Charles Barkley has never shied away from calling out those he believes have slighted him and he went off on Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick during Thursday’s episode of Inside the NBA. Barkley’s criticism unsurprisingly went viral and Redick was asked about it during his press conference before Friday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks at Crypto.com Arena.
“I got a random text from somebody after the game,” Redick said. “I went to look at my phone and it says something about Charles Barkley. And I’m like, ‘Huh?’ But (assistant coaches) Greg (St. Jean) and Beau (Levesque) showed me. I didn’t make it all the way through the clip, I gotta be honest with you.
“My resting heart rate is probably 64. I watched the clip, it was 64,” Redick added. “Literally don’t care. I have other thoughts, but don’t care.”
Redick is keeping his thoughts to himself and that’s probably a good idea. You’re not going to win a war of words with Barkley. In case you missed it, here is what Barkley had to say to Redick.
“JJ you better calm down because when you come for the King you better not miss,” Barkley said. “He said something about ‘we’re the reason people ain’t watching this crappy product we got.’ Cause I can get you, brother. Remember, I watch these Lakers games and you can’t hide the flaws they have.
“You’re just a dead man walking,” Barkley continued. “They got rid of Frank Vogel who did a good job, they got rid of Darvin Ham who did a good job but you came out there thinking you were gonna change things with that same ugly girl you went on a date with.”
That was brutal. Barkley believes Redick’s days as Lakers head coach are numbered, but that might not be the case. The 40-year-old has led them to a solid 19-14 start and while there are still some flaws to iron out, it has by no means been a bad campaign thus far.
As for what got that reaction out of Barkley, it was Redick blaming NBA analysts and social media for the decline in viewership. He didn’t mention the Hall of Famer by name at any point but it did seem as if he was referring to him on occasion.
Redick stated that if you hear someone covering the game say the product sucks, then you’re not gonna want to watch it. Well, Barkley has stated that on numerous occasions and he certainly doesn’t do the NBA any good by saying that.
Redick stated that while the NBA shouldn’t be above criticism, it should also be celebrated. The coverage has been a bit too negative at times and that has to change.
Barkley is not going to change his ways, though. He won’t mince words if he doesn’t like what he’s seeing.
It is pointless for Redick to get into a public spat with him and he is instead focusing on doing his job. His Lakers are currently leading in the third quarter against the Hawks and another win here would make it eight in their last 11.
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