Charles Barkley Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Warner Bros. Discovery Sues NBA; Barkley Listening To ESPN, NBC, Amazon

July 26th, 2024 at 3:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of TNT Sports, has filed a lawsuit against the NBA, alleging that the league is in breach of contract after it refused to recognize TNT’s right to match Amazon’s offer for NBA broadcast rights, reports Baxter Holmes of ESPN.

The lawsuit was filed in New York Supreme Court. Daniel Wallach of The Athletic (Twitter link) shares a copy of the summons, which states that the NBA has 20 days to respond.

TNT Sports issued a statement confirming it has taken legal action against the NBA (Twitter link via Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com):

“Given the NBA’s unjustified rejection of our matching of a third-party offer, we have taken legal action to enforce our rights. We strongly believe this is not just our contractual right, but also in the best interest of fans who want to keep watching our industry-leading NBA content with the choice and flexibility we offer them through our widely distributed WBD video-first distribution platforms – including TNT and Max.”

According to Holmes, NBA spokesperson Mike Bass responded to the suit by stating, “Warner Bros. Discovery’s claims are without merit and our lawyers will address them.”

A longtime broadcasting partner of the NBA, TNT Sports was given some form of matching rights in their current deal with the league. However, we don’t know the exact terms of those rights or how they’d apply in this case, given that Amazon’s agreement with the league will feature different methods of distribution and a different set of games than TNT’s previous deal. The lawsuit could lead to a settlement between Warner Bros. Discovery and the league, either in the form of other NBA rights or financial compensation.

Meanwhile, Charles Barkley – an analyst on TNT’s popular Inside The NBA studio show – issued a statement calling into question whether the NBA was ever negotiating with the network in good faith (Twitter link via Bleacher Report).

“Clearly the NBA has wanted to break up with us from the beginning. I’m not sure TNT ever had a chance,” Barkley said. “TNT matched the money, but the league knows Amazon and these tech companies are the only ones willing to pay for the rights when they double in the future. The NBA didn’t want to piss them off. It’s a sad day when owners and commissioners choose money over the fans. It just sucks.”

While Barkley has previously stated that he intends to retire as a broadcaster when TNT’s deal expires after the 2024/25 season, he’s drawing serious interest from the NBA’s other media partners – ESPN/ABC, NBC, and Amazon – according to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, who says that both ESPN and Amazon Prime Video are eyeing the entire Inside the NBA panel (Barkley, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal).

Speaking on Friday to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic and Dan Patrick of The Dan Patrick Show (Twitter video link), Barkley confirmed that he’s been open to pitches from other networks, saying he’d be “stupid” not to listen, especially if TNT doesn’t fully pay out the rest of his 10-year, $210MM contract with the network. However, he said his plan for now is still to retire.

While Marchand’s sources say that one of the league’s other TV/streaming partners could obtain the rights to the Inside the NBA studio show and simply let them continue working out of their current Atlanta studio, Barkley doesn’t believe that Johnson would leave TNT. He said he hasn’t spoken to Smith or O’Neal about the possibility of extending the show beyond 2025 on a new network, telling Marchand that the plan is to “go out with a bang” next season.

Barkley added that he’s not optimistic anything will come of TNT’s lawsuit.

“The NBA clearly wanted to break up with us,” he told Marchand. “I don’t want to be in a relationship where I have to sue somebody to be in it. That makes zero sense. If you have to sue somebody to stay in a relationship, do you think that is a healthy relationship?”

And-Ones: Barkley, Nunn, Ibaka, Africa

June 17th, 2024 at 1:56pm CST by Rory Maher

Hall of Famer Charles Barkley recently said he’s going to retire from TV at the conclusion of 2024/25, which could be the final season TNT holds the media rights to NBA games. Barkley has been an analyst on Inside the NBA since 2000.

While his comments certainly seemed genuine, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic believes Barkley will cover the NBA again in some fashion after next season ends, noting the 61-year-old has frequently talked about retirement in the past but he just signed a highly lucrative 10-year contract a couple years ago.

