Ja Morant, Memphis natives clap back at Stephen A. Smith’s comments about the city

Ja Morant, Memphis natives clap back at Stephen A. Smith’s comments about the city

you want to talk about a wild episode of locked on Grizzlies we’re leading off in a space where you have pissed off to Michael Cole stephen A smith do you know how hard it is to anger the great Demich Cole i’m going to give the floor to Demich and let him speak his mind on all the nonsense that happened on ESPN and across social media on Tuesday let’s lock in you are Locked On Grizzlies your daily Memphis Grizzlies podcast part of the Locked On podcast network your team every day all right I’m a man of my words so we’re going to jump right into this but I do have some things you know just to pay some bills to Michael and I want to make sure you know we’re we’re doing this the right way welcome to Lockdown Grizzlies i am your host Joe Molen joined by the incomparable democ you’re going to hear a lot from him momentarily i feel like I’m building this up but you did say you wanted to talk about this on social media got some stuff very rarely you very rarely do this so if you can’t tell if you’re not an everydayer I’m very excited because the Michael is going to be good stuff um today’s episode of Lockdown Grizzlies is brought to you by the good folks over at Game Time download the Game Time app create an account use the code lockdown NBA for $20 off your first purchase we’re available on Apple Spotify Amazon Google YouTube wherever you get a podcast make sure you’re making Demich and myself part of your NBA and Memphis Grizzlies content consumption each and every time that an episode drops okay to Michael Cole I’m just going to set the stage all right john Morant responded to a clip that Stephen A posted or had said on ESPN uh talking about how one of the reasons that people don’t want to come to Memphis that are NBA players and he kind of insinuated Jimmy Butler is one of his sources here yeah yeah um it didn’t say directly but kind of hinted one of the reasons is Memphis is an unsafe city is that a fair way to describe it there are issues joe I I got a lot and then Jaw responded essentially saying I’m not going anywhere i’m here in the 901 and instead of talking about basketball right and he even shouted out TJ McConnell which I was genuinely impressed like shout out to Jaw for shouting out TJ McConnell in his tweet u instead of talking about the actual basketball game that was played we’re talking about lies in terms of trades and that sort of thing and Josh says he’s staying in Memphis then Stephen A responds and I’m not you can go look at it on X if you want i’m not going to read the post i’m not going to dignify it it’s complete and utter nonsense and it’s just a reminder that Stephen A smith is getting exactly what he wants out of this right he is a anger mongerer he is somebody that is looking for his hot takes he He said Giannis was a disappointment recently which is one of the stu or he’s underachieving something like that which is one of the stupidest things I think I’ve ever heard anybody say who would ever say Giannis especially Giannis is underachieving that is just wild to me but anyway I set the stage stephen A smith talking trash about Memphis jaw defending Memphis stephen A rebutting on social media deichel as a Memphian again I lived there for three years i follow the team closely but I would be doing it a disservice if this was a rant from me the floor is yours uh Joe these these things get under my skin so much it you you set the stage it’s it’s hard to get under my skin none of this clickbait you know rahrh stuff really bothers me because I I get why they do it and people still eat it up so I really And I’ve tried to do it to you before i’ve tried and you haven’t bit but this time you’re biting it’s hard because it’s it’s it’s the hometown so there’s there’s relatability there’s a too close to home aspect and quite frankly this wasn’t even about the Grizzlies this is about the city and Stephen A comes out and and as you said he basically said players feel like it’s unsafe to play in in Memphis and that is such a strong thing to say about a city that quite frankly I’ve been covering the Grizzlies for four years that I’ve seen you at once one time in the four years since I’ve been covering this team that is a very strong thing for him to say about the city of Memphis i’m trying to see where I want to start i mean because here’s my thing let’s let’s let’s talk basketball first we’re going we’re going to talk basketball first before we get into the the crime and all these things and then and then I’ll circle I’ll circle back because if we’re just talking particularly basketball the end of the day you say players don’t want to come to Memphis this is kind of deriving from this narrative that free agents aren’t really attracted to Memphis whatever the case may be right okay boom let’s get into it uh Oklahoma City Thunder are they really drawing massive free agents our our our superstar free agents saying “Hey I got the Thunder on my list.” How did Caruso get to Oklahoma City okay okay uh Indiana Pacers solid team nice