Charles Barkley Goes Off About Anthony Davis, Says NBA Should Block Lakers Trade

Charles Barkley Goes Off About Anthony Davis, Says NBA Should Block Lakers Trade

NESN by Mike Cole on Fri, Feb 1, 2019 at 7:55AM

Charles Barkley has seen and heard enough from today’s NBA superstars.

The Hall of Famer ripped New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis, the Los Angeles Lakers, agents and really, the general culture of the entire NBA world during a segment on Thursday night’s”Inside the NBA.”

After discussing the New York Knicks-Dallas Mavericks trade centered around Kristaps Porzingis, the conversation shifted to Davis, whose trade request dominated basketball headlines all week. Barkley, who said more than a month ago he already believed the fix was in to get Davis to the Lakers, went off Thursday night, saying he believes NBA commissioner Adam Silver should step in and veto any trade that would send Davis to LA.

“Adam Silver needs to block that trade. I don’t like what the Lakers are doing. I don’t think it’s right with collusion. You know it’s collusion,” Barkley asserted.

Barkley’s latest diatribe is unlikely to go over well with Rich Paul, the agent for both Davis and LeBron James. Barkley accused Paul and other agents of fixing the league and said he caught flak from Paul after that first rant about Davis and the Lakers.

“That was before all these rumors started, and he didn’t like me saying the fix was in,” Barkley said. “The fix has been in. I think Commissioner (Silver), who I like a lot, needs to come out and say ‘Hey, we can trade Anthony Davis, but he cannot go to the Lakers.’ We cannot have players and agents colluding to stack super teams. Adam Silver needs to say … we can’t have players dictating who can play together.”

After facing some pushback from both Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith on set, Barkley unsurprisingly stuck to his guns.

“The agents, they’re stacking the teams. That ain’t right,” he reasoned. ” … They’ve never stacked their teams like they’re doing now.”

After Shaq quipped “That’s business,” Barkley went after Davis.

“(Davis) says, I’m only going to the Lakers, and if ya’ll trade me to another team, I’m leaving after next year.’ That is 100 percent collusion. … It’s tampering.”

Finally, as the segment ended, Barkley summed it all up with an old-school take about the state of the NBA.

“C’mon man,” he said off camera. “We ain’t gonna play anymore. This stuff is getting ridiculous. If we’re not gonna compete in basketball, we’re just gonna have one or two super teams, just let me know. Come on, man. Give me a break.”

Barkley’s frustration is understandable and almost certainly is a feeling shared by a sizable pocket of NBA fans. But if Davis gets to free agency, which he’s earned, and ends up signing with the Lakers, that’s his call. However, until then, there’s not a whole lot the Lakers or James or Davis can do to speed up that process if the Pelicans aren’t willing to make that trade or if another team (perhaps the Boston Celtics) is willing to make a trade for what might not be more than one season.

In the end, whether it’s next week, this summer or next summer, it’s likely Davis gets his way, though. That’s just the nature of the beast in the modern NBA.

112288

Barkley is RIGHT!

The NBA is beginning to lose control of the game and if Davis does go to the Lakers there will be a huge fallout among owners and fans alike.

Talk about collusion ...........you don't have to go very far or have a special council to investigate.  Just look who represents both LaBron and Davis...........Paul.  Who had dinner together a month ago.........LaBron...........when did Davis come out public that he demanded to be traded.................just after he had dinner with LaBron ...............and who lead the charge that Davis would only be a rental for 1 year before he signed as a free agent with the Lakers..............Paul!

You cannot make this up.  It stinks to high heaven like 5 day old Cod on a Boston dock.

The NBA will destroy their product if they allow this circus to continue much longer and allow players to stack teams............THINK ABOUT WHO STACKED MIAMI HMMMMMM.

James is a snake and he is trying to do it again!

If I was an owner I would go nuts.........spend all this money to buy and support a team in a second tier market, and have no chance to attract free agent talent.

I think you should have a rating on players like in the NFL ....Franchise Player.  Those teams with 2 or more franchise players acquired through free agency should not be allowed.  You can have more then 1 franchise player IF 1 franchise player came to the team via free agency and 1 or more acquired through the draft.

I am slowly turning off on the NBA product, and could leave to revisit the Bruins and the NHL!

