duncan228
10-25-2009, 10:57 AM
And...
He is picking a Celtics-Lakers final.
“I think that would be great for the league, of course,’’ he said.
Barkley gets down to brass tacks about his desire for GM position (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/articles/2009/10/25/barkley_gets_down_to_brass_tacks_about_his_desire_ for_gm_position/?page=full)
By Gary Washburn
Charles Barkley has spent his entire basketball existence being brutally honest - about society, the state of the NBA, and the players who populate his beloved game.
His role as a television analyst on TNT has given him a perfect way to vent frustrations, bestow compliments, and even offer apologies for his own transgressions. However, his tenure will be coming to an end soon, if Sir Charles has his choice. He has a serious desire to enter NBA management, and wants - no, thirsts - to be a general manager.
The Chuckster is tiring of criticizing teams and wants the responsibility to build a winner with his own hands.
“It’s time for me to be a general manager,’’ said Barkley, who has been at TNT for eight years. “I think everybody around me knows it’s time for me to take a different challenge.
“I always want to keep going as a person. I love my job. I love the people I work with. But now it’s time for me to take on another challenge as a man. I need to grow as a person and it’s time for me.
“And certainly I can do a better job than some of these guys have been doing.’’
Several Hall of Fame players have gone on to be general managers. Some have been wildly successful, such as Jerry West and Joe Dumars, while others floundered, such as Michael Jordan and Elgin Baylor. There is no way to determine how Barkley would fare unless he receives an opportunity.
The question is whether an organization - likely a suffering one yearning for improvement and legitimacy - would take a chance on hiring a legendary player with a questionable track record, including a recent DUI arrest that led to a leave of absence from TNT. Barkley called his actions “stupid’’ and has remained out of the headlines since.
“If a good opportunity came up, I would take it,’’ said Barkley, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. “I think people sometimes get confused with taking a job and taking a bad job. Every job is not a good job, but I think if a good job came up, I would take it. But I am not going to leave TNT for no bad job.’’
And there is no rule that says a flawed figure can’t put together a championship team.
“[Teams] are taking a chance on guys worse than me,’’ said Barkley. “First of all, I think my résumé is better than some of the other guys who have gotten jobs running NBA teams.
“I want my chance to fail, just like everybody else.’’
Of course, Barkley’s current job is to predict who will reign in the NBA this season, and he said there are five teams with a legitimate shot at winning the title: Cleveland, Orlando, Boston, the Lakers, and San Antonio.
He said Rasheed Wallace may benefit from a secondary role with the Celtics. The key, he said, is preserving the older players.
“I think the main thing they have to do is worry about being healthy, just trying to stay healthy, just get through the regular season,’’ said Barkley. “They probably have more depth with Rasheed, who can play 4 or 5.
“They are a contender. They can win anywhere, on the road or at home. They are going to have one of the two or three best records in the NBA.’’
He is picking a Celtics-Lakers final.
“I think that would be great for the league, of course,’’ he said.
In his years as an analyst, Barkley has become a stern authority on league issues and troublesome players. And his take on social networking - players sending out Twitter and Facebook updates - is pure honesty:
“Things like that are a waste of time. First of all, I have always been very adamant about some loser worrying about what some celebrity is doing during the day. [The player is] a loser and he should be concentrating on his skill as a player and his other aspect of his life, learning to invest his money, his family life, investing his time and energy into that.
“Sitting around talking to complete strangers about what you are doing during the day, I have been very critical of that. Professional sports is not a babysitting service. These guys at some point got to grow up and mature.’’
He is picking a Celtics-Lakers final.
“I think that would be great for the league, of course,’’ he said.
Barkley gets down to brass tacks about his desire for GM position (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/articles/2009/10/25/barkley_gets_down_to_brass_tacks_about_his_desire_ for_gm_position/?page=full)
By Gary Washburn
Charles Barkley has spent his entire basketball existence being brutally honest - about society, the state of the NBA, and the players who populate his beloved game.
His role as a television analyst on TNT has given him a perfect way to vent frustrations, bestow compliments, and even offer apologies for his own transgressions. However, his tenure will be coming to an end soon, if Sir Charles has his choice. He has a serious desire to enter NBA management, and wants - no, thirsts - to be a general manager.
The Chuckster is tiring of criticizing teams and wants the responsibility to build a winner with his own hands.
“It’s time for me to be a general manager,’’ said Barkley, who has been at TNT for eight years. “I think everybody around me knows it’s time for me to take a different challenge.
“I always want to keep going as a person. I love my job. I love the people I work with. But now it’s time for me to take on another challenge as a man. I need to grow as a person and it’s time for me.
“And certainly I can do a better job than some of these guys have been doing.’’
Several Hall of Fame players have gone on to be general managers. Some have been wildly successful, such as Jerry West and Joe Dumars, while others floundered, such as Michael Jordan and Elgin Baylor. There is no way to determine how Barkley would fare unless he receives an opportunity.
The question is whether an organization - likely a suffering one yearning for improvement and legitimacy - would take a chance on hiring a legendary player with a questionable track record, including a recent DUI arrest that led to a leave of absence from TNT. Barkley called his actions “stupid’’ and has remained out of the headlines since.
“If a good opportunity came up, I would take it,’’ said Barkley, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. “I think people sometimes get confused with taking a job and taking a bad job. Every job is not a good job, but I think if a good job came up, I would take it. But I am not going to leave TNT for no bad job.’’
And there is no rule that says a flawed figure can’t put together a championship team.
“[Teams] are taking a chance on guys worse than me,’’ said Barkley. “First of all, I think my résumé is better than some of the other guys who have gotten jobs running NBA teams.
“I want my chance to fail, just like everybody else.’’
Of course, Barkley’s current job is to predict who will reign in the NBA this season, and he said there are five teams with a legitimate shot at winning the title: Cleveland, Orlando, Boston, the Lakers, and San Antonio.
He said Rasheed Wallace may benefit from a secondary role with the Celtics. The key, he said, is preserving the older players.
“I think the main thing they have to do is worry about being healthy, just trying to stay healthy, just get through the regular season,’’ said Barkley. “They probably have more depth with Rasheed, who can play 4 or 5.
“They are a contender. They can win anywhere, on the road or at home. They are going to have one of the two or three best records in the NBA.’’
He is picking a Celtics-Lakers final.
“I think that would be great for the league, of course,’’ he said.
In his years as an analyst, Barkley has become a stern authority on league issues and troublesome players. And his take on social networking - players sending out Twitter and Facebook updates - is pure honesty:
“Things like that are a waste of time. First of all, I have always been very adamant about some loser worrying about what some celebrity is doing during the day. [The player is] a loser and he should be concentrating on his skill as a player and his other aspect of his life, learning to invest his money, his family life, investing his time and energy into that.
“Sitting around talking to complete strangers about what you are doing during the day, I have been very critical of that. Professional sports is not a babysitting service. These guys at some point got to grow up and mature.’’