"Stop worrying about me" - Austin Rivers issues savage response after Miles Bridges' LaMelo Ball-related dig

Austin Rivers is a free agent without a team but is still making headlines. Rivers recently took to Twitter to call out Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges. Bridges posted an Instagram story with a cryptic message calling out players with podcasts. Rivers has a podcast but, asserted that the post could not be about him.

Austin Rivers was quick to dismiss that the post from Bridges could be about him.

“Nah this can’t be about me (laughing crying emoji)," he said. "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 (silent finger emoji),” Rivers tweeted.

The guard quote tweeted the post by Bridges after NBA Central posted it saying it was about Rivers. The original post from Bridges did not name Rivers specifically.

“Y’all hoopers get on these podcast and talk like y’all relly like that. Speaking on what other teams like y’all know what’s going on and most the people (sic) talking the most s**t don’t play at all. We gone (sic) see about all that this year on me,” Bridges wrote on Instagram.

Rivers meanwhile remains unsigned to a team. He last played for the Minnesota Timberwolves this past season. He appeared in 52 games and averaged 4.9 points per game.

What did Austin Rivers say about LaMelo Ball?

It seems the little beef comes from Austin Rivers’ statements about Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball made on the “Bill Simmons Podcast”. Rivers criticized the Hornets organization for surrounding the young star with “troubled youth”.

He was likely referring to players like Bridges, although he never mentioned names. Bridges missed the entire 2022 season after being accused of domestic assault. He pled guilty to one count of injuring a child’s parent in a plea deal.

He was suspended by the league for 30 games in April. He will miss the first ten games of the upcoming season as the suspension continues.

The Hornets also drafted Brandon Miller with the second overall pick. Miller was allegedly involved in a murder case while in Alabama. As per reports, he provided a teammate with a gun that was later used in the murder of a young mother. As per a report from Charlotte Observer, Miller was not charged but his former teammate and another man are charged in the homicide case.

Miller avoided any legal punishment but, concerns were raised about his character during the pre-draft process. Austin Rivers did not mention Miller by name either, but it seems safe to assume these are the incidents he was referring to with his comments.