Michael Jordan‘s decision to sell the Charlotte Hornets was a long time coming. While his resume as a player speaks for itself, MJ’s tenure as an owner and GM was not his best showing. Regardless, the move has earned him a significant profit as he earned 10 times the amount he had invested. After initially spending around $345 million, Jordan got back a sum upwards of $3 billion dollars. Financially victorious, Jordan still faced comments from several unhappy fans. While many pointed out the mistakes made by the Franchise owner, a former player has stepped up to defend Mike.

Though both of them have played for the Washington Wizards, the two never crossed paths. Still, that didn’t stop the vocal NBA critic from expressing his opinions on MJ’s stint with the Hornets.

Mistakes by Michael Jordan or a fault of the city? Small market teams beware

Whether it be the state of the modern NBA, or recent draftee Victor Wembanyama, Gilbert Arenas isn’t shy of critiquing anything. But the ones he respects, he vehemently defends. Hence, it was no surprise when No Chill Gil jumped to defend Michael Jordan during an interview on VladTV.

His primary point was the city that the team was in. “At the end of the day…You have to be very lucky…When you’re in a bad city…Just like you can’t create jobs and wealth, you can’t create a team either.” 

He carried on, naming several small market teams as unlikable free-agent destinations. “Let’s be honest. Who wants to be in Indiana? Who really wants to be in Memphis with free agents…In Detroit. Who wants to be in, you know, Charlotte, Sacramento? Like stars are not coming up and saying, ‘Oh yeah, I wanna be there.’ No.”

While his overall point is brutal, there is some truth to it. Each of the cities he named have achieved some modicum of success – but primarily outside of free agency. Detroit and Sacramento have won multiple championships, whereas Memphis is among the top upcoming teams in the league. Unfortunately, the Charlotte Hornets won 3 just playoff games in MJ’s entire 10+ year run, lending more credence to Arenas’ argument.

Even though his stance on the Michael Jordan and Charlotte situation was solid, it was nothing compared to his scathing remarks about the NBA as a whole.

Gilbert Arenas rips into the league for suspending star point guard

Arenas addressed the Ja Morant situation and his primary issue was the unrealistic expectations placed on athletes. As he defended Ja, he mentioned how there was no specific rule that governed such actions.

Read More: “There’s No F**king Rule”: Days After Ja Morant’s 25-Game Suspension, 3x NBA All-Star Defends the 23 YO While Reflecting on His 50-Game Ban

According to Gilbert, the NBA doesn’t have specific regulations that dictate how a player behaves. Further, he spoke about the lack of a proper definition for the term “sportsman-like-conduct”.  The 41-year-old athlete stated that an athlete’s responsibility was to safeguard their personal brand and refrain from engaging in foolish actions. But being punished for such a subjective offense made no sense to the former Wizards point guard.

As always, Arenas wasn’t shy in voicing his opinions. What do you think about the MJ and the Ja situations? Do let us know in the comments below.

Watch This Story: Despite Earning $2,975,000,000 Profit, Michael Jordan’s Extortionate Net Worth Remains 6X Lesser Than Another Active Athlete