That long-term deal with TNT could complicate matters, but potential new (or returning) media rights holders like Amazon and NBC would love to have Barkley and the entire Inside the NBA crew on board, Marchand writes. A “more plausible” scenario, according to Marchand, would be ESPN giving Barkley a “sweetheart deal” he can’t refuse, perhaps offering to let him work less frequently while still covering the most important games, such as the NBA Finals.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Former NBA guard Kendrick Nunn, who helped lead Panathinaikos to a EuroLeague championship in ’23/24, was arrested less than a day after helping his Greek club win a domestic title, according to Eurohoops. Nunn was detained after a verbal exchange with his wife, who declined to press charges, and has subsequently been released. The 28-year-old signed a two-year contract extension with Panathinaikos last month, but he hasn’t ruled out an NBA return, as his deal contains out clauses. Nunn last played for the Lakers and Wizards in ’22/23.
Big man Serge Ibaka, who played 14 NBA seasons from 2009-2023, says he’s undecided on what he’s going to do next season after spending the ’23/24 campaign with Bayern Munich in Germany, per Eurohoops. Ibaka was rumored to be signing a one-year deal with Real Madrid, but he denied that’s the case.
Tania Ganguli of The New York Times takes an in-depth look at the NBA’s investment in Africa, which includes the Basketball Africa League. The NBA has long believed the continent could be a key way to grow the popularity of the sport and add young talent to the league’s player pool, but commissioner Adam Silver wonders if enough money is being spent to support growth. “As much as we are investing in Africa, the opportunity is so enormous I worry that we’re under-investing,” Silver said in an interview. “There’s so much opportunity, but it’s not always easy to know how to deploy capital, which government you should be dealing with, who the honest brokers are. And so we’re learning as we go.”

Charles Barkley Says He’s Retiring From TV After 2024/25 Season

June 15th, 2024 at 8:21am CST by Tristan Tucker

Charles Barkley, an NBA Hall of Famer and one of the stars of TNT’s Insider the NBA studio show, said he’s retiring from television following the conclusion of next season, as noted by ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk.

“I ain’t going nowhere other than TNT,” Barkley said on NBATV following during Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday night. “But I have made the decision that no matter what happens, next year is going to be my last year on television. And I just want to say thank you to my NBA family. You guys have been great to me. My heart is full with joy and gratitude.”

The future of Inside the NBA has been up in the air, given the NBA’s ongoing media rights negotiations. As Youngmisuk notes, Disney (ABC/ESPN), Amazon, NBC and Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT) are all hoping to secure broadcast deals with the NBA. However, if WBD is left out, it would mean the end of Inside the NBA and all games on TNT.

Barkley has decided to avoid any uncertainty about his future by announcing his impending retirement now.

“I hope the NBA stays with TNT, but for me personally, I wanted you guys to hear it from me … I wanted to tell my NBATV and TNT family that I’m not going to another network, but I’m going to pass the baton to either Jamal Crawford or Vince Carter or you, Steve (Smith),” Barkley said. “But next year, I’m going to just retire after 25 years, and I just wanted to say thank you. And I wanted y’all to hear it from me first.”

Barkley’s served as a TV analyst for TNT since 2000. He has hosted Inside the NBA alongside Ernie Johnson (who’s hosted since 1990), Kenny “The Jet” Smith (since 1998) and Shaquille O’Neal (since 2011). Barkley has also co-hosted every NCAA Final Four since 2011.

And-Ones: Top Free Agents, Cousins, Ayayi, Barkley

June 1st, 2024 at 9:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers star LeBron James is the top name on a list of possible free agents compiled by Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Even as he nears age 40, James has the potential to shake up the league if he turns down his $51.4MM player option and decides to test the market this summer.

Pincus acknowledges that James is likely to remain in L.A. no matter what he does with the option. He can either opt in and extend his contract for two more seasons or opt out and negotiate a new deal starting at $49.4MM. Either way, Pincus expects James’ next contract to run through the 2026/27 season.

Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey is second on Pincus’ list, but he’s almost certain to reach a maximum extension with Philadelphia, which can pay him significantly more than any rival team. Pacers forward Pascal Siakam, Clippers forward Paul George and Clippers guard James Harden round out the top five.

There’s more news from around the basketball world:

Former NBA center DeMarcus Cousins earned Finals MVP honors as he led the Taiwan Beer Leopards to the Taiwan T1 league title, according to ClutchPoints (Twitter link). The six-time All-Star, who hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2021/22 season, joined the Taiwanese team in mid-April.
Shooting guard Joel Ayayi, who appeared in seven games with Washington during the 2021/22 season, has signed with JL Bourg in France. The French native played his college ball at Gonzaga, then spent two years in the G League before joining Nanterre 92 this season.
As Charles Barkley laments the possible loss of Inside the NBA, he’s also publicly negotiating his next contract, according to Bryan Curtis of The Ringer. Curtis notes that the show’s demise will make Barkley the most in-demand free agent in TV sports history. He adds that Barkley is doing a masterful job of promoting himself by being extremely quotable and appearing on a large number of shows to increase his visibility. Curtis states that Barkley’s approach to the business can be summed up by something he said on a podcast when he was negotiating with LIV Golf two years ago: “I love my job at TNT. I love the people. But you have to take all meetings.”