organization are they drawing i mean did Pascal Seakum choose Indiana in free agency milwaukee Bucks what about the Bucks what about Dame Time he was He was a free agent signing wasn’t he what no no no no dame Time was a trade that was a trade that’s what I’m saying that’s my point like all of these things were trades i’m pretty I’m pretty confident portland Portland Trailblazers had Damen Lillard and CJ McCullum for years trying to find that other piece with them why in the world did anybody want to go play with the Portland Trailblazers seemed like a desirable destination to me you got CJ McCullum Damen Lillard New Orleans Pelicans you got all these nice players you got Zion Williamson you’ve had nice players anthony Davis was there the superstars aren’t really lining up to go there in free agency at the end of the day when you talk about free agency let’s go through some of the biggest free agency contracts in history joe you you’re going to pick up on this everyone else will pick up on this and then we’re going to talk about we’re going to get into this whole narrative about Memphis that is just to me it’s distasteful but Paul George free agent signing last year signed with Philadelphia 76ers remember the city kevin Durant when he last signed in free agency signed with the Brooklyn Nets lebron James last signed in free agency los Angeles Lakers jimmy Butler when he signed and traded to to the last team that he signed with through free agency miami Heat Kimell Walker Boston Celtics Kyrie Irving Brooklyn Nets those are the biggest contracts signed in free agency in recent years do you get where I’m going with this listen to I think I’m picking up what you’re putting down boston Celtics Brooklyn Nets Boston Celtics Miami Heat Los Angeles Lakers Philadelphia 76ers did I say the Orlando Magic did I say the Hornets did I say the Indiana Pacers at the end of the day this is not just a Grizzlies issue which brings me back to the point that if you want to point this out as players are turning down Memphis because of crime where there is data that shows that players are turning down small markets period for the most part at least through free agency now here’s the thing about what he said i’m honest i’m real i grew up in Memphis born and raised spent my whole life there until you know I got ready to go to college parkway Village Memphis Tennessee 38118 you look up that zip code you’ll see some things with that being said I’ve seen the ugly parts of Memphis i’ve seen it up close i’ve also seen the beauty in Memphis but when I left Memphis you know what I got to see Joe i got to see other cities i got to see Philadelphia for three years i got to see New York for around a year and you’ll be surprised but when I was in Philly and when I stayed in Philly they talked to me just how Memphis people talk about Memphis in the city hey man be careful when you’re on this part of the town when you’re in North Philly be careful when you cross over 52nd Street in in in Philly you you got to be careful and I used to tell them like man I’m from Memphis it’s cool and they talked to me like Philly is worse so the narrative that oh players are turning down Memphis because of Memphis is such this crimeinfested city to me is false one for that reason because we just talked about Paul George going to a city like Philadelphia uh and Philadelphia goes back to my last point about you see players in free agency are signing to these other big cities because they’re bigger markets because of the marketability that these cities provide and then the resources that come with those cities which we’ll be talking about in our third segment so it’s it’s all going to come together like there is a lot to peel back i’m trying to get through this in 10 minutes Joe but it’s a lot to really peel back here and last but not least he said that players have told him this right well guess what in my job Joe I get to be around a lot of NBA players yeah don’t you talk to NBA players like on almost daily basis and before I started covering the Grizzlies I was around NBA players and I talked to a lot of and I talked to players about Memphis before just the city and I talked to a bunch of people around the league about this and guess what there are people who don’t want to play in Memphis that is true there are people Alan Averson that’s an example didn’t want to play here andre God didn’t want to play with the Grizzlies but guess what you remember when Kevin Durant didn’t want to play with the New York Knicks i I don’t see talking about the New York Knicks like that kevin Durant didn’t want to go play there you’re do we have to go down the long list of players who didn’t want to play for the Los Angeles Lakers before LeBron James signed there the Los Angeles Lakers were star hunting since Kobe left pretty much and really at the back end of Kobe’s years and they couldn’t land anyone they were star hunting for years so to say that this is a crime issue in Memphis where you could talk basketball I’m okay with that you want to point out facilities in Memphis you want to talk about you know maybe players or front office or whatever the case may be okay make your