By this point, everyone in the NBA knows about the LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith rift. There was a confrontation and the Lakers star didn’t appreciate the way he spoke about his son Bronny. However, as a media member, feuding with a player still fits the story. But Smith may have triggered one of his own colleagues. Notably, there is also a different beef in town.
Before Smith even got to the Lakers game, Kendrick Perkins went on air hailing the Luka Doncic-LeBron James pair-up as the savior of the NBA. Over at TNT, Charles Barkley was enraged calling him a “fool” for only giving priority to the Lakers and Warriors. Big Perk responded on X saying “When he see an idiot or fool in person make sure he keep that same energy”.
Smith too responded. But his answer didn’t please Perkins. Notably, Smith asked the NBA Hall of Famer to put a name behind his critiques rather than burn down Disney’s ESPN and their coverage. Moreover, he also told Kendrick Perkins that Barkley is somebody who generally talks like that. The former Celtics forward didn’t want to hear none of it.
February 20, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; NBA great Charles Barkley is honored for being selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team during halftime in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
“It pissed me off with Stephen A with his tweet towards Charles. It’s like hey bro, that’s what he’s like oh yeah that’s just Charles, hey put a address on it hahaa love y’all. I’m like man f**k that ain’t no love y’all. Like the aggressiveness that he came at us with was disrespectful,” Perkins said on Road Trippin’
Being called names on national television isn’t something to be taken lightly. Likewise, it’s fair for Kendrick Perkins to feel a certain way about it. At the same time, with Smith not mentioned, all he did was give Barkley a little suggestion. The First Take man isn’t one who usually responds with heat.
On the flip side, Perkins is also generally calm when opposed. However, he draws the line at disrespect. And one of Barkley’s traits has him concerned about the NBA legend’s fit with ESPN.
Will Charles Barkley accept ESPN’s methods?
Charles Barkley wasn’t opposed to ESPN covering the Lakers or the Warriors in particular. What he expected is that ESPN diversity their coverage. He wants them to provide greater focus on teams such as the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Thunder who are leading contenders to win the NBA championship this season.
But Perkins feels he has done justice to them. “I’ve been screaming since f*****g December hey I have the Thunder pick to come out of the Western Conference in January I said the same thing in February,” he said on the podcast.
But of course, the large market teams are what drives viewers to tune in. So Perks defense in speaking about the Lakers is he doesn’t decide the storylines for the day. To a large degree that’s true. It’s also true that Charles Barkley doesn’t want to fall into that fold. That’s exactly where Perkins sees a potential problem.
With Inside the NBA moving to ESPN, Kendrick Perkins thinks Charles Barkley and the top brass may not be a cohesive unit. “By the way you’re going to be working at this network. If you think that you’re going to change this network from talking about the Lakers or Golden State, LeBron and Steph, he done lost his damn mind. He done lost his damn mind or you gonna be pissed off, they gonna be bumping heads,” the former champion projects.
Luckily though, that shouldn’t be an issue. TNT may have lost the media rights to the NBA, but the show still remains their own. It will be produced from the same set. Moreover, TNT will have full creative control over the show. Hence, there should be no dispute between Barkley and ESPN as far as which team he should be talking about on-air.
Yet, the likelihood of him coming to any ESPN show at the same time slims down. It certainly doesn’t look like Perkins and Charles Barkley will be on the same stage together.
The post ESPN Analyst Doesn’t See Eye to Eye With Stephen A. Smith as $177B Company Faces Major Problem With Charles Barkley appeared first on EssentiallySports.