112288

Barkley's role on TNT with Shaq, Kenny and Ernie is to stir the pot and be controversial.
We can all have our opinions about the AD/Lakers situation but to request that the commissioner cancel this potential trade is ridiculous and not well thought out. There have been no violation of the rules other than publicly requesting a trade, which AD was fined $50k for.
Are we surprised that players are setting up their future by changing agents and having a plan in mind as to where they want to play in the future?
This is AD's 7th yer. They have won a grand total of 5 playoff games in those 7 years.
Are we surprised that AD wants to move on?
Is the issue that he only wants to play for the Lakers or that he requested a trade?

On this one I agree with Barkley!! No question there was/is collusion going on....

tjmakz wrote:Barkley's role on TNT with Shaq, Kenny and Ernie is to stir the pot and be controversial.
We can all have our opinions about the AD/Lakers situation but to request that the commissioner cancel this potential trade is ridiculous and not well thought out. There have been no violation of the rules other than publicly requesting a trade, which AD was fined $50k for.
Are we surprised that players are setting up their future by changing agents and having a plan in mind as to where they want to play in the future?
This is AD's 7th yer. They have won a grand total of 5 playoff games in those 7 years.
Are we surprised that AD wants to move on?
Is the issue that he only wants to play for the Lakers or that he requested a trade?

That was made VERY CLEAR by his agent that it would be a 1 year rental IF NOT TRADED SOONER TO THE LAKERS, otherwise the agent would have corrected his statement.



112288

tjmakz wrote:Barkley's role on TNT with Shaq, Kenny and Ernie is to stir the pot and be controversial.
We can all have our opinions about the AD/Lakers situation but to request that the commissioner cancel this potential trade is ridiculous and not well thought out. There have been no violation of the rules other than publicly requesting a trade, which AD was fined $50k for.
Are we surprised that players are setting up their future by changing agents and having a plan in mind as to where they want to play in the future?
This is AD's 7th yer. They have won a grand total of 5 playoff games in those 7 years.
Are we surprised that AD wants to move on?
Is the issue that he only wants to play for the Lakers or that he requested a trade?

You can’t let agents control the league enough to create super teams, not good for the game, let’s just let all the elite players join each other....in the old days, Magic, Bird, Jordan wanted to kill each other on the floor, not recruit each other.

112288 wrote:

tjmakz wrote:Barkley's role on TNT with Shaq, Kenny and Ernie is to stir the pot and be controversial.
We can all have our opinions about the AD/Lakers situation but to request that the commissioner cancel this potential trade is ridiculous and not well thought out. There have been no violation of the rules other than publicly requesting a trade, which AD was fined $50k for.
Are we surprised that players are setting up their future by changing agents and having a plan in mind as to where they want to play in the future?
This is AD's 7th yer. They have won a grand total of 5 playoff games in those 7 years.
Are we surprised that AD wants to move on?
Is the issue that he only wants to play for the Lakers or that he requested a trade?

That was made VERY CLEAR by his agent that it would be a 1 year rental IF NOT TRADED SOONER TO THE LAKERS, otherwise the agent would have corrected his statement.



112288

Would it be better if AD's agent didn't tell teams that AD is only planning on signing with the Lakers?
How would teams feel if they gutted their teams to get AD and he left after 1 year, knowing all along he did not want to stay there?

cowens/oldschool wrote:

tjmakz wrote:Barkley's role on TNT with Shaq, Kenny and Ernie is to stir the pot and be controversial.
We can all have our opinions about the AD/Lakers situation but to request that the commissioner cancel this potential trade is ridiculous and not well thought out. There have been no violation of the rules other than publicly requesting a trade, which AD was fined $50k for.
Are we surprised that players are setting up their future by changing agents and having a plan in mind as to where they want to play in the future?
This is AD's 7th yer. They have won a grand total of 5 playoff games in those 7 years.
Are we surprised that AD wants to move on?
Is the issue that he only wants to play for the Lakers or that he requested a trade?

You can’t let agents control the league enough to create super teams, not good for the game, let’s just let all the elite players join each other....in the old days, Magic, Bird, Jordan wanted to kill each other on the floor, not recruit each other.

