For months, some of the NBA’s biggest names have been doing what they do best: talking. A chorus of star players, led by two of the most vocal, had publicly told the league commissioner to his face to pack the Memphis Grizzlies up and ship them to Nashville. On Tuesday, Adam Silver responded, pushing back firmly on the narrative that Memphis is an undesirable city to visit, and dismissing the relocation talk that LeBron James and Draymond Green have been fuelling.
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“First of all, players I talk to all the time like playing in Memphis,” Silver said on Pardon My Take. “I have never heard that issue of players not wanting to be in Memphis. That’s No. 1. No. 2 is the owner of the Memphis Grizzlies, a guy named Robert Pera has no interest in moving the team out of Memphis. He has made that clear.” The NBA commissioner’s response lands at the end of a weeks-long pile-on that began with Green and escalated through LeBron.
On his podcast in March, Green directed his appeal straight at Silver, saying, “Adam, let them just do us all a favor and take the team to Nashville. No harm, no foul, the relocation fee, it’s a swap.” His stated grievance was personal: no saunas, no hot tubs, no quality hotels for road players to recover in. James then added his voice on April 2, suggesting that the Grizzlies’ best chance at landing him would’ve been winning the 2003 Draft Lottery, and even then, he “might’ve pulled an Eli Manning” and refused to go.
The Memphis Grizzlies aren’t going anywhere
“Staying at the f*****g Hyatt at 41 years old, you think I want to do that s**t?” James said. “Being in Memphis on a random-a** Thursday. I’m not even the first guy to talk about this in the NBA. We’re all like, ‘You guys have to move.’ Go over to Nashville… They got everything.” James pointed to Nashville’s infrastructure, including Vanderbilt University, NASCAR, a stadium, and the Predators, as evidence that the city was already built for a team. The two comments, weeks apart, landed together as a coordinated indictment, even if they weren’t.
The practical reality is that Silver’s belief in the Grizzlies staying put stems from more than just ownership preferences. Their current lease at FedExForum runs through the 2028-29 NBA season, with a proposed $550 million renovation plan aimed at keeping the franchise in Memphis well beyond that time frame. Approximately $230 million in state funding has already been allocated for the renovation, with officials stating that construction will not begin until a new lease is formally in place. The direction is clear, as Silver’s comments demonstrated, but he is ready to find a middle ground.
“… City On The Rise”: Silver Leaves The Door Open – Just Not The Way Green And LeBron James Want
Silver did not dismiss Nashville entirely. He just drew a sharp line between what the Lakers star and Warriors forward asked for and what he is actually willing to consider. “Nashville is a city on the rise,” Silver said. “There are incredible things happening there. If it were up to me, I would like to see them play a few games a year in Nashville and sort of be Tennessee’s team, to the extent that they can.” The framing is significant, a regional identity play, not a relocation. The Grizzlies as Tennessee’s team, not Nashville’s team.
Silver then made his position on Memphis clear: “Memphis has been a great market historically for the NBA, amazing history in that city, amazing culture. It’s a big country. So, as I look out at our 30 teams, we want teams to be able to do well everywhere. We have a revenue-sharing system, etc. But, from my standpoint, there’s no reason why the Memphis Grizzlies can’t be successful.” It contradicts Draymond Green’s argument that the city structurally cannot support a franchise at the level players expect, and it gives no ground on the demand both he and LeBron publicly made.
What Silver’s comments ultimately do is close off the conversation at the league level. The Grizzlies have raised concerns about downtown safety and infrastructure as part of ongoing lease talks with the city and county, meaning the franchise’s future in Memphis will be decided in meeting rooms in Tennessee, not on players’ podcasts while they’re on road trips.
