When you want to hear a candid opinion about any given subject, there may not be a better NBA personnel to listen to than Sir Charles Barkley.
The Van Gundy brothers are up there as well, but Barkley just has a way of grabbing you by the balls about what he has to say. He will be honest about anyone, even if it’s about his best friend Michael Jordan, who – as you’ll find out below – doesn’t exactly appreciate the brutal truth.
See how Jordan reacted to Barkley’s negative criticism of him, along with other news items below.
Before you do, be sure to check out Moke Hamilton’s column on the dark horses of the upcoming season. He has Evan Turner for most improved.
Charles Barkley explained why it was important for him to be honest about the job Michael Jordan has done, from Steven Cuce of Sports Radio Interviews: “I thought my name was S.O.B and M.F., like damn, I couldn’t even say anything. I said, ‘Dude I can’t get on the radio and tell people you been doin’ a good job… “He’s relying on our friendship and I said, ‘Dude, I love you, you one of my best friends, period. You been there for me, I been there for you but.’ I think he got mad; he surrounded himself with people. One of the really difficult things about being famous, all your friends, you’re paying all the bills, they’re flying around on your private jet, very few of your friends are ever gonna disagree with you… But dude, you gotta get better people to wear on you if you’re gonna be successful. … You gotta have friends around you who [are] not afraid to say, ‘Oh that guy can’t play.’ And we’re cool now.”
How good does LeBron James want to be? The best ever, according to The AP: ”I want to be the best of all-time,” James said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It’s that simple.” He expressed similar sentiment last year, and the year before that, and probably all the way back to high school in Akron, Ohio. He always wondered if a championship would change that perspective. He now has his answer. ”Not really, honestly,” James said. “I haven’t had much time to really just think about what actually happened. At the end of the day, there’s still going to be people that say, well, he’s not going to be able to win two. He’s not going to be able to do it again.” Time will tell.”
- Dwyane Wade thinks it’s not the easiest thing to stay motivated to defend championship, according to Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida:
ORLANDO — For one week in July, a small portion of the basketball universe converges upon central Florida to watch and participate in the Summer League. The Orlando event is always outshined by its Las Vegas counterpart, partly because there is no strip and partly because only eight NBA teams participate.
Kyle O’Quinn – The second-round pick of the Orlando Magic looked polished and played like a veteran this week. O’Quinn’s signature moment may have been the absolute dismantling of Pistons’ lottery pick Andre Drummond, who O’Quinn outworked and out-psyched. During their matchup Pistons PG Brandon Knight was constantly talking to Drummond, trying to keep his confidence up. Drummond became so frustrated that he and O’Quinn were both warned by officials, and Drummond even swung a low blow towards O’Quinn that didn’t connect. O’Quinn looked like a “player” and should help out right away at the 4 or 5.
Kyle Singler – Singler was almost unrecognizable after spending the season in Spain, but the 2011 second-round pick of Detroit looked like arguably the best player in the entire summer league. Singler is not a star, but should be a quality rotation player for a long time in the NBA. In Orlando, Singler showed the ability to knock down shots from all over the court, a quick release, and the ability to create his own shot. One Western Conference executive told me that in his mind Singler “demonstrated the ability to be a Shane Battier or Mike Miller type.”
Miles Plumlee – The Duke big man was a surprise first-round pick but certainly showed on the court why the Pacers had faith in selecting him over Perry Jones, Arnett Moultrie, and others. Plumlee moved extremely well, was very active around the glass and explosive. Plumlee’s signature performance came against Jared Sullinger and the Celtics when he had 18 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots.
Jared Sullinger – The Ohio State big appeared motivated to prove his naysayers wrong and certainly looked healthy, averaging nearly 14 points and 8.3 rebounds. Sullinger’s post game is very polished and he showed the ability to be a very good rebounder against longer and more athletic bigs. Sullinger always seems to be smiling on the court, and one scout I spoke to said that Sullinger is going to be the next DaJuan Blair — but with a better offensive game.
Alec Burks – Burks was absolutely brilliant against Philadelphia early this week when he scored 31 points on 10-of-14 shooting and was 10-for-11 from the free throw line. Burks should be in line for a lot more playing time in his second season and is a potential breakout candidate.
Reggie Jackson – In 2011, Jackson was given a draft promise by the Thunder, though the Thunder continue to deny this assertion — even though Jackson only worked out for OKC. On a championship caliber team most rookies won’t seem much playing time, but one OKC official told me that Jackson is going to “wow” people, adding “he has the perfect blend of size, athleticism, and scoring prowess to be a spark off the bench.” In Orlando, Jackson has been solid.