Basketball from the 80's and 90's to today has changed a lot.
Agents do what's in the best interest for their clients.
If it turns out the best thing for their client is to sign with one specific team or one of three teams, then that's the way it is.
Teams can trade players whenever they want and players can sign with whatever team they want when they are a free agent.
Yes, AD has 1 1/2 years left on his contract but he would have been offered the super-max contract on 7/1/19.
Once he refused the super-max, they would have been looking to trade him.

NOP needs Boston. Period. LAL aka LOL may have blown it themselves presenting 5 trade options. Major Basic Sales/Negotiation Failure out of the gate. I'd be stunned if NOP bites.

db

Hi,
In theory, I think, Barkley is right. But from the practical standpoint - let AD go to LAL. He'll be stuck with Lebron on a mediocre team that'll be a Showtime Lakers. But unlike Lakers of Magic and Kobe they'll have very little chance to win anything.

AK

sinus007 wrote:Hi,
In theory, I think, Barkley is right. But from the practical standpoint - let AD go to LAL. He'll be stuck with Lebron on a mediocre team that'll be a Showtime Lakers. But unlike Lakers of Magic and Kobe they'll have very little chance to win anything.

AK

That’s true, we’re doing them a favor so they don’t destroy their team. With a 35 year old Lebron and no young core, AD is gonna be in a worse situation than he is right now with NO, Okafor is finally playing good, he’s got big man depth with Randle, what they have in the backcourt is better than what he’ll have in LA without all those pieces.

What a hot mess this all is, and I'm not just talking about AD.  It goes back to DWade recruiting LeBron and Bosh for Miami and there was nothing that could be done about it.  Remember Wade going to Chicago and making believe he was thinking about signing there when, in fact, he was just being a spy for Riley, finding out what offers they were thinking of making for LeBron, and had no intention of really going there?  You cannot stop players from talking to each other and becoming friends.  You cannot stop players from telling their agents they'd like to play with their friends and you cannot stop agents from telling teams their clients want, or do not want, to play for them.  

On the other hand, teams can just uproot families and ship them on a moment's notice to another city in a trade.  It's called "the business side" of the sport and, for a very, very long time, the business has all been on the side of the owners and not in the hands of the players, who have been little more than indentured servants.

I have no idea how to de-escalate this arms race, which is why it's such a hot mess in my mind.  Don't fall in love with a player, fall in love with a franchise because the franchise is permanent and players come-and-go.  Don't fall in love with a franchise because it's a business and businesses are in business to make money and that sometimes means salary dumps of their good players, leaving the team with few good players and few reasons to root for them. Remember Donald Sterling?

Yuck.


bob


.

Basketball is unique compared to other sports where having two, three or four top players can create a super team.  Add to that the fact that less than a quarter of the teams have the financial wherewithal to even pay for these types of players leaves a huge imbalance for the majority of the other teams.  The majority of the teams have never even been to the finals, let alone the conference finals.

It is almost like it is a first world - third world situation across the league.

Add poor team management to the financial inequality and you get teams whose highest hopes each season is just to make the playoffs.

There's always outliers that buck the trend, but those teams can be counted on one hand.  The Spurs are one example of a small market team that has over performed.  The Knicks and the Clippers are examples of large market teams that have historically underperformed.

Boston, being a large market team, has had more success than most of the other teams.  We look back at the 1990's into the early 2000's as a huge wasteland for our team.  We were in and out of the playoffs, in and out of the lottery.  For many other teams, that would be considered their best time ever.

I watch the Hornets, for example, because I now live in Charlotte.  Their best hope is to have the kind of "success" that we had over our worst period of time.

Is that fair?  I would say "No".

So now we are complaining about a system when that same system has been in our team's favor (for the most part) all along.  If the whole AD situation doesn't get resolved in the next week and then we just happen to trade for him and then convince him to stay, we will all go on, happy as pigs in shit.

But, that is not the issue here, many would say.  That isn't apples to apples.

Here is your apple.

A couple years ago, the first time we had cap space in years, we plucked arguably the best player from Atlanta  in free agency and almost got Durant to sign here.  The very next year, we got the best player from Utah.  How do most teams think about that?  Lots of shirts were burned in the process.

