Insider reveals possible future plans for Charles Barkley

Depending on the week, TNT broadcasting star Charles Barkley is either defending Warner Bros. Discovery and its legacy broadcasting the NBA or attacking the company and its CEO David Zaslav for botching negotiations and mistreating him.

But despite most signs pointing to TNT losing the NBA after next season, WBD reportedly has fairly big plans for how it could use Barkley across its networks even in a post-NBA world.

In an interview on the SI Media with Jimmy Traina podcast released Friday, Puck News sports correspondent John Ourand reported that WBD believes Barkley is “still a bona fide television star” who could contribute more to its news coverage or other sports in the future, given that the 1993 NBA MVP does not have an opt-out in his contract if WBD loses the NBA.

“There are several options that are out there, including staying with Warner Bros. Discovery,” Ourand explained. “David Zaslav has told people that even having lost the NBA, Charles Barkley is still a bona fide television star. He’s great on television. And they have other sports that are there. They have March Madness, Barkley has been part of their hockey coverage here and there, and they want to just do more in sports, and he could expand from just doing NBA to being a sports commentator perhaps.”

Barkley was part of the team calling The Match golf competitions on TNT in the past, guests on NHL coverage, and is a big part of the NCAA tournament each spring.

The Basketball Hall of Famer also co-hosted a political talk show with Gayle King earlier this year , and could get another opportunity in that realm as well.

“It’s easy to make fun of King Charles … at CNN that was widely panned and canceled ,” Ourand said. “They haven’t given up on the idea that he can do something with the right amount of support and right amount of promotion that can be successful that goes beyond sports and entertainment.”

However, Barkley appeared to confirm Ourand’s reporting about not having an opt-out clause last week in an interview on The Dan Patrick Show .

Barkley suggested WBD needed to either guarantee the full $210 million he is owed on his current 10-year contract with the company, or release him from it and allow him to explore other opportunities.

“It depends on how vindictive David Zaslav is to a certain extent,” Ourand said. “If Charles Barkley wants to go to an Amazon or one of the places that has the NBA, will Zaslav allow him to do that? That’s a question that is unanswerable right now.”

Of course, Barkley currently is still maintaining the story that he is retiring after the season. It’s hard to imagine that WBD would truly block Barkley from accepting a new job to continue covering the NBA elsewhere, but it has plenty of options if it plays hardball or if he does choose to stay.

[ Sports Illustrated on YouTube ]

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