Charles Barkley has always had a knack for inciting laughter from the people around him, whether intentionally or not. Danny Ainge revealed recently on "Pardon My Take" that his former Phoenix Suns teammate used to make him chuckle every day.
Ainge said his favorite Barkley story took place during a game day. There were only 35 minutes left before tip-off, but "Sir Charles" was nowhere to be seen. According to the retired shooting guard, then-Suns coach Paul Westphal knew who the team's real boss was, so there was nothing he and the players could do but wait.
"Westphal comes in and sits on his stool, and we go through our pregame," Ainge recalled . "Well, he's waiting and waiting, and we all kind of looked over, and Charles' locker still has his uniform hanging up. He hasn't arrived yet.
"So, we wait, and everyone knows exactly why we're waiting. Nothing's said. Finally, Coach Westphal, with nothing about the pregame, he says, 'If he's not here by 7:10, he's not starting.' 7:10 was the tip-off time. And he walked out of the room," he added.
The Chuck-Westy dynamic
As great as Barkley was as a player, he wasn't exactly known for being an easy character to handle. Fortunately, he seemed to be a great fit with Westphal , who gained a reputation as a "loose" coach, as Ainge put it. Even Chuck expressed his admiration for the late coach in 1993, saying , "I like Paul because he lets me run the show."
"Trader Danny" echoed that observation, remarking that Westphal allowed his players to coach and police themselves.
While it may not be ideal, it actually worked for the Suns. In their first season together, they brought the squad to the 1993 Finals. That playoff run saw Charles make Westphal look like a genius at least a few times.
The following two campaigns saw Phoenix reach the conference semifinals again. Unfortunately, it lost to the eventual champions, the Houston Rockets, in seven games both times.
The 1995-96 season saw the franchise go through a crossroads. With Ainge retired and the front office failing to bolster the roster, the Suns fell to a 14-19 record, resulting in Westphal's firing. Barkley didn't seem to blame the collapse on him, though, as he blamed the organization a year after demanding a trade for treating him like sirloin and destroying the team.
Related: “He literally had nothing left at the end of practice every single day” - When Kevin McHale knew Kevin Garnett was destined for success in the NBA
Friendship of Chuck and Danny
Teaming up together may not have resulted in a championship for Barkley, Ainge, and the late Westphal, but it appears the trio probably had a grand time together.
The iconic power forward, though, is known for not letting friendship get in the way of calling people out. Similar to what he did to Michael Jordan, The Chuckster once criticized the NBA executive for the Boston Celtics' struggles a few years ago, saying in an ESPN interview, "Danny Ainge is a good friend of mine, but he's not done a good job with all those draft picks he had."
Fortunately, the current Utah Jazz CEO of basketball operations has not let that destroy their relationship and still thinks fondly of Sir Charles to this day.
Related: "That guy sent me a message tonight, and I didn't like the message" - When Michael Jordan dominated Charles Barkley and the Suns in their first clash of the season
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