While much focus has been on NBA expansion to Seattle and Las Vegas, several players have expressed a desire to have another team relocated.
The latest is Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who voiced his opinion that the NBA should move out of Memphis.
While golfing in a Bob Does Sports video, host Robby Berger asked the 41-year-old James whether travel for NBA games wears on him more as he ages.
"Yeah, a random (expletive) Tuesday in Milwaukee staying at the (expletive) Hyatt at 41 years old, you think I want to do that (expletive)," James responded. "Being in Memphis on a (expletive) random (expletive) Thursday."
He then went on a tirade about the Grizzlies needing to pack their bags and relocate.
"I'm not like the first guy to even talk about it in the NBA," James said. "Like, we're all like 'you guys have to move.' Just go over to Nashville. You got Vanderbilt over there. You got the (expletive) NASCAR. You got a stadium. Don't they have a hockey team, too? Like they got everything."
Nashville has a population of more than 700,000 and its a thriving sports town that houses NASCAR races, the NHL's Nashville Predators, NFL's Tennessee Titans, the University of Vanderbilt and Tennessee State University, a historically Black College and University.
Nashville is a nice city. Downtown Nashville is lively. As for Memphis, James maybe just has a vendetta against it.
James and the No. 7-seed Lakers bounced a No. 2-seeded Grizzlies team in the first round of the 2023 playoffs, 4-2. The series was talked up because a young Grizzlies team led by Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks trash talked the Lakers, with their fans quoting "Whoop That Trick" from the Memphis-based movie "Hustle & Flow."
So, maybe James really doesn't like Memphis. He even joked that he'd never play for Memphis.
"Yeah, they know," James said. "Their only chance would have been 2003 if they would have won the lottery and I might have pulled an Eli Manning and not showed up."
NBA community chimes in on Memphis
Memphis hasn't been on the best end of things of late. In a episode of "Sundae Conversation with Caleb Pressley" uploaded Feb. 22, Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards was asked how often he thought about the hotel being used when he traveled to different cities.
Edwards said he always thinks about that, especially in Memphis.
"I be like, damn, my hotels ain't nothing in Memphis," Edwards said. "My (expletive) be dirty. I walked in a Memphis hotel one time, it had stains and (expletive) on the bed."
Warriors forward Draymond Green recalled his experiences in Memphis, as well, on an episode of his podcast, "The Draymond Green Show." Spoiler alert, they weren't good memories.
"I've spent a lot of time in Memphis. And the hotels aren't the best. They aren't quite the hotels when you're in LA or Houston or Miami or Atlanta or Detroit or Portland or (Oklahoma City) or Indianapolis or Toronto or New York or Philly or Boston or DC or Charlotte or Orlando or San Antonio or Dallas or Phoenix," Green said. "You get the gist. Memphis definitely has the worst hotels in the league, no question."
He claimed Memphis does not have some of the bigger hotel companies, like other NBA cities. He also said Memphis hotels didn't have room service or spas. He recalled a situation where the Warriors had to switch hotels.
"We had an issue there, where we used to stay at one hotel in Memphis, and this (was) days back, we stopped staying there because their sprinklers just went off for no reason in the room and drenched all of Andrew Bogut's stuff," Green said. "The sprinkler system, like it was a fire, just went off, drenched all Bogut's stuff. And they didn't want to do anything about it, so we switched hotels. So it's been an issue. It's gotten a little better, I must say, but it's not ... it's still not the other cities."
Green, like James, believes the solution would be to move the team to Nashville. On a March 18 episode of his podcast, Green commented on NBA expansion, repositioning conferences and the teams that make them up.
He offered his two cents to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
"Just do everybody a favor and move that team to Nashville. There's no great hotels in Memphis. I love the people of Memphis. They are incredible. Shout out to the people of Memphis. I love them. But just from an NBA standpoint," Green said. "Get Memphis the hell out of Memphis and send them to Nashville. Do the right thing, people. It's a reason the Tennessee Titans are in Nashville, do the right thing. Just go on to Nashville. Don't charge them a relocation fee. They just going up the street and doing all us a favor."
He added: "Let's not charge them a relocation fee. Please. Let them just do us all a favor and take the team to Nashville. No problem, no harm, no foul. It's a swap. You ain't got to pay the relocation fee. Go to Nashville. Do us all a favor, Adam, nobody will be upset. Not one person will be upset."
Former NBA players give takes on Memphis
Retired NBA player and "All The Smoke" podcast host Matt Barnes said he had a similar perception until he played for Memphis. Barnes played 17 NBA seasons for the Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers and Grizzlies.
"When I went out there, I actually enjoyed it. It was everything I needed in my life at the time, coming fresh off a divorce and coming off a dysfunctional Lob City (Clippers) team, I was kind of able to reset and center," Barnes said. "They had great food. The women were very nice to me out there. It was a really hospitable city. Everyone was super cool. But it is one of those cities, outside looking in, if you don't spend a ton of time there."
Barnes and frequent "All The Smoke" podcast co-host, former NBA player Vernon Maxwell, rattled off some of their least favorite cities to be in. They included Milwaukee, Utah, Cleveland and Sacramento, although Barnes went on to say that Sacramento was a hidden gem.
Former players Channing Frye, Richard Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins all expressed their opinions of Memphis during a February episode of their 'Road Trippin' podcast. Frye vehemently agreed that Memphis wasn't a favorable stay.
"Memphis is easily the worst," Frye said.
When Jefferson was asked, he screamed, "Memphis" as his answer.
Perkins agreed that Memphis was the worst city when it came to hotels.
Jefferson went on to explain that NBA players stay at five-star hotels, or the best the city has to offer. When players go to Memphis, it is seen as a downgrade.
"You stay in the nicest hotels and then you go to Memphis and you stay in a Westin," Jefferson said. "Now, imagine if you got traded to Memphis. There's a probability that you might have to stay in that hotel for two weeks, the level of depression you would go to just from staying in that hotel when you literally are staying in Ritz-Carltons, Four Seasons, like the nicest five-star hotels all around the country, and then you go to Memphis and you're staying in this Westin, and every team stays in The Westin or the Peabody. It's not great, bro."
He added: "This is a beautiful city. I've got no issues with Memphis, but let's have a business conversation. Memphis is the only NBA franchise that, once they (built) the arena, they didn't build up the infrastructure around it. It is the only one. Every other one has built up restaurants, a nicer hotel. They've built up something around the arena. Memphis has not in their entire time there."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LeBron James unloads on Memphis, Grizzlies to Bob Does Sports crew
