NBA Tweet-a-Holics Who Just Need to Simmer Down

Twitter can be used as an incredibly valuable social media resource for sports writers, fans, players and NBA personalities. Despite the evident positives, some NBA tweet-a-holics could certainly stand to tone down their tweets either by volume or substance.

There are a handful of NBA players and personalities that simply need to simmer down on Twitter.

Whether they contradict themselves, tweet things that nobody cares about, tweet statements that people can easily call them out on or they’re just plain bizarre, the following NBA tweeters would benefit from taking a step back.

It’s always wise to think before you speak. The following Twitter members should learn to think before they tweet.

Kendall Marshall @KButter5

Since joining the Phoenix Suns, rookie point guard Kendall Marshall has attempted to carve out a niche as the best Twitter user on the team.

That’s all well and good, but Marshall is competing with the one and only Jared Dudley.

Dudley, the Suns’ longest tenured player, won the BIG (Best in the Game) Award for social media in the NBA last year (per Greg Esposito of NBA.com). His use of social media was recognized on a league-wide scale. Needless to say, Marshall had a long way to go to back up the talk.

Last summer, Marshall called out Dudley on the social media platform, saying that there was a new “Twitter sheriff” in town. JD wasn’t about to concede that fact for a second, as he responded with the following:

"

RT @kbutter5: Move over @jareddudley619, there's a new twitter sheriff in town. ( I'm internationally known with the twitter!!!!!)

— Jared Dudley (@JaredDudley619) July 2, 2012"

Although I’m a big fan of Marshall’s original hashtag #PassFir5t, epitomizing his unselfish style of play, his Twitter use isn’t going to surpass that of Dudley any time soon.

Here are a few of Marshall's gems that fall into the "simmer down" category.

"

I be wantin to punch Squidward in the throat sometime.

— Kendall Marshall (@KButter5) March 1, 2013"

"

picked up some chipotle n cold stone, got my set up in the living room. ready for this game!

— Kendall Marshall (@KButter5) March 3, 2013"

I'm not sure that Chipotle and Cold Stone fall into the diet of most elite athletes.

JaVale McGee @JaValeMcGee34

JaVale McGee is near the top (if not at the top) of the NBA oddballs list.

The big man’s plethora of boneheaded plays on the court have continued to define him for all the wrong reasons, and the absurdity doesn’t stop on the court.

On Twitter, McGee’s timeline is a convoluted mess of random re-tweets. He re-tweets fans, teammates, opposing NBA players, random celebrities… heck, McGee even makes a point to re-tweet himself with every tweet he posts:

"

RT @javalemcgee34 BOO! U SHOOK HUH?

— JaVale McGee (@JaValeMcGee34) March 6, 2013"

"

RT @javalemcgee34 I JUST FELL IN LOVE WIT A CUBAN!

— JaVale McGee (@JaValeMcGee34) March 7, 2013"

"

RT @javalemcgee34 WE SUCH A TEAM! GOOD DUB! STAY TOGETHER!

— JaVale McGee (@JaValeMcGee34) March 8, 2013"

Perhaps McGee should look to channel all of his potential on the court, instead of acting a fool both on and off of it.

Stephen A. Smith @stephenasmith

Stephen A. Smith has carved out a niche with ESPN as one of the most well-known and well-respected sports analysts. There’s sure to be people who hate on Smith’s career for one reason or another, but I don’t believe he has to prove anything to anyone.

Although Smith has an incredibly successful career to back him up, he still feels the need to respond to haters and Internet trolls through Twitter. I tip my cap to Smith for responding to a ridiculous amount of fans to thank them for praise and kind words, but responding to the opposite end of the spectrum simply adds fuel to the fire.

Like this exchange for example:

"

 

@youngsully18 It's called humility. Try it sometime!

— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) February 27, 2013

 

"

Again, you have to admire Smith's commitment to thank fans in bulk (and I do mean bulk) via Twitter. However, responding to a large amount of his doubters is unnecessary. You have nothing more to prove Stephen A.

Skip Bayless @RealSkipBayless

Stephen A. Smith’s ESPN colleague needs to simmer down on Twitter for completely different reasons.

Skip Bayless’s unwarranted negativity toward LeBron James continues to shoot down his credibility in my opinion, but that doesn’t even come close to his ability to contradict himself and say outlandish things.

For instance, Bayless is no stranger to jumping to conclusions. During the 2012 NBA finals, Bayless coughed up this shameful tweet, saying that Kevin Durant is “definitely better” than LeBron James on the performance of one game (even misspelling “tonight” for good measure). Of course, James' team went on to win the NBA championship last year.