argument but to me there is no data that really supports like okay if you have a couple players saying this but when you say something like that you got to be strong and you got to be bold with that and to me Stephen A is just blown off at the mouth he just burned off at the mouth because I have heard so many players deanthony Melton loved Memphis kyle Anderson loved Memphis and these aren’t stars so to speak but these are veteran players that have spent time in other cities before they even came to Memphis and said “Man I love my Tyus Jones loved Memphis.” all these guys that come through here and these are players that played here but even if you go back to the segment Joe if you listen I forget which Morris twin it was i think it was Marcus Morris but before Stephen A makes his comment the Morris twin literally says “I would play in Memphis.” He literally says it right before Stephen A goes on to say “These dudes don’t want to play in Memphis.” So I just think it it just rubs me the wrong way when you when you go with this this strong narrative like Memphis has its problems i’m I’m not going to deny that i’m not going to be some you know apologist for my city at the end of the day i know that we have you know have had our struggles with crime you know and other things like that and like I said you know I quite frankly you know I I grew up around some of that stuff but at the same time I’ve seen the beauty in Memphis i seen the beauty in a whole bunch of people who helped me get to where I am to be able to speak on this platform right now and those people are right there in the heart of Memphis second grade teacher third grade teacher sixth grade teacher eighth grade teacher uh co coaches so forth people who still check on me to this day all Memphis natives Memphis residents it’s not just crime crime crime uh there are great people in this city there are great people who look out for those players on the Grizzlies who don’t get recognition there are player people in the city of Memphis who look out for John Mor there are people in the city of Memphis who look out for those players there’s people in Memphis to this day who have strong relationships with Zack Randolph Tony Allen uh Mark Gasol and I’ll end it at this like you you tell me like what player in NBA history could be more comfortable than Tony Allen and Zack Randolph in the city of Memphis those dudes can walk around the whole city blindfolded and I really mean that the city loves them the city’s completely embraced them i don’t see anything different again I stayed in Philadelphia i seen Philadelphia up close lou Williams even talked about a story in Philadelphia where he was held up at he was robbed and he told dude “This ain’t the way.” When he was playing with the 76ers this stuff happens but at the same time there isn’t there isn’t some large volume of stories where oh guys go to Memphis and they’re all getting robbed or nothing like that so it’s just it’s lazy it’s stere it’s stereotypical stuff that people on Stephen A’s platform should not be spitting out i cannot wait for NBC to start their NBA coverage again because they’re just gonna blow ESPN out of the water in my opinion it’s not even going to be close i’ll leave it with this because Demich deserved every minute he got there the only reason that I no longer live in Memphis and this is factual you don’t have to believe me is because my wife and I wanted to have our children closer to my parents that is the only reason had no I didn’t leave the city because I felt unsafe i didn’t leave the city because I thought it was a bad place to raise a family if I could have convinced my parents and her parents to live in Memphis Tennessee Demich and I would be colleagues we I had a radio show lined up there yahoo 7:30 shout out we We had GBB Live on the radio i would probably be a colleague of Demich Cole at this point not a thousand miles away but seeing him at every Grizzlies game that is fact memphis is a phenomenal place with amazing people don’t speak on it if you don’t understand it that’s why I let Michael leave that segment he’s not here right he He is not He’s not He’s rarely been there to your point i’ve been there more recently than Stephen A smith has been to Memphis Tennessee so shout out to Memphis shout out to John Morant again it just further solidifies why he’s there right and Desmond Bane would have wanted to stay in Memphis too i don’t want to make it seem like that’s not why that’s why he was traded but these are guys that love the city that want to be there that are supportive and that’s where the focus should be but again it’s hard to do that when a national platform is spewing such things uh when we come back here on Lockdown Grizzlies I promise we’re going to get back to basketball deich and I have been approached about some Santi Alama to Detroit stuff let’s let’s explore that idea a little bit here on Lockdown Grizzlies today’s episode of Lockdown Grizzlies is brought to you by Game Time there’s nothing like the NBA playoffs the NBA Finals of course wrapping up this coming weekend the intensity the buzzer beaters the fans losing their minds it’s the kind of