So I believe the issue is not just when players talk amongst themselves and decide to hook up to create a super team that is the problem.  The problem is created by the NBA collective bargaining agreement.  No hard cap, no real equity between the haves and have nots, no hope for the small market teams to ever rise up and compete.

We are one of the haves and when one of other haves has a chance to take advantage of the unequal system, we complain?

Just my two cents.

gyso

Most of the top players STILL want to get paid , at least something close to elite level dollars.

something I've always thought would tamp down on some of this would be a hard salary cap with each team allowed ONE "franchise player Salary" that is exempt from the hard cap.

players could still decide to form a super team, but the monetary cost would be a lot more to do it.

Much like how Tim Duncan sometimes took less salary to allow SA to add/keep other players and Tom Brady in football (with a hard cap) leaves money on the table for the team to add/pay others.

sinus007 wrote:Hi,
In theory, I think, Barkley is right. But from the practical standpoint - let AD go to LAL. He'll be stuck with Lebron on a mediocre team that'll be a Showtime Lakers. But unlike Lakers of Magic and Kobe they'll have very little chance to win anything.

AK

We don't have any idea what the Lakers roster will look like if they acquire Anthony Davis.
We do know they would have 2 of the top 5 players in the league and one of them is only 25 years old.
If that trade goes through, I think the Lakers could beat any team in the west playoffs except for Golden State.
What if the Lakers also acquired Vucevic who is on an expiring contract?
This summer they could still have $20m-$30m in cap space.

GYSO makes a great point although using AH as an example is not a good one because ATL was not going to pay him. If they did he would still be in Atlanta.

The Hayward situation is different. The Celtics pluck the best player off of a team where the fans loved that guy. They had been scheming to get him for a while.

This is a treacherous business. Rich Paul is manly to blame because he is the one who is driving the narrative but his hold card got peeped and NOLA will not be coerced.

gyso,

Great reasoning. Great post.

Regards

tjmakz wrote:

112288 wrote:

tjmakz wrote:Barkley's role on TNT with Shaq, Kenny and Ernie is to stir the pot and be controversial.
We can all have our opinions about the AD/Lakers situation but to request that the commissioner cancel this potential trade is ridiculous and not well thought out. There have been no violation of the rules other than publicly requesting a trade, which AD was fined $50k for.
Are we surprised that players are setting up their future by changing agents and having a plan in mind as to where they want to play in the future?
This is AD's 7th yer. They have won a grand total of 5 playoff games in those 7 years.
Are we surprised that AD wants to move on?
Is the issue that he only wants to play for the Lakers or that he requested a trade?

That was made VERY CLEAR by his agent that it would be a 1 year rental IF NOT TRADED SOONER TO THE LAKERS, otherwise the agent would have corrected his statement.



112288

Would it be better if AD's agent didn't tell teams that AD is only planning on signing with the Lakers?
How would teams feel if they gutted their teams to get AD and he left after 1 year, knowing all along he did not want to stay there?

It changes the economy of trades if players get to pick themselves where they want to be traded to. Free agent recruiting takes salary cap maneuvering and planning (like what knicks is doing now), trading for stars takes player evaluation skills. Demanding a trade to a certain team impacts what pelicans can get for him and skills required to get "value in a trade" since you pretty much end up in a situation where any value they can get is good value and in the end means that big market teams will create even larger separation to the rest of the league.

112288 wrote:Charles Barkley Goes Off About Anthony Davis, Says NBA Should Block Lakers Trade

NESN by Mike Cole on Fri, Feb 1, 2019 at 7:55AM

Charles Barkley has seen and heard enough from today’s NBA superstars.

The Hall of Famer ripped New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis, the Los Angeles Lakers, agents and really, the general culture of the entire NBA world during a segment on Thursday night’s”Inside the NBA.”

After discussing the New York Knicks-Dallas Mavericks trade centered around Kristaps Porzingis, the conversation shifted to Davis, whose trade request dominated basketball headlines all week. Barkley, who said more than a month ago he already believed the fix was in to get Davis to the Lakers, went off Thursday night, saying he believes NBA commissioner Adam Silver should step in and veto any trade that would send Davis to LA.

“Adam Silver needs to block that trade. I don’t like what the Lakers are doing. I don’t think it’s right with collusion. You know it’s collusion,” Barkley asserted.

