The REAL REASON Why Nobody Wants To Play In Memphis

The REAL REASON Why Nobody Wants To Play In Memphis

did Stephen A go too far about his comments about Memphis i don’t think so he told the truth
i mean Memphis is cool for certain people but like for others like it ain’t i mean everywhere a little dangerous though every No no no
no no no no no but it’s not as close proximity
no it ain’t as dangerous as Memphis
come on yeah be Other NBA cities
other NBA cities
the other only other NBA that’s that dangerous is Chicago
yeah chicago detroit
and the practice facility is not in Chicago it’s you got Detroit
no not where they play at
detroit
yeah nobody want to go to Detroit ain’t nobody People go to Detroit before people going to Detroit before they go to Memphis so I’ve been This is the thing i’ve been saying this exact same thing right that Stephen A said like
it’s a problem right and since so people thought I was I’ve been hating on J i’ve been hating on T- Moran i’ve been this i’ve been that right no i’m speaking honest to God truth right the city is ravaged by gun violence right and you got this polarizing figure in John Morant that’s the whole gun thing right people dying daily in Memphis so to Stephen A’s point right I haven’t spoken to NBA players but I know the times that I spent in Memphis as an NBA player for 15 years I was in NBA the things that I saw the places I went the things I encountered i would not have want to play there as an NBA player not a chance i didn’t feel safe even though I ventured out in certain things but certain environments I did not feel safe right whether it’s a regular club whatever we were doing at certain times it’s just what it was it’s the environment not to say that the the people of Memphis are bad people all the people are not bad but as the old saying go a few bad apples can ruin the whole bunch right
it’s just what this situation is unfortunately
i don’t know i’d rather go to Well they should move it to Nashville then
that’s been my point exactly you can keep it in the state
but it’s it’s better
it’s better optics for the NBA i believe you know that dog right it’s better optics for the NBA who knows that no he don’t he does that embracing Memphis he got to speak up for Memphis and that’s why they love him that is true
that’s why they love him out there but Stephen A wasn’t tripping on that one stephen A be tripping sometime but not on that one though
do you think Stephen A went too far in his comments about Memphis um if he’s speaking for the players you can’t say he went too far but you got to also take into account the city of Memphis and what the team means to the city to the people who are not welcome in the gun violence who trying to get rid of it like that’s the only little bright spot they got
you know what I’m saying so those games and J is a beacon of hope for the kids that are in those spots and they’re looking for a bright spot so maybe that game
you know what I’m saying that arena is the only way out for like when I was playing we did the Boys and Girls Club thing and I brought the kids to the arena and let them come in and watch us warm up and talk to them but you know you don’t get those opportunities if we not there right so I think they just got to figure out how to better accommodate the players outside of the city
but
what do you mean by that
they just don’t have them in Memphis don’t have the players living in Memphis
they got live like they got to live in like East Memphis
yeah you live outside of Memphis
well most of the guys do if they know what’s good and the team knows that that’s great but you are dealing with a bunch of 19 20 21 22 23 year old kids right
they got to move at their own discretion at this point
i understand that but still bullets ain’t got your name on them when you out in certain environments and we know that and that’s a restriction the restrictions and discretion on your own is knowing that look you go to the arena you find a little neighborhood inside this city that that you ain’t got to go too far you got to do this and if you got to give up your night life for that that sound good
if you gotta give up your night life in Memphis for that because you know sometimes like in Minnesota if we wasn’t really trying to party or nothing we wait till we hit the road
i say
cuz the road going to be it’s going to be fun on the road too
what about your family life though what if you trying to go to dinner or go hang out with the wife or something like that you don’t want to have to be like I can’t go nowhere cuz
Yeah i don’t think it’s like that that’s just how this place no no like
it ain’t that crazy nowhere but it’s the like I say it’s the optics right if you look up the murder rate you look up this you look up that in Memphis how many people have left the city right memphis is one of the smallest supposed big like like
big
like 600,000 people live in Memphis man
well here’s a here’s
like they can’t like literally and and declining rapidly people are moving because of this reason whether they moving to Nashville East wherever they’re moving to they’re not staying in the city of Memphis
but the optic that’s being missed with the Stephen A comment is you’re highlighting the negativity which is making Jimmy Butler and these other guys can you know look at the situation other than what’s the bright spots of the sit that’s what J talking about
j like yo there’s other things more positive to talk about than how bad our city is
i hear you but when they
So if you line them up right so you I hear you you don’t have to talk negative about Memphis for people not to want to go