atmosphere that you have to experience live this year’s matchups not just in the finals with the playoffs all the way around delivered big time if you want in on this and more fun Game Time makes it fast and easy to get seats even for the biggest games prices on the app actually drop closer to the start of the contest and with killer lastminute deals panoramic seat views and no surprise fees game time is a total gamecher you have to check out these club World Cup matchups for example if you’re a big soccer fan you can go and do zone deals where you can see your exact view before you buy with no surprises and you get the game time guarantee knowing that you’ll get the best deal and if you find a better price on another section and row you’ll get credited 110% of the difference take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Game Time download the Game Time app create an account use code lockdown NBA for $20 off your first purchase terms apply again create an account redeem the code LK DNBA for $20 off download the Game Time app today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed so to Michael our buddy Coup from uh from Locked on Pistons hit us up and I did a little video for him about this and I’ve seen other reports i think Jake Fischer was the one who maybe really got the ball rolling on this he did some Yahoo Sports stuff and I think he does some writing with Mark Stein now on his Substack uh but there’s been growing momentum with this Santi Alama to the the Pistons are really interested they’re looking for somebody with Santi skill set 6′ 11 can shoot the three score in multiple ways i I was curious and again this could be a little bit shorter since you know Stephen A pissed us off so much uh what do you see this being right like I posted on X Santi is far from untouchable if Desmond Bane can be traded hell Santi Alama most certainly can be but what would Detroit offer like somebody said Isaiah Stewart does it make sense to move on from an offensive weapon like Aldama in the current situation there has to be other shoes to drop before that happens right am I off base uh I think here’s the thing we’ve talked about the the fact that number one the Grizzlies are very interested in keeping Santi Alone that that that is um you know the starting base here like they’re not going to give Santi up just for a bag of peanuts or or anything like that priority number two behind the Jackson extension i think that’s fair i think that’s fair and so to go beyond that if if you look at the situation here you say “Okay if the Pistons are interested they’re going to have to one pay a lot of money and if they want to pay a lot of money to get him there and and you they’re talking about the idea of a sign and trade so you’re going to pay a lot of money and then you’re going to have to add assets on uh to the Grizzlies in this case um you know I I haven’t looked too deep into the numbers on the Piston side uh just yet but I could see you know uh the Grizzlies possibly just you know taking on you know uh someone like you said Isaiah Stewart that that would make sense now in the Grizzlies case they do need you know another big so to speak maybe there’s some redundancy there with you know Isaiah Stewart and you know the Brandon Clark kind of prototype or whatever the case may be uh but I I I think you know Santi to me is is very likely to stay in Memphis barring some you know wild offer from the Pistons which would be kind of crazy to me because uh the Pistons have built this identity on this team that’s really kind of been super tough and defensive-minded and Santi gives you some offensive flash there but that really hasn’t been his identity as a player if we’re talking about the need for dogs right and we I make light of that at times just because I like to bark and I’m actually pretty good at it i’ve gotten a couple of compliments on my barking yeah you’re you’re really good at the barking you’re good yeah I’ll spare us on this episode i if I had to rank the least dog players on the Memphis Grizzlies like Santi would be pretty close to the number one seed and maybe I’m wrong for that you would know the team at least up close and personal far better than me uh but Santi doesn’t and that doesn’t mean he’s a bad basketball player i think he’s extremely skilled especially for his size i would like to keep Santi but if we’re talking about a guy to move on from because he doesn’t have the right mindset and to your point even more so than Memphis in these last years especially this past season with JB Becker staff in the fold Detroit has leaned into that dog mentality the the tenacity the aggression that ain’t Santi you talked about on the crossover episode yesterday you told Phillip that like Bane got into it with Santi because he wasn’t playing defense and that’s good for Orlando because Dez is going to a a good spot where apparently there’s more windows we’ll talk more about that next uh but in terms of who’s going to hold Santi accountable now you know you send him to Detroit and he’s gonna piss off more than just Desmond Bane like I I think that’s an interesting like they they’re valuing the skill set