Barkley’s latest diatribe is unlikely to go over well with Rich Paul, the agent for both Davis and LeBron James. Barkley accused Paul and other agents of fixing the league and said he caught flak from Paul after that first rant about Davis and the Lakers.

“That was before all these rumors started, and he didn’t like me saying the fix was in,” Barkley said. “The fix has been in. I think Commissioner (Silver), who I like a lot, needs to come out and say ‘Hey, we can trade Anthony Davis, but he cannot go to the Lakers.’ We cannot have players and agents colluding to stack super teams. Adam Silver needs to say … we can’t have players dictating who can play together.”

After facing some pushback from both Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith on set, Barkley unsurprisingly stuck to his guns.

“The agents, they’re stacking the teams. That ain’t right,” he reasoned. ” … They’ve never stacked their teams like they’re doing now.”

After Shaq quipped “That’s business,” Barkley went after Davis.

“(Davis) says, I’m only going to the Lakers, and if ya’ll trade me to another team, I’m leaving after next year.’ That is 100 percent collusion. … It’s tampering.”

Finally, as the segment ended, Barkley summed it all up with an old-school take about the state of the NBA.

“C’mon man,” he said off camera. “We ain’t gonna play anymore. This stuff is getting ridiculous. If we’re not gonna compete in basketball, we’re just gonna have one or two super teams, just let me know. Come on, man. Give me a break.”

Barkley’s frustration is understandable and almost certainly is a feeling shared by a sizable pocket of NBA fans. But if Davis gets to free agency, which he’s earned, and ends up signing with the Lakers, that’s his call. However, until then, there’s not a whole lot the Lakers or James or Davis can do to speed up that process if the Pelicans aren’t willing to make that trade or if another team (perhaps the Boston Celtics) is willing to make a trade for what might not be more than one season.

In the end, whether it’s next week, this summer or next summer, it’s likely Davis gets his way, though. That’s just the nature of the beast in the modern NBA.

112288

For once BARKLEY is spot on!

tjmakz wrote:

112288 wrote:

tjmakz wrote:Barkley's role on TNT with Shaq, Kenny and Ernie is to stir the pot and be controversial.
We can all have our opinions about the AD/Lakers situation but to request that the commissioner cancel this potential trade is ridiculous and not well thought out. There have been no violation of the rules other than publicly requesting a trade, which AD was fined $50k for.
Are we surprised that players are setting up their future by changing agents and having a plan in mind as to where they want to play in the future?
This is AD's 7th yer. They have won a grand total of 5 playoff games in those 7 years.
Are we surprised that AD wants to move on?
Is the issue that he only wants to play for the Lakers or that he requested a trade?

That was made VERY CLEAR by his agent that it would be a 1 year rental IF NOT TRADED SOONER TO THE LAKERS, otherwise the agent would have corrected his statement.



112288

Would it be better if AD's agent didn't tell teams that AD is only planning on signing with the Lakers?
How would teams feel if they gutted their teams to get AD and he left after 1 year, knowing all along he did not want to stay there?

I am not debating what his agent should or should not say. Your posed the following question > Is the issue that he only wants to play for the Lakers or that he requested a trade?[/quote]

There is no question, he just wants to play for the Lakers and BUYER BE WARE.

112288

I finally agree with the Chuckster.

I think the way the NFL pulls all the strings and holds all the cards is the other extreme, but in the NBA the inmates are running the asylum.

This cannot continue if the league wants to ensure a fanbase in more than a few top cities. People will not go to games in New Orleans or many other cities, if they know the playing field is tilted against them and their local team will never have the money or drawing power to lure enough good players to win a championship.

Davis saying he wants to go to LA to his agent is one thing, but saying it in public diminishes his value to his current team. The Pelicans cannot go out and make the best deal for their long term future, as no team is going to give them much for AD if they know he isnt going to sign an extension.

The way Kareem did it back in 75 I think was perfect, no media, he didn’t say boo, then just got traded very very quietly to Lakers. Now with a media frenzy and as Kleen pointed out, knowing he will only resign with Lakers, how can the franchise getting fucked get any value at all? Should have just kept everything quiet, behind the scenes.