LeBron James ruffled the feathers of many NBA fans this week when he said that the Memphis Grizzlies should move to Nashville.
Grizzlies head coach Tuomas Iisalo pushed back on James’ comments, speaking positively of the city that he moved to two years ago.
“I can say from my own perspective that I have the complete opposite — 180-degree perspective on that,” Iisalo told reporters Friday. “The Memphis where we have arrived less than two years ago has been very warm. Very welcoming.”
During an appearance on the “Bob Does Sports” YouTube channel earlier this week, James said that it is a common opinion that the Grizzlies should relocate to Nashville.
“In Memphis on a f—ing random ass Thursday,” James said. “I’m not like the first guy to even talk about it in the NBA, we all like, ‘You guys have to move. Just go over to Nashville.'”
With NBA expansion seemingly on the horizon, talks of relocating some of the smaller market teams like the Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz have come up, though not by NBA officials.
Nashville would technically be a bigger market for the Grizzlies, but it would be hard to beat the atmosphere and passion found at a Memphis home game.
“All I can say is Memphis is the right place for the Grizzlies,” Iisalo said.