but you’ve established probably better than anybody in the NBA this past season you’ve established an identity that helps you win basketball games i’m not sure that Santi checks that box yeah yeah i’m not really moved by the idea i mean I’m sure there may be interest there like again it’s been reported and whatnot enough at this point that there there should be some legs there where the Pistons are interested but at the same time like I said okay the Pistons are interested guess what so are the Grizzlies the Grizzlies are interested too and guess what he’s a restricted free agent this is an unrestricted free agent so if they’re not willing to uh pony up and pay enough to make the Grizzlies back off it won’t matter he’ll be back with the Grizzlies on a nice contract and he’ll be you know back in the rotation and hopefully be an improved player in certain areas uh with the Grizzlies so we’ll see you know what comes of that situation but um I think as of right now uh I’m still kind of the mindset that he’s going to be back and you know as the off season or or you know as we get closer to the free agency time uh we’ll see what kind of continues to unfold especially as the Grizzlies you know start to uh make some other moves as well let Michael and I know on X hit us up in the comments obviously hopefully you’re going to compliment to Michael for his wonderful takes in the first segment but you know how do you see Santi fitting in Detroit i struggle with that personally i don’t know that it makes a ton of sense but you know maybe depending on the way Zack Kleimman goes this off seasonason maybe Santi makes less sense in Memphis moving forward i I would imagine a guy that can shoot the three ball and you know score at three levels is a 6’1 big that should be intriguing i’m not saying Detroit shouldn’t be interested but Memphis as you said to Michael very well it’s restricted free agency it doesn’t really matter unless Detroit overpays and if they you know want to overpay in a trade we’ve seen recently evidence that the Grizzlies will listen in that case speaking of overpaying in a trade Desmond Bane is very excited about the new digs that he has there in Orlando we’re not going to beat up on Memphis but we are going to see if there’s anything to this windowless facility that to Michael or not to Michael that Desmond was discussing uh in that interview uh with his press conference availability being coming out of the trade we’ll talk about that next here on Lockdown Grizzlies oh Deich it’s that time you know what time it is check this out everybody listening check listen hold on i need to turn this right way there turn around turn around right okay hold on oh oh wow performance anxiety all right all right i got you Joe i got you right here like oh you got one too what are you drinking there partner you got This is a vintage cola right here yeah cheers i’m going classic root beer okay you go for it ah that is good let me tell you a little bit about lollipop it’s a new kind of soda made for people that love the classic taste whether it’s vintage cola or classic root beer but want something that supports their health 2.5 grams of sugar nine grams of prebiotic fiber in every can lollipop is reimagining soda in a way that’s better for your gut did you know that regular Coke has 39 grams of sugar or an orange Fanta has 44 grams of sugar alip flips the script it has a fraction of the sugar with no artificial sweeteners and gut friendly ingredients like Alsmart a blend that is shown to support digestive and overall health it’s soda that tastes like the real thing but actually does something good for your body i got to tell you I’m addicted to soda i love all whatever’s on sale is what I’m buying every week but Ollipop is helping me cut back both the sugar although I’ve already cut that back they’re also helping me cut back the terrible chemicals and artificial sweeteners that are in all the various zeros that I drink so I love that Lollipop can give us about a third or get get rid of so much of that sugar while also giving us about a third of our daily recommended fiber get a free can of Lollipop just like me just like to Michael buy any two cans in store and they’ll reimburse you for one head to drinkallipop.com/lockedonba to claim your free can and find lollipop near you that’s drinkallipop.comlockedonba it’s good stuff trust me check this out oh wonderful refreshing all right Deich I feel wonderful after that delicious lollipop i’m wondering how you’re feeling hearing Desmond Bane talk about how the Grizzlies practiced in a dungeon uh now again for reference Dez had his media availability there in Orlando quick sidebar this felt like the fastest trade in NBA history like this just happened on Sunday and then on Tuesday he’s like hanging out in Orlando he was in Destin Florida he was vacationing yeah that’s I’m sure that’s part of it uh so it was wild to me that this all is happening so quickly uh but anyway he did his press availability and they asked him about the facility and you know what it’s like being in Orlando and I want to stress Dez was very complimentary of Memphis oh very talked about how much he