if we want the NBA to thrive and be good there
but look Stephen A smith don’t got no uh what we call that equity in the NBA to promote it in such a way to have Memphis be a city that everyone want to go to so
he’s not saying that about Philadelphia
he’s not saying it about a lot of Philadelphia philly [ __ ]
the only reason they talked about is because of the trade though so it’s not like he came out of left field
they’re trying to make Memphis be a place where they offload J cuz
it’s not only dangerous it’s this is this
so J’s like “Yo you you you you doing other [ __ ] than what you supposed to be doing cuz you reporting [ __ ] that it’s unnecessary it’s unnecessary to report that Jimmy Butler and others don’t want to come to Memphis because of the gun viol that’s who he talk to he just probably he just so he must snitch jimmy didn’t want to go there he was scared
no he just
That’s the same thing with the heat culture [ __ ] you talk negative about it everybody now think he culture some [ __ ]
no it’s when you line them up it’s just certain people not going certain places man but listen free work for certain people don’t work for everybody it’s a collective that’s the group
philly and Chicago is the same murder rate
true but much bigger though much bigger city though much bigger than perap cap is one of the wor DC like DC
yeah per capita bro it matters
if you if it’s 100,000
so it’s more people killing it
if it’s 6 million people and 100,000 people die 600,000 and 100,000 people die the one with 600,000 is going to get hit worse cuz it’s less people broke out unfortunately not the way it is but yeah that’s just what it is if you ask Jimmy Buller when he was a free agent before the Stephen A smith comment or my comment about Memphis whatever you want to take it
you want Memphis
you line him up you do you want to go to Golden State of Memphis
come on bro
do you want to go to San Francisco or Memphis
that’s That’s the easy though
right
that’s an easy call
yeah that’s not Yeah you can’t compare you can’t compare them free agent but you talking about Steph Curry and the legacy and champions and talking about and young players and
uh trade deadline season that Jimmy said he didn’t want to be traded to Memphis he did tell the Heat that
so that’s so that’s a real thing it ain’t like I’m making it up that reasons behind it
but his chances of winning
he didn’t want to go to Memphis no matter what chicago was good
chicago is a major nice city chicago was much more beautiful than Memphis stop that all them fools walking around with them
you talking about the hoods of Chicago you talking about the hoods of Memphis memphis Memphis this big
about to say Memphis not no big city bro
memphis this big
chicago was a big city the third biggest market in America in the playoffs that [ __ ] is
all them Zebo years all them Mike Con years was no complaints about
I remember going to going into Memphis Street i wasn’t doing nothing crazy but the strip club was cool you go in you come out
i went and got some real Tony
i ain’t never had no complaints about it you go to the pee what was that the tea whatever that was whatever your experience
whatever it was let me tell you about one I went to
i’m in there we in there and I’m very observant of my surroundings and I just see certain dudes moving a certain way aligning themselves in certain corners and of this establishment and I look and you take a deeper dive and you back up and really look
you got
that’s anywhere vice Lawrence over here cry they really about to get to it
you in the wrong place you should have been at Morton Stezos in Hollywood
i about to say I didn’t even leave the hotel i go to the one on the bread
i stayed in my hotel to like I’m in Beverly Hills man
right there beverly Hills we’re not going where the violence at we’re not going they over there
they ain’t looking for it
they not going to come over here they It’s too con You look too weird over here dude what you doing you want to rob somebody here we actually can get you to the hood and [ __ ]
listen man it don’t matter it could happen bro i got family and friends down there and they be telling me like when you come down here be careful co
be careful that’s all they say be careful
but think about that conversation like if you one of them [ __ ] that’s trying to get active and and trying to move around yeah that’s a be careful conversation hey look be careful bro no I ain’t on [ __ ] i might go get some food
that’s the same i might go to the mall and and walk around i’m out i’m out
missing that part you don’t have to be on it
sometime they out lurking
they out
that’s everywhere bro that’s in the world
everywhere that’s in the world period step one foot out Memphis you did you step one foot out go to LA
i already know i’ll be alerting out there there you go there you go
there you go hey such and such over here
that’s anywhere
anywhere
so we asked the poll does Stephen A go too far
oh we did the poll
56% say no 44% says yes man if you’ve been to being in closer proximity is worse bro and you know that
yeah absolutely
man you LA is a huge place you can get around get when you in a in a fishbowl and you ain’t nowhere to go it’s it’s a little different bro
it’s been more hits out here than Memphis
uh I doubt it
and it’s bigger la is huge bro
i doubt it cuz LA a big ass place bro
la County is huge bro you know that like
man y’all people dying every day out here but Memphis is a much smaller place memphis me bro
so do you guys [ __ ]
do you guys like J publicly responding to the negative comments about Memphis jo I respect it