Adam Morrison – It’s sad to see how far Morrison has fallen. While playing for Brooklyn, Morrison is averaging 6 ppg on 36% shooting. Neither of those stats will endear you to NBA GMs. While Morrison’s best skill is knocking down open looks, it is hard to see him making a NBA roster this year.
Andre Drummond – As previously mentioned Drummond, looked overwhelmed and one Detroit official told me that he was shocked at how little basketball IQ Drummond had after playing one season at UConn. Drummond is averaging 8 ppg and 6.5 rpg and is shooting 52% from the field while flashing an occasional wow moment to everyone in the audience. However, Drummond is shooting 25% from the free throw line and had one of the ugliest misses I have ever seen, short and to the left. One Italian coach said “Whoever works with him on his free throws must be fired.”
MarShon Brooks – Perhaps Brooks was struggling because of the rampant trade speculation about him or maybe it’s because he doesn’t want to be in the Summer League but either way Brooks looks bad shooting 32% from the field and averaging on 11 ppg. For a player that is seen as a big trade chip Brooks must do more against the competition.
Orlando Johnson – Johnson’s shot selection looks awful as he is shooting 23% from the field, 20% from 3, and 60% from the FT line. Johnson’s poor summer league was highlighted (lowlighted?) by an 0-for-10 performance from the field against the Thunder earlier this week.
Tornike Shengelia – Shengelia looks great out there banging down low, crashing the glass, and moves well off screens. Seems like a guy who could be a very good rotation player in Brooklyn, whenever he ends up in the NBA.
Justin Holiday – Holiday has been great in Orlando and secured a roster spot in Vegas with the Cavs. Jrue’s older brother is longer and a bit of a swiss army knife on the court. There is no denying he can offer NBA teams something, but is he talented enough to stick?
10. Charlie Villanueva, #7 pick, Toronto Raptors,2005- It was evident early that Charlie V. wasn’t a fit in Toronto, so much so that they traded him for T.J. Ford a year later. Smart move by the Raptors as his game is as maddening as any player in recent memory. He has all the tools and all the ability, except for that pesky desire thing – something a scout should have seen from him in college.
9. Yi Jianlian, #6 pick, Milwaukee Bucks, 2007 – Yi made it pretty clear through his agent that he wanted to play in a big city, yet that didn’t stop Bucks GM Larry Harris from trying to create Yi-sanity in Wisconsin of all places. Yi frowned upon hearing his name called. “We look forward to a successful relationship for many years to come,” owner Herb Kohl said. That relationship lasted an entire year, then the Bucks shipped Yi to the swamp for Richard Jefferson.
8. DaJuan Wagner, #6 pick, Cleveland Cavs, 2002- If the Cavs picked Amar’e Stoudemire here instead of Wagner, maybe they don’t get the #1 pick the next year and select LeBron James. Maybe. What if they did select Amar’e and he didn’t play much, then he gets paired with James in 2003? James has his second star and is probably still in Cleveland. A stretch? Fair. But Wagner was still a rotten selection starting just 28 games into his brief 4-year NBA career.
6. Mike Sweetney, #9 pick, New York Knicks, 2003- Still reeling from the post-Ewing era, the Knicks need a post presence and thought Sweetney was a poor man’s Elton Brand, with a feathery touch and strong body on the block. They got sucked into the mystique of great Georgetown big men. Instead of becoming a poor man’s Brand, Sweetney pounded heavily on sweets and literally ate himself out of the league.
5. Adam Morrison, #3 pick, Charlotte Bobcats, 2006- People may think that Morrison should go higher on this list, but I’ll defend the selection by saying it was hard to pass on co-National College Player of the Year. That said, the results speak for themselves. One of Michael Jordan’s biggest fiascos, though some claim Bernie Bickerstaff made the choice.
3. Greg Oden, #1 pick, Portland Trail Blazers, 2007 – I was at the draft lottery and Oden, after one year at Ohio State, was being called the next franchise big man. Portland just couldn’t pass on him, Kevin Durant or no Durant. No one in the room would have passed on Oden with a gun to their head. It’s a bad pick because Oden has had a myriad of injuries and Durant is Durant, but it isn’t the worst either.
1. Hasheem Thabeet, #2 pick, Memphis Grizzlies, 2009- You could make a case that based on who Detroit passed on, Darko should be number one, but I’m going Thabeet. I never thought this guy was an NBA player. He’s “played” on 3 teams in 3 years and has shown nothing. It will be interesting to see if Thabeet will ever develop into a starting NBA center and remove himself from these type of lists. So far, it doesn’t look that way.