loved the city how much he loved the players he’s going to miss the guys and the people so I don’t want to make it that cuz it’s not that no but Dez did mention that he loved the new Orlando Magic facility there’s some history to this i think back in 2022 when the facility opened he posted on X how he wished that Orlando or that Memphis Yeah that’s what we need is what he said and now that’s what he has three years later um he he talks about how the Grizzlies Grizzlies call it the dungeon the facility there i’m guessing that he’s talking about the Ford practice courts uh there at FedEx Forum i’ve been there a lot less than you but I have been in there u how do you feel again I I don’t need you to go You actually are the beat writer for the commercial appeal for the Memphis Grizzlies so maybe you can’t go too far on this where is your hand on Bane’s take on the Grizzlies dungeon there are some things that I that I could say about this and and look if Stephen A for example would have talked about something like this oh updating their facilities that’s actually a logical thing to discuss yeah i’m not going to go I’m not going at you Stephen if you say something like that but you come at the city talking about oh the crime this and the crime that when you you got dudes I don’t want to just you know like distastefully throw out city names but I mean as shout out to my guy Doc Holiday doc Holliday say crime is everywhere and I mean we all know that uh but we talked about Stephen N this ain’t about Stephen tired of talking about Stephen well you did mention Brooklyn being a a peak spot for free agents and you know whenever you think safety you think Brooklyn New York oh oh I I mean doesn’t get much safer than Brooklyn right i mean you talk about the the subways and oh just so safe i remember those long nights in Brooklyn and just feeling like I was on the golf course Joe i mean can’t get any safer than that and so with Desmond Bane you know talking about the practice court with the Grizzlies now here here’s here’s a legitimate thing that you could point to because uh two things can be true here and one is the Grizzlies at least on that NBA market are kind of outdated you know in in that area yeah they have you know practice courts and they they get the job done they’re in the FedEx Forum so you talk about you know they can come there you know right after game right after practice i mean right after a workout uh on the actual court like during shoot around I see players sometimes leave shoot around then they go to the practice courts and get some shots of things like that very accessible from that standpoint but what you’re seeing around the NBA you’ve seen it in Orlando you know and Desmond Bane was talking about it i talked about my time in Philly earlier where I spent two and a half three years phil the Philadelphia 76ers have a practice facility in Camden New Jersey uh where they go very nice facility also that’s one that’s very kind of recent you know so to speak and it’s modern uh so the Grizzlies are in a way I think you know they need to uh you know become more upto-date in that area i’ve seen you know a shout out to my former uh colleague Mark Geonado he used to always talk to me about the idea that the Grizzlies need to have their own practice facility like the Orlando Magic like the Philadelphia uh 76ers and they need to put it in an area that’s uh closer to where some of the players stay and it wouldn’t be a surprise to people that a lot of the players live in like the Cordova Kuville Germantown Eats uh Wow hold on a second to Michael are you trying to insinuate that the entire conversation from earlier is moot because none of these players actually live in the downtown area of their cities are you saying suburb exist to Michael Cole i you’ll be surprised so he’ll be I mean you never know John might be he might be in the heat of South Memphis like in North Memphis on Frasier Boulevard just walking down the street you never know you never know in the middle of the night like it’s possible but we look like the facilities in Memphis i mean we’ve we’ve had this whole conversation they’re talking about now you know we we don’t talk about it much on the show but there’s this whole conversation about the leasing agreement and the resources that are being allocated to the FedEx Forum in order to kind of uh you know modernize it I guess you would say uh they’ve added some things you know in in in recent years uh to the FedEx Forum so it’s all about that experience but I do like the idea of potentially uh adding a practice facility that’s off base that’s not at FedEx Form that’s not in the downtown area maybe it is in downtown area if if the Grizzlies players are you know if it’s that’s just the most accessible area or whatever the case may be but a practice facility where you could be there and you could do your own thing it could be really nice you know uh modernize it a little bit players love that i I remember when the 76ers did it um you know a lot of the players had great reviews about you know their practice facility and of course in Orlando it’s being received the same way uh not really surprising