you the leader got to speak now or forever hold your peace young fella Bane Bane is gone now you’re all alone
i don’t think so
go i think he he ain’t had to say nothing cuz the stuff he said after the fact we need to talk more about the finals that’s all everybody talking about is the finals so it’s like if you want to take up for him at least be accurate what you talking about cuz everybody talking about the finals too
as well nick I’m rolling with John
of course you are
every time
every time every time every time
i can’t do no wrong man he actually one of my favorite players to watch
no that’s your guy i dig it no man he can yeah he should have taken it for the city that he pays for it
cuz he are for he is for the people
he could have said it different than that
stephen A could have said it different too could have should have would have talking about Jimmy Butler and everybody yeah that was too much information work bro that’s information hey it gets sensitive with Hey calm down calm down hey y’all set my man back hey hey woo woo woo
you looking around you’re right my bad Nick my bad you’re right bro damn incompetence Stephen
little DL my bad Jimmy my bad i just I just had to go tell him you going have to go see the therapist let him know hey set you back hey
got to let him know i got the I got the plug i got the plug
i got the plug jimmy told me
jimmy told me and let me let me say this man like I’ve been seeing all this [ __ ] go across social media Kmart i’ve been seeing your ass get a lot of push back from the from the Memphis people and and but Tower were right bro y’all right and the crazy thing is is that so many people around the around the media space and and around the NBA they whispering behind closed doors about you know hey you know you know the Memphis they wanted to trade for Jimmy but Jimmy didn’t want to go to Memphis man jimmy Jimmy said it was too dangerous like this is things that are being said like this ain’t something that people are just making up like this is things that are people saying and you know what what was crazy to me what I thought was like KD when he quote tweeted he was like “Man damn they heard that dap up all the way.” You know what I’m saying back in Memphis no did y’all see how excited [ __ ] Desmond Bang was
he said they got windows they got windows
i’m not tripping and I’m just on the outside looking in but man I seen the man who was [ __ ] glowing his face like that man was smiling from ear to ear
man thank you for getting me out of there
yes sir
like like he got bailed out that’s what I got somebody bailed him out bailed out it’s your first day out
first let me ask you this then okay so for how many years was it unsafe to like go out in Chicago
man what huh
go out in Chicago like being in Chicago how how for how many years was the whole reputation of the NBA when you go to Chicago what was it was it Yeah we cool to go where we want to go and do what we want to do was it ever that energy
man look y’all got to realize this right and Tony Allen is my dog like that’s my dog that’s my brother for real
go nowhere but y’all got to remember when when Tony Allen was going through that [ __ ] in Chicago
like that real [ __ ] in Chicago we had a playoff series there and man we had man we was getting escorted when we got off the plane man they had they had real [ __ ] soldiers with AR-15s escorting us to the to the hotel we couldn’t leave our hotel to go to restaurants
like so we in Chicago for damn near a week we couldn’t go outside except to practice we had like it wasn’t police escorts this [ __ ] was like
SWAT yeah for real and so outside of that [ __ ] was like that you know what I’m saying cuz it was some real stuff you know I ain’t throwing TA under the bus he he you know the story is out there you know what I mean so I’m just telling y’all like it’s it’s real in the shot time but
I had my thing anyway when I stepped out but per No I’m saying when I when I stepped out I wasn’t I wasn’t going to no spots
that I smell black and mild smoke or weed smoke or anything about it
n spots i wanted to go them go to the spots that you had to damn near put on a you know what I’m saying a a a dress a suit coat or some [ __ ] you know what I’m saying yeah that’s playing music that I don’t even understand but look per this my point so if it’s if it was always dangerous in Chicago and it’s
dangerous
it’s dangerous in Memphis
it’s dangerous in Denver more athletes than got shot in Denver Colorado and anywhere so so my point is like it’s dangerous everywhere
right so the whole I don’t want to go to Memphis cuz it’s too dangerous we never heard that for Chicago and Chicago is more dangerous
i keep hearing just one name but it’s more you know what I’m saying so so I’m saying we pushing the narrative now that’s the push back against the Memphis community they like
“Yo we got people who are invested in this deeply deeply.” So the narrative is like if y’all saying the nar ain’t none of these players got shot ain’t none of nobody died ain’t you know what I’m saying and it’s the grindhouse so when you overseas sometimes you go to a team where you in the grindhouse you away from everything it’s cold everywhere you can’t go nowhere is practicing back to the house
all day long right so why is this no different you at a team where it ain’t it ain’t that popular it’s cold it’s it’s nasty man you got to make fun of it for how you long you here bro cuz it’s nasty out here
perk would you want to play in Memphis and did you feel safe when you were in Memphis
