Los Angeles Lakers: Charles Barkley invites LeBron James to the TNT Studios for one night!

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James received a special invite from TNT studio analyst, Charles Barkley.

Has anyone noticed with all of the chaos of the Los Angeles Lakers and the total uncertainty (or confidence, let’s go with that) of the direction (or vision, let’s go with that) of the franchise going forward that LeBron James has disappeared from the face of the NBA Earth?

After hanging out with the “Banana Boat” bunch in Brooklyn to welcome Dwyane Wade into retirement, it seems that LeBron James seems to have a lot of time on hands these days.

With the Lakers season ending ceremoniously with Magic Johnson resigning in front of the NBA world and Luke Walton getting shown the door in the same week, one would be burned out from all of the ongoing stories and rumors coming out daily.

Thank God for the Inside the NBA crew, especially Charles Barkley, who can always stir the NBA pot.

Charles Barkley, on the first night back into the TNT studios after covering the NCAA tournament, gave an official invitation to LeBron James to come to the studios and hang out with the crew.

https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1117647697236779008

Now, this is something for Vegas to bet on. We can start right here in the comment section or on my Twitter page @SPORTWORLDORDER.

Will LeBron James take Charles Barkley up on his offer? I’ll start with my vote right now. Nope. No way, no how, no further discussion.

But, if I am wrong, I will man up, get Shaquille O’Neal‘s Icy Hot and admit I am wrong. But LeBron James did actually answer Charles Barkley’s invitation on social media.

After Ernie Johnson and the TNT crew adjusted the seating arrangements in preparation for the King to show up, the panel really was wondering about the “ton” of things that LeBron had to do this offseason.

That is, besides selecting the next Lakers Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations.

https://twitter.com/DimeUPROXX/status/1117943594839609344

Now, believe it or not, this is not the first time that Charles Barkley asked LeBron James to come to the studio. He actually started this before the season even ended.

First, the discussion was about LeBron James minutes restriction (aka load management) and resting him on back to back nights. After wondering why his minutes would be cut considering all of the rest he would be getting this offseason, Charles gave LeBron his personal plea.

He was supposed to come the first week of the playoffs. Most NBA fans probably missed the first invitation because Inside the NBA does stay on quite late.

A word of advice for TV analysts that want to chime in on the crew’s in-depth conversations, you might want to have some heart because the panel will say anything!

I’m always honest in my pieces and this one will be no different. I am a Charles Barkley fan. He is one of the few NBA analysts that I respect and take seriously. On my Twitter page, you will find a picture of the two of us at a conference in New Orleans. He is very personable as he took pictures and signed autographs. So if you think I’m biased, I can respect that.

But, LeBron James would shock me if he did show. But he won’t, let’s go into the reasons why.

Charles Barkley made predictions about the Lakers that were spot on 

The one thing I’ve always respected about Charles Barkley is the fact that he will state his opinion without worrying about what people think. I never really understood until I started writing for a Lakers website and pointing out the possible issues that the Lakers could have coming out of the gate.

First, he stated that the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs would finish higher in the standings than the Los Angeles Lakers. Now in the video, you will notice that his predictions were written down for the end of the season. That panned out.

Then he went into depth on what the Lakers were doing wrong.

"“What kind of team are they? Are they gonna let those young guys play, or are they going to put those old guys out there? That’s why I didn’t understand because those old guys are not their future. Ball, Kuzma, Brandon Ingram — that’s their future. So, I don’t know what the Lakers are doing. Are they going to try to groom those young guys and go forward with LeBron, or are they going to play those old guys? I think that’s going to be the most fascinating thing. I mean, I have no idea what the Lakers are doing. Are they a young team or are they an old team? I think that’s what I’m gonna be watching for the most.”"

Let’s be clear here. This is nowhere near LeBron James’ finest hour. He had arguably his worst season as a pro. The season was actually worse than everyone expected and the crew WILL ask questions about the chaos that is going on with the Lakers.

They will ask for details about how Luke Walton and Magic Johnson made their exits. Oh, by the way, I can flat guarantee you that this picture will be up on the screen.

Remember, Charles Barkley and Magic Johnson are close friends. I’m guessing Charles Barkley will ask some pointed questions that will be very uncomfortable for LeBron to answer. Why?

LeBron James and Charles Barkley have a philosophical difference 

First, let’s go back to 2017. LeBron James was playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers and they were the defending World Champs, defeating the 73-9 Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. They had just made history as the only team to come back from 3-1 to do so.

