TNT analyst and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley isn’t happy that LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Los Angeles Lakers.
If you haven’t heard, the Los Angeles Lakers signed LeBron James this offseason. James committed to the Lakers long-term, agreeing to a four-year, $154 million deal, with the final year being a player option.
It is a deal that has a lot of people excited, and rightfully so. Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka set a goal to land a superstar to bring the Lakers back to prominence and James does that.
With James joining their young core, the Lakers are on the right path. However, his decision is not one that has everyone feeling great. One person who didn’t like the decision was TNT analyst and NBA Hall of Famer, Charles Barkley.
Barkley is known for some outlandish opinions and comments when on television. In a recent interview with Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated, Barkley shared his opinion on James leaving Cleveland.
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Barkley wished that James remained in Cleveland. He also believes that the move to Los Angeles was more of a business decision than a basketball decision.
"“I was hoping [James] would stay in Cleveland. I look at [the move to L.A.] strictly as a business decision. He’s on the downside of his career. He wants to be a big Hollywood mogul. He’s going to be driving by the beach every day instead of going through the snow. … [The Lakers] are not even close to a top-tier team. They’re a five or six seed in a best-case scenario.”"
Barkley is correct in the assessment of what James has planned for his life off the court. He is looking to become as influential off the court as he has become on the court. His most recent venture, I Promise School, opened up this week. Very few people would disagree that waking up and driving by the beach in the winter is worse than the snow in Cleveland.
Where Barkley is off is the on-court assessment. Saying that James is on the downside of his career is premature. While he is 33-years old and has a ton of mileage on him, he showed no signs of slowing down last season.
When discussing teams in tiers, Barkley could also be off. The Golden State Warriors are in a class of their own, with the Houston Rockets probably next in line. After that, the Lakers could fall in line.
A fifth or sixth seed isn’t a best-case scenario. With James in town, that is the expectation. The best-case scenario would be earning homecourt advantage or homecourt in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Even if the Lakers aren’t a top-tier team, they are right on the cusp of being one. If Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart and Ivica Zubac take another step forward, they will push closer to the top-tier.
James will bring the best out of the teammates around him. The Western Conference is loaded and will be tougher to navigate than the Eastern Conference was.
However, the Lakers have a better supporting cast, talent-wise, than the Cavaliers did. The only edge that the Cavaliers have over the Lakers is experience, which Los Angeles looked to change with their free agent signings following James.
The future looks bright in Los Angeles with the team retaining their young core and adding the best player in the NBA. James and company will look to prove people such as Barkley wrong this upcoming season and for seasons to come.