Charles Barkley Comments on State of NBA, Kenny Smith, More
TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley is rarely shy about offering criticism or entertaining takes regarding the game of basketball, and he continued that trend Wednesday during an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show.
Barkley has often stated his belief that the NBA was better and more entertaining during his playing days, and he echoed that sentiment during the interview, according to Andrew Perloff of the Dan Patrick Show:
The Hall of Famer has been among the Golden State Warriors' biggest detractors for much of the season, previously declaring on ESPN Radio's Waddle & Silvy that the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls "would kill" the Dubs prior to them setting the single-season wins record with 73, per ESPN.com.
While Barkley is still sour on the league as a whole, he may be starting to come around on the Warriors following Stephen Curry's remarkable 40-point performance against the Portland Trail Blazers upon returning from a knee injury in Game 4 of their playoff series, as seen in this video courtesy of NBA TV:
Even more so than the Warriors, Barkley was critical of the Houston Rockets and their struggles this season, as stars James Harden and Dwight Howard failed to mesh.
Barkley's TNT cohort and former Rockets star Kenny Smith reportedly interviewed for the team's head coaching vacancy, according to ESPN.com's Calvin Watkins, but Chuck doesn't expect his buddy to take the job:
If Smith does make the leap to the Rockets' bench, however, Barkley provided an intriguing option to replace The Jet on TNT:
Although Kobe Bryant hasn't outwardly expressed any desire to get involved with broadcasting since his retirement, the dynamic between him, Barkley and former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Shaquille O'Neal would make for a can't-miss show.
Barkley hasn't played in the NBA since retiring in 2000, so bringing in an analyst who just left the sport such as Bryant could make for some fantastic debates regarding the state of the league, should the Rockets decide that Smith is the right man to right the ship in Houston.
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