LeBron James seemed to be very frustrated with the roster construction at the time. Seems kind of amusing in comparison to this Lakers team he signed off on in the offseason.

"“It’s like when you don’t have bodies. It’s tough,” James said. “The f—ing grind of the regular season. We’re a top-heavy team. We have a top-heavy team. We top-heavy as s—. It’s me, [Kyrie Irving], [Kevin Love]. It’s top-heavy.” “We need a f—ing playmaker,” James said. “I’m not saying you can just go find one, like you can go outside and see trees. I didn’t say that.”"

Well, that comment was a topic of discussion on Inside the NBA. Let’s just say it got kinda heated.

Well, that conversation set off a media firestorm. After LeBron James had his statement directed at Charles Barkley, there wasn’t a sports show in America that wasn’t discussing it.

"“I’m not going to let him disrespect my legacy like that,” James told ESPN. “I’m not the one who threw somebody through a window. I never spit on a kid. I never had unpaid debt in Las Vegas. I never said, ‘I’m not a role model.’ I never showed up to All-Star Weekend on Sunday because I was in Vegas all weekend partying.”All I’ve done for my entire career is represent the NBA the right way. Fourteen years, never got in trouble. Respected the game. Print that.”"

Okay LeBron, it’s printed. Well, I bet the executives at Turner Sports were drooling waiting for the ratings for the next show. The one thing Charles Barkley does not do is hide. The panel talked about the comments.

The question now is, will LeBron James address this episode? As journalists, you know that the panel will bring it up. In the video, you see Charles Barkley stood by his comments while he stated LeBron took the situation too far and made it personal.

The one thing about Charles Barkley is that he is brutally honest. His friendship with Michael Jordan suffered for years when he criticized the way he ran the Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets) when they went through their 7-59 season.

Shaquille O’Neal seemed to back up LeBron on the panel. But remember Kenny Smith sided with Charles Barkley. Kenny Smith may have questions about holes in his game.

Kenny Smith’s observations = LeBron James criticisms?

Kenny Smith saw issues in LeBron James’ game that went over with a lot less controversy than a couple of years ago.

One of my colleagues, Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, ran into Kenny Smith earlier this season talking LeBron James. It seems that Kenny Smith talked about LeBron not posting up enough.

"“But, the best players in the world could have holes in their game. As long as he didn’t sleep in silk robes and be content, he’s going to get better at it. But if he believed he was the best player in the world, some guys believe that they’re the best and they don’t continue to work!”"

But LeBron James will have more observations to discuss than his lack of post-ups. The Inside the NBA crew will bring up plenty of questions about the struggles of the Lakers and his season.

Especially on defense. There will be plenty of examples that will be seen on-screen. I mean this video made the rounds of all the networks.

Trust me the Kyle Kuzma video will definitely make the show.

If LeBron James does take the invitation, this bunch is not going to lob softballs for LeBron James to answer. They win Emmy awards almost every year for a reason. They are the best NBA show on television. But if LeBron needs some tips from a player that has beef with someone from the panel, he can call a former Lakers player!

Remember when Dwight Howard was nicknamed Superman when Shaq was not ready to give it up?

If LeBron James does come to the TNT studios, it still won’t be the most awkward incident ever. That honor will forever belong to Dwight Howard.

Up until this season, when O’Neal gave the nickname to Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shaq just would not give up the Superman moniker to Howard. Something that the TNT crew loved to throw in his face.

It got heated at times (for real folks, I’m not kidding) and with Howard slowly burning bridges around the NBA, the panel had plenty to talk about. Does anybody remember that incident stemming from his leaving Orlando and throwing Stan Van Gundy under the bus?  

How about the time Shaq correctly predicted that Dwight Howard was on his way out the door when he was in Los Angeles for that ill-fated year? Oh wait a minute, it can’t be too ill-fated considering it was the last time the Lakers made the playoffs.

Then, Dwight Howard had his issues show up in Houston. MAN those guys really jumped on him after a locker room interview. 

What did that lead to?

Eventually, Dwight Howard came to the TNT studios to talk to the panel. Shaq wasn’t there but Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith were not easy on him.

This is what LeBron James will face if he comes to the Turner studios in Atlanta. It may seem like a joke in the beginning, but LeBron really needs to be prepared.

This crew is award-winning and just as media savvy as LeBron James. Kevin Durant talks about “fanboys”, these guys aren’t on that list. I hope LeBron James takes the invitation.

But I doubt it.