We can officially cross the Memphis Grizzlies off the list of teams LeBron James might play for if he decides to leave the Los Angeles Lakers after this season.
During an appearance on the latest episode of the YouTube show “Bob Does Sports,” which was released on Thursday, James suggested that the Grizzlies should move to Nashville and joked that he “might have pulled an Eli Manning” if the franchise had won the 2003 NBA Draft Lottery instead of the Cleveland Cavaliers. (Manning famously told the Chargers that he would sit out the 2004 season, his rookie campaign, if they drafted him with the No. 1 pick — which they did anyway, then traded him.)
James doesn’t appear to have any issue with the organization, but rather the city itself. While on the practice green ahead of the round of golf featured in the episode, James was asked if travel is worse for him at this stage of his career.
“F— yeah,” James said. “Yeah, random f—ing Tuesday in Milwaukee, staying at the f—ing Hyatt at 41 years old. You think I wanna do that shit? Being in Memphis on a random ass Thursday.”
“I’m not like the first guy even to talk about in the NBA,” James continued. “Like, we’re all like, ‘You guys have to move.’ Go over to Nashville, you’ve got Vanderbilt over there, you’ve got the f—ing NASCAR, you got a stadium. Don’t they got a hockey team too? They’ve got everything.”
James added that the “only chance” the Grizzlies ever had of seeing him in their uniform was “in 2003 if they would have won the lottery. And I might have pulled an Eli Manning and not showed up.”
Let’s break this conversation down into two parts.
The Grizzlies’ future in Memphis
James is correct that he’s not the first high-profile member of the NBA community to suggest a move to Nashville. Here’s Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green on his podcast last month in light of the expansion talk:
“Memphis, which probably should be in Nashville, should be an Eastern Conference team. Definitely should be in Nashville. It should be an Eastern Conference team… Just do everybody a favor and move that team to Nashville. There are no great hotels in Memphis. I love the people of Memphis. They are incredible. Shoutout to the people of Memphis. I love them. But, just from an NBA standpoint, there’s not a sauna or a hot tub in sight
“Get (the Grizzlies) the hell out of Memphis and send them to Nashville. Like, come on. Do the right thing, people. It’s a reason the Tennessee Titans are in Nashville… Not one person would be upset.”
On that front, it’s worth noting that the Grizzlies’ lease with FedEx Forum is set to expire in 2029. Memphis mayor Paul Young said in February that the city is working “real hard” on an extension, but did not offer any further details.
“We’ll see,” Young said when asked about a timeline for a new lease. “I mean, we’re working real hard on the Grizzlies lease. I feel real good about where it’s going. I don’t want to put a timeline on it, but I feel confident that we’re gonna get it done.”
Furthermore, the Grizzlies traded Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the last calendar year and have clearly had discussions about moving Ja Morant as well. They are set to embark on another full-scale rebuild and there has been plenty of speculation about owner Robert Pera.
Pablo Torre reported in January that Pera’s plan when he bought the Grizzlies in 2012 was to move the franchise to Las Vegas. The Daily Memphian reported that same month that Richard Smith, the son of FedEx founder Fred Smith, had attempted to buy the franchise. Pera declined those advances and indicated he had no plans to sell or relocate.
For now, at least, the Grizzlies are staying put. Notably, during his annual All-Star Game press conference in February, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said that “relocation is not on the table right now.”
Would James have ‘pulled an Eli Manning?’
The 2003 NBA Draft was one of the most consequential in NBA history. James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade all went on to have Hall of Fame careers, and there were nine All-Stars in that class.
The Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets finished tied for the worst record in the 2002-03 season, and had an equal 22.5% chance at the top pick. The Grizzlies had the sixth-worst record and just a 6.4% chance at No. 1, which was the only way they would have kept their pick. That’s because in 1997 they had traded their lightly protected 2003 first to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Otis Thorpe.
“For a trade that, when you look back in history, was made for whatever reason, it was hard to imagine that a trade like that would’ve been made and not protect a team that hadn’t proven its worth yet. I’m not going to bad mouth anybody but that was an ill-advised decision,” Jerry West, who became the Grizzlies’ general manager in 2002, told ESPN in 2023.
Memphis nearly pulled off a miracle in the lottery, but wound up at No. 2, which meant that pick went to Detroit. Cleveland, of course, got No. 1 and the right to select James, and the rest is history.
But what if Memphis had wound up with the top pick? Would James have really refused to play there? Here’s what James told ESPN about his recollections of the lottery 20 years after the fact:
“My mind was moving fast. I was thinking about a lot of different possibilities. I was thinking about Chicago winning it because I’d been a Bulls fan when I was younger. I knew New York was in there. Not everyone was rooting for Cleveland [40 miles from James’ hometown], people had different picks. Some people wanted me to go to Miami for obvious reasons. I never thought once about Memphis.
“When it went to commercial and we knew the top three were Denver, Memphis and Cleveland, I just had a feeling that I’m going to stay home. I could hear the chatter starting in the room. They were getting excited.
“When the envelope opened and said [Memphis] I don’t even remember them opening the one that said Cleveland. Everyone just started yelling and coming over to me and jumping on me. From then on that night it was a blur. I didn’t even see them pull out the jersey with my name on it, I didn’t see that until later.”
Clearly, James wanted to stay at home and play for the Cavaliers. But it’s hard to imagine that he would have turned down the chance to play on a team led by West, “The Logo” himself, and legendary coach Hubie Brown. Plus, the Grizzlies were a team on the rise, boasting a young core of Pau Gasol, Shane Battier, Mike Miller and Stromile Swift.
The Grizzlies won 50 games in the 2003-04 season, which marked the beginning of three consecutive playoff appearances. That was a much better basketball situation than the Cavaliers, who didn’t make the playoffs until James single-handedly led them there in 2006.
