The news of the NBA's potential expansion has grabbed the headlines recently. And should Las Vegas and Seattle be granted their own franchises, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that one current Western Conference team — either Minnesota or Memphis — will be moved to the Eastern Conference.
However, Golden State Warriors sentinel Draymond Green took things further, proposing that the Grizzlies not only move out of the West but also relocate to Nashville, saying that Memphis doesn't have the amenities necessary to support professional athletes.
Dray has never been known to bite his tongue, and his latest tirade will surely stir up hornets' nests in Memphis. However, the 6'6" veteran explained that while the city is lovely and the fans are passionate, the lack of plush hotels and high-end amenities just doesn't cut it for modern-day NBA players.
"Do everybody a favor and move that team to Nashville," Green said on his podcast. "There's no great hotels in Memphis. I love the people of Memphis. They are incredible. Shout out to the people of Memphis. I love them. But just from an NBA standpoint, man — there's not a sauna or a hot tub in sight."
"Nowhere. Not at the gym, not at a spa, not at a hotel — nothing. Not in sight," he stressed. "So the NBA either needs to send that to Nashville so they can have proper facilities, or even better, the NBA — it should be mandatory that teams have at least a hot tub and cold tub, but probably a sauna in their visiting locker room."
Dray implored NBA commissioner Adam Silver not to even bother with charging the franchise a relocation fee and simply allow them to move to a different city.
"It's a reason the Tennessee Titans are in Nashville. Do the right thing. Just go on to Nashville," Dray stated. "Don't charge them a relocation fee. They just going up the street and doing all us a favor."
Lest anyone think that Draymond's comments stem from his beef with the Grizzlies, he's not the only All-Star to speak up on the state of the city's hotels. Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards also shared his take, recalling the time that his hotel bed had stains.
"I be like, 'Damn, my hotel ain't nothin' in Memphis.' That s— be dirty. I walked into a Memphis hotel one time and had stains and s— on the bed," Ant noted.
In a separate rant, Dray also revealed how the things of his former teammate, Andrew Bogut , got drenched when the sprinklers went off in his Memphis hotel room for no reason.
"Like the sprinkler system, it was like a fire just went off. Drenched all of Bogut's stuff, and they didn't want to do anything about it. So, we switched hotels then, right? So, it's been an issue," Green disclosed.
Memphis is renowned for many things: rock n' roll, BBQ, and Elvis Presley. However, it seems like the city's hospitality industry has a bad rap among NBA players. With dirty hotel rooms and faulty sprinkler systems, it's no wonder that players can't wait to get out of Memphis when they play road games there.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Mar 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
