Charles Barkley had a blunt message for NBA media on Wednesday night amid rumors the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns are poised to make coaching changes in the offseason.
Barkley, on TNT after the slate of playoff games were over, said Darvin Ham and Frank Vogel didn’t deserve to be fired from their respective teams. He said it wasn’t their fault that the teams played poorly and, instead, put the onus on the players and the executives that put them together.
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Charles Barkley before the game between the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers, part of the NBA In-Season Tournament, on Dec. 7, 2023, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. (Mike Kirschbaum/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Basketball Hall of Famer told the NBA media to start telling the truth.
“Part of our job, we watch all the games, we watch all the talk shows, all of these people on television, they’re cowards because they want the players to like them,” Barkley said. “They don’t want to do their job, which is to tell the truth.
“And, I just want to say this about coaching, anybody who thinks the Lakers suck is because of Darvin Ham, or the reason the Suns suck is because of Frank Vogel, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Frank Vogel is a hell of a coach. Darvin Ham is a hell of a coach trying to get his career started.
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Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham reacts during the first-round playoff series against the Nuggets, Monday, April 22, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
“But for all you punks, idiots and jacka–es on other networks who want to be media and who want all the players to like y’all, do your damn job. The Lakers suck and the Suns suck because of the players. It has nothing to do with the coaches.”
It’s unclear whether the Lakers and Suns will make coaching moves after disappointing seasons.
Los Angeles has been mixed up in rumors regarding the future of LeBron James. Multiple reports indicated he would be heading for free agency in the offseason, but he pushed back on that in posts on social media.
The Athletic reported that Ham could be fired “likely by the end of the week.”
Suns head coach Frank Vogel applauds his players during the first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
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The Suns mortgaged their future to build a big three with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. But they fell way short of expectations. Vogel is said to be on the chopping block as well.
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