I have no issue if you believe that Durant is a better player than James (although I’d disagree with you 100 percent), but saying that he’s “definitely better” on the performance of one game? Come on, Skip.

Not surprisingly, the head-scratching tweets from Bayless didn’t end there. On March 2, Bayless called out LBJ by stating that Michael Jordan competed in more dunk contests.

"

 

Michael Jordan participated in three All-Star Weekend Dunk Contests. LeBron James has ducked all 10 Dunk Contests in his 10 NBA seasons.

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) March 2, 2013

 

"

He followed that up the same day by stating the following:

"

 

"

 

LeBron James has always been afraid to do the Dunk Contest because he was afraid to lose it.

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) March 2, 2013

 

"

"

Just five days later, Bayless managed to contradict his own tweet:

"

"

 

"

 

Love it @kingjames wasn't afraid to shoot the tying/winning free throws if he'd been fouled on late layup. Wasn't fouled. Wasn't afraid.

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) March 7, 2013

 

"

"

"

So, just so we're clear, James is afraid to compete in a dunk contest, but not afraid to drive to the basket and score in the final seconds of a game down by one point. That makes perfect sense.

Tony Allen @aa000G9

If you didn’t know any better, you’d probably think that Tony Allen’s Twitter handle, aa000G9, is a spam bot.

Well, the Memphis Grizzlies guard’s account is very real and sure to overload your timeline with volume tweets.

Allen, one of the NBA’s best perimeter defenders, tweeted 14 times on March 5. Finding its way into the mix was this insightful post:

"

 

Y

— Tony Allen (@aa000G9) March 5, 2013

 

"

My life is forever changed for the better.

Metta World Peace @MettaWorldPeace

For a loose cannon like Metta World Peace, Twitter isn’t exactly the best medium.

For evidence supporting that claim, you can turn to Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops.com chronicling an incredibly bizarre Twitter rant from the man formerly known as Ron Artest.

Additionally, you can turn to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports ProBasketballTalk, who posted World Peace’s tweets following the incident when he elbowed James Harden in the side of the head.

Depending upon your viewpoint, those apologies can come across genuine or hollow, but a guy with a track record like World Peace doesn’t have the luxury of the benefit of the doubt.

Nowadays, despite the Los Angeles Lakers battle to make the playoffs, World Peace makes a point to plug his rap career with tweets to new singles.

I suppose that’s a positive if you enjoy his music?

Matt Harpring @mharpring15

Former NBA player and current Utah Jazz TV analyst Matt Harpring may not be a name you expected to be here (or a name you remember). However, his spelling errors, grammatical mistakes and dry tweets lacking any substance solidify his place among annoying tweeters. Let’s just get right into it.

"

At least the Lakers are loosing in the 4th right now. Portland winning though

— matt harpring (@mharpring15) March 7, 2013"

Umm, the correct spelling is "losing," but hey, maybe that was a one-time mistake.

"

This loss for jazz is a heartbreaker. Should of won this one. Young guys continue to get better. Fun to watch development happening.

— matt harpring (@mharpring15) March 5, 2013"

Again, "should of" should be "should have," but I guess that's why he's on TV instead of writing?

"

I thought favors had a nice game vs his home team. It was only his third start but played well. Carroll also played well

— matt harpring (@mharpring15) February 28, 2013"

Not going to lie, I'm at the edge of my seat with that exciting information. Okay I lied, I could not be more bored.

J.R. Smith @TheRealJRSmith

In addition to responding to fans, haters and an eclectic group of attractive women, J.R. Smith has managed to get himself in some hot water via Twitter.

Chronicled by Chris Yuscavage of Complex Sports, Smith mustered up the courage (or perhaps foolishness) to repeatedly call out Kobe Bryant on Twitter.

Smith responded with the hashtag #SoWhat when a fan said Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers were coming to town. He went on to say that Bryant would get up 40 or more shots (as opposed to 40 or more points suggested by a fan). Also, Smith pointed out that Bryant’s team had more losses than the New York Knicks to defend the fact that Bryant had better stats across the board than Smith.

Some may argue that it’s hard to fault Smith’s confidence. He wouldn’t be the sharpshooter that he is today without his swagger.

However, you never want to anger a guy like Bryant.

As a lifelong Phoenix Suns fan, I can speak from experience. I would cringe every time fans at U.S. Airways Center would start the “Kobe Sucks” chant. I knew it was only a catalyst for Bryant to feed off of. He’d get mad and start to destroy the Suns.

Let’s just say that the high road is sometimes the best option. It's that time for J.R. to simmer down on Twitter. Who knows, if he continues playing well, he could win Sixth Man of the Year at season's end.