MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Add LeBron James to the list of Memphis haters who have said the NBA should take away the city’s lone big league team and move it to Nashville.<\/p>\n
James’ comments came on an episode of the YouTube show “Bob Does Sports,” posted Thursday. While playing golf with the show’s crew, James was asked about the difficulties of NBA travel; the league’s all-time leading scorer said that, at age 41, he doesn’t want to spend weeknights in hotels in places like Milwaukee or Memphis.<\/p>\n
But then, he went in on the Bluff City.<\/p>\n
“I’m not the first guy to even talk about it in the NBA. Like, we all like, ‘You guys have to move.’ Just go over to Nashville. You got Vanderbilt over there, and you got the [expletive] NASCAR. You got a stadium. Don’t they have a hockey team too? Like they got everything.”<\/p>\n
James also said the only way he would have played for the Grizzlies is if they had won the 2003 NBA draft lottery and picked him first overall. But he added that he might have refused to sign, just as Ole Miss great Eli Manning did the next year when the San Diego Chargers drafted him.<\/p>\n
The future of the Grizzlies in Memphis has long been a topic for debate and speculation. The team’s lease at FedExForum expires in 2029.<\/p>\n
State and city officials have pledged money toward what is expected to be a more than half-billion dollar renovation project for the arena.<\/p>\n