to see uh Desmond Bane say that but that would be something like think about it when players go on free agency visions and they’re asking around like think about how over the course of years you’ve heard like the Phoenix Suns for example be a desirable destination because of you everybody’s heard probably about the Phoenix Suns training staff you know over the course of the years like you know how they would kind of rejuvenate guys later in their careers grant Hill Steve Nash Shaq uh Jason Richardson etc uh but that’s kind of that kind of was a talking point with them so a lot of this is the resources that are around the team not crime but I digress i digress i got to stop Joe i got to stop it’s wild how that works it’s almost like when you invest money and stuff and it’s nice players want to go to those spots it’s fascinating really um you know I I think that obviously I agree with you you’re exactly right on this i do want to point out you mentioned uh Cordova shout out to the dirty dova i live when I was in Memphis i lived two years on Mud Island which was phenomenal loved Mud Island and I lived for a year last year in Memphis in Cordova you could literally get to downtown Memphis in 15 minutes hop right there on the highway and it’s right there so that would make a lot of sense there’s other great spots right around Memphis within 15 20 minutes lots of accessible pieces uh that would make a lot of sense for the Grizzlies and again if a lot of them live out in the Southwind Cordova Collierville area you know finding that space would make some sense in that general area so uh shout out to Desmond Bane enjoy it man live your life it’s not judgment on Dez at all it It’s a reminder that you can improve you what you got and make where you are better heaven forbid you water the grass where you stand am I right heaven forbid you try to make places better instead of trying to tear them down maybe a certain national talking head should be watering his own grass at this stage uh thank you so much for being with us on this episode of Lockdown Grizzlies we’ve been watering our grass here for a couple of years now the show keeps growing by leaps and bounds thank you to everybody that has subscribed supported we’ve had over 12,000 views and downloads and all sorts of different things over the last couple of days so thanks to everybody that’s checked out the show hopefully you become an everydayer hopefully you’ll stick around and you’ll be here for our last episode for a while together deichel uh we’ll do shows they’ll still be here just about every day oh yeah but the Michael’s going on a little vacation and then I’m going on vacation so uh it’s going to be a little bit of an individual journey over the next week or so here on Lockdown Grizzlies but we got one more show together and we haven’t talked about this 16th pick yet i feel like we should dive into how the Grizzlies could use this new almost lottery asset yeah uh I got some names Joe i I’ve been doing a little research now and um I I got a couple guys that I really like i can’t wait to tell you about i’m looking forward to it so again we’ll keep having shows i don’t want to make it sound like we’re going on a break make sure you’re sticking with us but this will be the last we’ll have you covered through the draft for sure oh yeah this will be the last time on Thursday that Michael and I will be together for a little bit all right so make sure you’re liking commenting rating reviewing subscribing wherever you get podcast and now that you’ve made locked on Grizzlies your first listen today for your second listen you should be checking out the 2025 locked on NBA mock draft a five episode series with the most comprehensive NBA draft analysis from NBA experts to college experts and NBA draft experts find the 2025 locked on NBA mock draft on NBA board and locked on NBA on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts thank you so much for being with us on this edition of the show thank you to Deichel again Deichel represents the best of Memphis and there’s so many people that I could say that about but I’ve gotten to know Demich over the last couple of years like he said born and bred there’s so many phenomenal people there that are trying to make the city better he came back he’s invested i’m I’m not there anymore but every time somebody tries to do what Stephen A did I shut it down very quickly in person clearly you haven’t been there it’s a remarkable space shout out to Memphis we’re going to end on that today shout out to you most beautiful land in the world don’t ever let anybody tell you any different for to Michael I’m Joe we’ll catch you here tomorrow until then stay locked in apple Spotify Google Amazon YouTube wherever you get podcasts we’re free and available love you Memphis catch you next time see you

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said NBA players don’t want to play with the Memphis Grizzlies. In this episode of Locked on Grizzlies, co-hosts Damichael Cole and Joe Mullinax talk Smith’s comments, Santi Aldama rumors and Desmond Bane’s first Orlando comments.

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