Travis Leslie is in attendance at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago this week, where the former Georgia Bulldogs forward will be able to showcase his basketball playing skills, go through a series of agility drills, have his height and wingspan be measured by the NBA and be interviewed by prospective NBA teams and the media.
Leslie wasn't able to make any sort of noticeable impact on the court Thursday morning, but he did draw the ire of current Memphis Grizzlies wing Tony Allen when the NBA Draft hopeful talked to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express.
"I feel like I'm a little better than Tony Allen," Leslie said according to Givony's Twitter feed. "Hopefully I can be compared to someone better. He's basically known for his D."
It's true that Allen's essentially known for his defense, particularly because many believed he should have been on the All-NBA Defensive first team this season, but the six-year pro also started all 13 of the team's NBA Playoff games for a Grizzlies team that nearly made it through to the Western Conference Finals because of its hardwork and grit on the basketball court.
Leslie has since denied the quote on his own Twitter account (@TeamLeslie1), but Givony stands by his word: "Unfortunately we have it on video. Quotes are pretty clear."
That doesn't bode well for Leslie as, along with now coming off as not the most trustworthy person during the biggest pre-draft event available, he's also caught Allen's attention on Twitter.
In a series of Tweets, Allen responded as only one of the most entertaining NBA Twitter personalities could respond (edited only to remove the excessive exclamation marks for readability):
"Who is this dude!! Consider the source and please don't mention my name with lames in the same sentence," Allen typed, before going in with the granddaddy of them all. "I'm just saying first get drafted and get ready for (LeBron James), (Dwyane Wade), (Kobe Bryant), (Manu Ginobli) and (Paul Pierce) Cause I been through the fire!! Ya dig?"
This could be an interesting saga to follow, because where ever Leslie is drafted, he'll probably end up going head-to-head with Allen at some point. And, if the Grizzlies select Leslie, he probably should avoid taking Allen up on any Bourre challenges.