Unrestricted free agent Austin Rivers is beefing with Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges over comments Rivers made on his podcast. Rivers said the Hornets’ LaMelo Ball can’t tap into his full potential because of the “troubled youth” on the roster. Bridges clearly took that as a direct shot, and clapped back at Rivers.
Rivers’ Taking Shots?
“Surround LaMelo around f****** people that can help him tap into his potential, not deplete it, and I feel like that’s what we’re getting right now,” Rivers said on his “Off Guard” podcast. “Troubled youth’ is like what’s usually described…LaMelo hasn’t done anything wrong, but it’s like, what is the standard that’s being set there? The whole thing there, and it’s not LaMelo’s fault…When [the league] is this young, you put yourself at cost of this s***. But there’s still teams that do it right. I don’t see this problem in OKC —that team’s pretty young, too. That s*** don’t fly there.”
Bridges missed last season following conviction for assaulting the mother of his children in the presence of minors, a felony for which he was sentenced to three years’ probation.
He took Rivers’ comments as a shot and responded on Snapchat.
“Y’all hoopers get on these podcasts and talk like y’all really like that. Speaking on other teams like y’all know what’s going on and most the people talking the most s*** don’t play at all. We gonna see about all that this year on me.”
So, when Bridges writes “we gonna see about all that this year on me.” Does he mean he will confront Rivers if and when he sees him in the streets? Or is this just typical NBA bravado?
Of course, Rivers couldn’t stand down and let the comments go. He responded in kind, reposting an NBA Central post on X.
For The Majority Of The League’s Players, Situation Matters
“Nah this can’t be about me. I’ve gotten good minutes on every team I have played on, with exception of last year. Situation matters..and I stand by what I said about Melo..straight up! He needs pieces around him with high character. Stop worrying about me and go be one again.”
It will be interesting to see what, if any, comeback Bridges has. He can’t claim the moral character high ground here after what he was convicted of. Of course nobody should be judged in totality by their worst moment, but still. This is a bad look.
The fact remains that Rivers is right. There does not seem to be enough players who are about their business and helping the team win on the Hornets’ roster. The team has new ownership, so maybe that will change in the future.
But right now they are not helping LaMelo Ball reach his full potential.