well well here’s the thing i have no problem with Memphis you got to got to remember before I went to like declare my name in the NBA draft and went out of high school I signed with the Memphis Grizzlies
like I was going there with John Caliperi so I was I was cool with Memphis
but I’m like bro I’m the type of dude that really on the cool you could drop me anywhere and I’mma adapt
because you got to know how to deal with like you know what I’m saying your environment you drop me off in the hood
I’m not going to go in somebody hood being disrespectful and most majority of the time when it comes down to you know when you playing in these cities that got you know these Yins and they got these you know whatever you want to call it Crips Bloods GDs or whatever man or whatever kind of gang or or hood cats they got dog majority of the time bro them people just want you to go in and recognize them and be home absolutely like they don’t want to want you to come in and be on no Hollywood superstar [ __ ] after man when like if you coming in with that what’s up dog oh man that [ __ ] cool as hell man you ain’t going to have no problems cuz I didn’t been in there listening bro like somebody so somebody sent me somebody has something to say about my comments about Memphis right and it ain’t like I’m making this like I’ve to perks point I treat every place I go like it’s out of bounds mhm
i even I’ve been living here for a long time i’m not from here this is out of bounds still to me
i’m comfortable when I go to Dallas when I go to Old Cliff
yeah but here anywhere else out of bounds but I’ve never been the one to treat people and go places and hide i go out in every city I’ve played in right meet the people be with the people speak do all those things have my jewelry on ain’t never been robbed ain’t never been none of this [ __ ] like this right so in all these NBA cities I’ve ever been in
he from Chicago
yeah who jimmy no he’s from Humble Texas
texas
humble
no no no no he’s from Tumball Texas
tumball right tumball humble it’s right there next to each other right
what is that well well let me let me explain what Tumball is what is that
tumball is actually where my crib is today
oh you got you like Yeah so this this some like you know like [ __ ] ain’t coming out there starting no
drums in real nice out there
it’s real nice out there [ __ ] right it’s outside of Houston
but let me ask y’all this
it’s nice
let me let me ask y’all this real quick i believe and y’all tell me how y’all feel about it it’s starting to be a but it’s a mixture of things it’s not just how dangerous Memphis is or the violence that’s going on with the gangs or whatever and guys shooting up [ __ ] it’s not just that
but it comes down to what’s your culture looking like
right and and let’s be honest
the culture of Memphis over the past two and a half three seasons
ain’t been looking worth the damn bro like J hasn’t been available whether it’s been because of injuries or whether it’s been because of suspensions because of off the court [ __ ] right you fire Taylor Jenkins with eight with eight to 10 games left in the [ __ ] season because your assistant coach and your general manager in rooms behind closed doors stabbing you in the back
and all of a sudden like you know what I’m saying and so the culture hasn’t been there and and I’mma say this man i like Jiren Jackson Jr i don’t love him i think he’s I think he is the most overhyped player in the NBA
i think he’s the most overhyped so you ask yourself with all this going on I believe you know what I’m saying man y’all could maybe help me out with this stat but I think in the last four years or maybe last three years John Moren has only played one season where he’s played over 60 games
mhm
so it’s like it’s like bro what’s really going on over there you know what I’m saying what’s up with with everything like when y’all go get back to normal and I’mma tell you where they [ __ ] up at and y’all tell me how y’all feel about all this
i love this energy boy tell you that [ __ ] up yeah i love it
hell yeah
hell yeah
you know you know what they they traded Dylan Brooks they took that man for granted yes
man Dylan Brooks gave them people a certain type of edge and a certain type of swag and all of a sudden they took that and they kept trying to replace it so they went out and they tried to go get them Marcus Smart
and Marcus Smart was like “Uh no I ain’t really with this this ain’t I just came from the Celtics we just went to the finals i know what this [ __ ] supposed to look like.” You know what I’m saying but they never been able to really replace that heart and soul of the team which was in Dylan Brooks dylan Brooks took that energy down in Houston and then all of a sudden with the matching of Ekok and changed the whole [ __ ] coach
facts that’s a fact from grant
you just mentioned the Celtics thing
you just mentioned the Celtics your former team
let’s talk about the Celtics you got chasing

The REAL REASON Why Nobody Wants To Play In Memphis according to the Gil’s Arena Crew as Kenyon Martin, Swaggy P, Norris Cole, Rashad McCants and Kendrick Perkins react to Stephen A Smith’s comments surrounding the city of Memphis and debate if the ESPN media mogul was spitting or tripping when he said that NBA Hoopers don’t want to play where they don’t feel safe. The Gil’s Arena Crew details their own experiences playing in the city and discuss if the culture built by Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr and the Grizzlies is enough to overcome the city’s reputation.

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00:00 The Gil’s Arena Crew’s Take
13:35 Kendrick Perkins Weighs In