2017 win with the Golden State Warriors—a win that he doesn’t count. “I came in when [Kevin Durant] went down, playing a consistent 20-25 minutes. The game KD comes back, I get hurt maybe a week before the playoffs and I’m out of it. Worst ankle sprain of my life. I’m not healthy until the end of the second round,” Barnes said. As a “vet,” he didn’t expect them to change the rotation. “I’m just going to sit here and be a super vet and cheer these motherf*ckers on. Talk to people when they need to be talked to and just enjoy the ride. We did win it…I don’t count that as a championship.”

Barnes added that his ring is sitting in the office of Raymond Ridder, the Golden State Warriors’ Vice President of Communications. “I got a free ride, I got a free ring…I don’t count myself as an NBA champ.” Watch the episode in its entirety below or catch Barnes’s commentary on his championship ring around the 1:09:00 mark.

They were able to mend their differences and become good friends, but there was a point in time when Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant were at odds. The "Shaq vs. Kobe" feud was one that entertained basketball fans, but that time made for some regrettable decisions. There were rumors of physical altercations and rap bars about the beef, but according to Isaiah Rider, Shaq even offered up cash to fight his former foe.

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Isaiah Rider spent one year with the Los Angeles Lakers as a guard from 2000-2001, and he told All The Smoke that his former teammate offered him $10K to fight with Kobe Bryant. “When I first get to the Lakers, Shaq tells me ‘If you and Kobe get into it, it’s 10 G’s in the locker,'” Rider recalled. “This is three days into practice... I’m like ‘Man, come on, you playing, man.’ [Shaq said] ‘There’s 10 G’s in one-dollar bills, man. If you ever get into it and you handle your business, grab that.'"

Rider said he could believe it. “I’m coming to the Lakers, I’m like, ‘Man, these boys are crazy, bro,'" he added. "But this my thing: I would’ve been off the team so fast if somebody laid a hand on that man." Rider decided not to take Shaq up on his offer, and eventually, Shaq and Kobe became great friends before the late icon's untimely passing. Check out Isaiah Rider sharing his story below.

Back in 2011, the Los Angeles Lakers were about to pull off the greatest finesse known to mankind. They had made a trade with the New Orleans Hornets that would send Chris Paul to Los Angeles and somehow, the Lakers would save $40 million in the process. At the time, the Hornets were in shambles and were technically owned by the league. Commissioner David Stern felt like the deal was a bit of a farce so he decided to veto it, much to the chagrin of Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, the Lakers, and fans of the purple and gold, all around the world.

Stern and Kobe have both passed on since then and recently, Paul joined Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes for an episode of the "All The Smoke" podcast. In the clip below, Paul talked about the vetoed trade and how it disappointed him greatly. It was his one chance to get to play with Kobe Bryant and it was ultimately squandered.