Charles Barkley Slams ESPN for Mishandling On-Air Talent

Charles Barkley has never been afraid to speak his mind, and after the news that dropped on Tuesday announcing the former NBA All-Star will be sticking around with Turner Sports for the next several years, we're likely to hear a lot more of it.

Barkley went on Paul George's podcast, Podcast P with Paul George, this past week to talk about his decision, and specifically about the future of 'Inside the NBA,' a landmark show that will go down in history as one of the premier sports commentary shows of our time.

When asked about the future of the show, and how it could ever be replicated on another network, Barkley had a blunt response.

"I don't know if anybody ever gives it a chance, to be honest with you," Barkley said.

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The TNT star went further on the topic, explaining that ESPN's constant desire to change and bring in new talent is ultimately its biggest downfall.

“ESPN, which I love, they never give anybody a chance to get any chemistry," Barkley said. "They’re all kind of throwing stuff at the wall, ‘Like, let’s put this group together,’ and they’ll do that for like six months to a year. And then they’re like, ‘It didn’t work.’ Well, you didn’t give it a chance to work."

The best example of this is on ESPN's 'NBA Countdown,' where current personalities like Malika Andrews, Stephen A. Smith, Michael Wilbon, Kendrick Perkins, and Bob Meyers star. However, in the past several years, ESPN has gone through the turnover of Paul Pierce, Maria Taylor, Mike Greenberg, and Michael Eaves, among others, as well.

One of the things that has made 'Inside the NBA' great over the years was the consistency of the cast and the fact that Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson have been able to develop chemistry unlike any other.

Is that to say that ESPN's 'NBA Countdown' would be just as good as TNT's flagship show if they kept the same crew together for a decade? Absolutely not, but it would certainly have a better shot at it.

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