All trash talk and no accountability is not how things work in the NBA. At least for veterans, it does not. Speaking on the same was former NBA star turned coach Mario Elie during his recent appearance on Willie D Live Conversations. The 60-year-old, on the podcast, emphasized the need for Adam Silver and the management to be more strict about accountability in the league. The conversation started with Willie asking Elie about his views on Ja Morant, who has been embroiled in multiple off-court controversies over the past couple of years.

The 3x NBA champion stated his belief that not just Ja Morant, but the whole Memphis Grizzlies team needs a lot of maturing. Although he started the conversation with Morant, it seemed his primary reference was toward Dillon Brooks (now playing with the Houston Rockets). Elie further stated the need for the NBA to step things up a bit.

“Cause when you do all that talking, him and Dillon Brooks, ‘Oh, I don’t care who we playing in West. LeBron is old.’ When you don’t perform, you need to be man enough to go in front of the media and answer those questions,” Elie said on the podcast.

Notably, after the Grizzlies’ Game 2 win against the Lakers in the 2023 Playoffs first round, Brooks trash-talked Bron, calling him “old.” He further said, “I poke bears. I don’t respect no one until they come and give me 40 (points)”. He had a lot to say after one win but not a thing after the series loss. Brooks avoided media interaction following the 4-2 loss in the series to the Lakers.

Now, Elie is someone who finds this approach full of nothing but cowardice. Further spotlighting how some of these young players cop out, he emphasized answering tough questions is part of a player’s job.

“All these guys, when things don’t go their way… They don’t want to talk to the media. But when they win the game, put the mic all in they face,” he added. But what’s the solution to this? Elie believes it’s simply the imposition of fines to bring players like Ja Morant and others in line. The former NBA guard would be contended to know that the league took action at least in the Brooks incident.

NBA fined Dillon Brook for avoiding media interaction

As mentioned above, after the loss against the Lakers in the 2023 playoffs, Brooks didn’t have much to say. In fact, it was LeBron James who responded with a comeback after the series win. Sharing highlights from the Game 6 win, Bron captioned his IG post, “If you ever see me fighting in the forest with a Grizzly bear, HELP THE BEAR.” Bron also dominated the series, recording 22 points and 20 rebounds in the Game 3 win.

No wonder that Brooks did not have much to say to the media and avoided it. But the league was not having his tantrums and imposed a $25,000 fine on him for his violation of league rules for media interview access. However, there seems to be not much effect of the complete embarrassment on the 28-year-old.

“No, I still feel the same way,” Brooks told FOX Sports of his earlier statement about Bron in an interview in November last year. No wonder Mario Elie believes in the need for maturity for young players. Brooks does not seem to understand he lacks the experience and achievements to be trash-talking a guy with NBA experience 6 years less than his age.   

Stay tuned for more such updates. Join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.