Los Angeles Lakers are on the verge of eliminationAnd Charles Barkley is already preparing his nails for the coffin.
TNT's long-standing broadcaster and the future ESPN broadcaster had a lot to say about the Lakers on Wednesday during an appearance in “The Dan Patrick Show”, two days after their 3-1 delay against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the NBA qualifiers.
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To put it simply, Barkley was not surprised. He also had a few words about how his future employers in ESPN treat the team:
“The Lakers, I said to you two months ago, six weeks ago, the Lakers are not a good team. They got two, really, very good players, but not a good team. ESPN is swing just as if everything has the taste of chicken, but the Lakers are not a good team. They will lose this tour or the next round, but more probably this tour. They are not very good.”
When he was asked to develop the future of Lakers with Luka Dončić and Lebron James, Barkley did not seem optimistic about the team's current list, which gathered a little random via the trade that brought Dončić to Los Angeles.
Charles Barkley saw enough of the Lakers and their ESPN coverage. (Photo by Mitchell Layton / Getty Images)
(Mitchell Layton via Getty Images)
Barkley took in particular the construction of a player at the age of James and with the head coach JJ Redick's decision to play the same five players for the second half of match 4 Sunday::
“Lakers will not be a competitor with the team they have now. Your best player cannot be 40 years old. It doesn't make sense.
“It's not the year of the Lakers. And people think I hate Lakers. I told you. I said:” Lakers are not a good team. “But ESPN was just swaying on them as if they were Damn King Kong.”
The Lakers are certainly in an interesting place despite the fact that it may have benefited from the most shocking trade in the history of the NBA. Obtaining a 25-year-old all-nba player like Dončić is a gift, but as Dallas Mavericks show, his presence alone does not do the job.
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It is worth remembering that Los Angeles also tried to associate Dončić with a great man who corresponded to his talents with the trade of Mark Williams, but Then the team enriched the agreement after seeing the Medicals of the Charlotte Hornets Center. Jaxson Hayes, the team's current departure center, played four minutes in match 4, while Alex Len, the only other great traditional man on the list, was a DNP.
As for ESPN stuff, this is not the first time that Barkley has hammered the network despite Be ready to join them for next season as part of a license agreement “inside the NBA”. Last month, He called them “idiots” and “idiots to the other network”, “ And this time, he did everything possible to explode his future trading partner.
Just as Patrick was preparing to change the subject, Barkley questioned an additional point on the way ESPN has covered The future of Giannis Antetokounmpo with the Milwaukee Bucks And contrasting to the environment during its days of play:
“Dan, you know, the ESPN clowns, they always make me laugh,” he told Patrick. “Dan, you know, I'm going to be a straight shooter. It is interesting to see how they were talking about Giannis (Antetokounmpo) this week, like:” should Giannis want to leave? “I do not clearly remember when I played, I do not remember saying:” We have to make Charles Barkley an aid to Philadelphia, or Phoenix, or Karl Malone in Utah. I remember that the media guys kiss my ass and the ass of Karl, and the ass of Patrick. Help.
“I mean, they kissed. They were like loving the Lakers, to love Celtics, to love Michael (Jordan), to love the pistons. But I do not remember all these kiss-bass at the time, saying:” You know, we must get help Charles Barkley, because he cannot win a championship in Philly or Philly. “It makes me laugh. You know, it has already started. I say to myself:” Dude, thank you for helping me when I went with anyone. “
You must understand that ESPN knew it was coming, but you can never expect Charles Barkley to speak with a filter.
