Charles Barkley is like that half-crazy, half-wise uncle in everybody’s family. You know, the one who ran the streets, traveled the globe and lived the fast-life in his younger years. As the uncle ages, he eventually returns home and back into the family fold. One moment, he’ll drop the most-insightful jewel. The next moment he’ll utter some wildly inaccurate statement or conspiracy theory that makes every shake their heads. Nobody ever knows what will come out of his mouth. However, we all know that Christmas and Thanksgiving wouldn’t be the same without him.
Barkley, the NBA on TNT commentator everybody loves to hate, is that guy. Right or wrong, Barkley has never been one to bite his tongue. To call him ‘opinionated’ would be a gross understatement. However, the 11-time NBA All-Star doesn’t concoct wild and crazy opinions just for publicity’s sake. He simply enjoys sharing his often-jaded point of view with the world.
Last week, Barkley’s sharp tongue caught the ire of LeBron James. Over the years, Barkley has not been shy about criticizing James. ‘The Decision’ debacle, his NBA Finals record, his occasional passiveness, his frequent flopping and his refusal to play without at least two bona fide superstars have all come under fire by the man once known as the Round Mound of Rebound.
Beyond criticizing James specifically, Barkley is also a frequent critic of this entire era. He is certain that the 80s and 90s were the golden age of the NBA and often shares his beliefs that today’s stars are soft, coddled and wouldn’t stand a chance against the stars of his generation. He even refused to list James on his list of the Top 7 NBA players of all-time. It’s no different from old heads decrying today’s music as trash and (depending on their age) claiming that music by Grandmaster Flash, Teddy Pendergrass or The Temptations was real music.
Last week, James drew plenty of attention for going on an expletive-filled rant of how badly the Cleveland Cavaliers needed to acquire another “playmaker.” He explained that the Cavs were in desperate need of someone to back up Kyrie Irving at point guard.
The timing of the rant was odd, considering the Cavs had just acquired former All-Star sharpshooter Kyle Korver from the Atlanta Hawks. No, Korver is not a point guard, but acquiring him for Mike Dunleavey Jr. was grand larceny. It’s clear though that James has an eye on the juggernaut Golden State Warriors, who added former MVP Kevin Durant to a 72-win team, and doesn’t believe his Cavaliers stack up.
Barkley couldn’t believe his ears. When asked about it on TNT, Barkley did what Barkley does.
“Inappropriate. Whiny. All of the above,” Barkley said. “The Cleveland Cavaliers, they have given him everything he wanted. They have the highest payroll in NBA history. He wanted J.R. Smith last summer, they paid him. He wanted [Iman] Shumpert last summer. They brought in Kyle Korver. [LeBron’s] the best player in the world. Does he want all of the good players? He don’t want to compete? He is an amazing player. They’re the defending champs.”
The remarks got under James’ skin and he fired back at Barkley earlier this week in a major way.
“He’s a hater,” James told ESPN. “I’m not going to let him disrespect my legacy like that. I’m not the one who threw somebody through a window. I never spit on a kid. I never had unpaid debt in Las Vegas. I never said, ‘I’m not a role model.’ I never showed up to All-Star Weekend on Sunday because I was in Vegas all weekend partying.
“All I’ve done for my entire career is represent the NBA the right way. Fourteen years, never got in trouble. Respected the game. Print that.”
James is right about the fact that he has often received more criticism that he deserves. He has been scandal-free throughout his career. He’s one of the league’s hardest workers. He does things the right way. He will certainly go down as one of the all-time greats.
However, when you look at Barkley’s comments in this situation, it’s hard to find out which part is not accurate. Yes, Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert promised James the world in order to bring him back to Cleveland. It appears though that the owner has lived up to his end of the bargain. As Barkley mentioned, the Cavaliers have the highest payroll in NBA history. No team has ever spent more on players than this year’s Cavs. Some of those big-money signings drew the ire of sportswriters and analysts, but they had James’ influence all over them.
It’s interesting that James ended his rant against Barkley by stating, “I’m tired of biting my tongue. There’s a new sheriff in town.”
The fear of a new sheriff could be exactly what has James so shook lately. He hears the footsteps behind him. The past two seasons, all the talk had been about Stephen Curry until James led the Cavaliers to an incredible and improbably comeback from a 3-1 Finals deficit.
Instead of praising James for the entire summer though, the spotlight quickly reverted to the Warriors due to the Durant signing.
Now, Russell Westbrook and James Harden are setting the league on fire as they rack up triple doubles. Neither the Oklahoma City Thunder nor the Houston Rockets are expected to be true championship contenders, but they are receiving the praise and adoration that was once reserved only for James.
There’s one other theory about James’ recent outburst. His comments about needing a playmaker weren’t well-received by some of his teammates.
Tristan Thompson wasn’t shy in his response, saying, “You can’t go out there hoping somebody is coming to walk through the door. Play with whoever the hell we got right now, and let’s win some (expletive) games.”
Just like Barkley’s comments about James’ whining were true, so are James’ claims that Barkley is a hater. James could be attempting to take the spotlight off his comments about his team and redirect them to the beef between him and Sir Charles. It remains to be seen whether it will work or if the damage is already done. James should be careful though. The crazy uncle always get a pass for saying things out of pocket because he’s been doing it for so long. Advantage Barkley.
Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @IshmaelSistrunk.