And-Ones: TNT Sports, Trades, Santa Cruz, Award Votes

May 23rd, 2024 at 9:06pm CST by Luke Adams

With TNT Sports seemingly on the verge of losing its NBA broadcast rights to NBC during the current round of media rights negotiations, it’s possible the 2024/25 season will be the last one that features TNT’s iconic Inside the NBA studio show, featuring Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal. Appearing on The Dan Patrick Show (Twitter video link), Barkley admitted it has been discouraging to watch the process play out.

“Morale sucks, plain and simple,” Barkley said (hat tip to Richard Deitsch of The Athletic). “I just feel so bad for the people I work with. These people have families and I just really feel bad for them right now. You know these people I work with (management), they screwed this thing up, clearly. We have zero idea what’s going to happen. I don’t feel good. I’m not going to lie. Especially when they came out and said we bought college football. I was like, well, damn, they could have used that money to buy the NBA.

“… We’ve never had college football, never been involved with college football. I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, shouldn’t we be spending every dime we got to keep the NBA?’ So morale sucks, to be honest with you.”

Asked how TNT Sports got to this point, Barkley suggested that the comments made in 2022 by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav – who said his company “didn’t have to have the NBA” – didn’t help matters.

“They came out and said we didn’t need the NBA. I think that probably pissed (NBA commissioner) Adam (Silver) off,” Barkley said. “I don’t know that, but when (Warner Bros. and Discovery) merged, that’s the first thing our boss said. ‘We don’t need the NBA.’ Well, he don’t need it, but the rest of the people — me, Kenny, Shaq and Ernie and the people who work there, we need it. So, it just sucks right now.”

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

They were overshadowed by bigger deals at their respective trade deadlines, but the Celtics‘ 2022 acquisition of Derrick White and the Knicks‘ 2023 addition of Josh Hart are examples of non-blockbuster trades that helped turn good teams into contenders, writes Zach Lowe of ESPN (Insider link). Lowe provides some interesting tidbits on those deals, citing sources who say the Jazz were also interested in White when Boston was pursuing him and that the Trail Blazers didn’t open Hart talks to the rest of the league because New York was his preferred destination.
The Santa Cruz Warriors – Golden State’s affiliate – have been named the G League Franchise of the Year for the third time in the past four years (Twitter link). The team went 31-19 during the NBAGL’s Showcase Cup and regular season and ranked first in the league in both ticket sales and partnership revenue, according to the press release.
The NBA has officially released the full ballots from all the media members who voted on the major awards for 2023/24, including the All-NBA, All-Defensive, and All-Rookie teams. You can view those ballots – and find out which voters made this year’s most surprising selections – right here.
The Ringer’s staff ranked the NBA’s top 25 players who are 25 years old or under, with Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Edwards, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander topping the list.

And-Ones: MVP Race, Awards Announcements, Barton, Betting, Barkley

May 5th, 2024 at 8:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are the finalists for the Most Valuable Player award. ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Tim Bontemps take a closer look at the contenders and reveal the results of a straw poll. Jokic is the clear favorite to win the award for the third time, while Lowe gives Doncic the edge for second place due to his superior play-making.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Speaking of the MVP race, the league will announce the winner on Wednesday night, according to NBA Communications (Twitter link). The Rookie of the Year award will be announced on Monday and the Defensive Player of the Year will be revealed on Tuesday. Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert, respectively, are the favorites for those two awards.
Former NBA forward Will Barton has joined Cangrejeros de Santurce, a Puerto Rican team, according to Sportando. Bardon also had short stints wih CSKA Moscow and Granada this season. Barton played a total of 56 games for Washington and Toronto last season.
In the aftermath of Jontay Porter getting banned from the NBA for gambling-related offenses related to prop bets, the NBA and its partner sportsbooks are discussing changes to combat similar occurrences in the future, David Purdum of ESPN reports. Among the changes that have been discussed is prohibiting betting on players with two-way contracts. There have also been discussions on not allowing bets on the “under” on a player prop, though there are concerns that restricting wagers could push bettors into the unregulated betting market.
Charles Barkley stated on the Dan Patrick Show (Twitter link) that if TNT loses its NBA broadcasting rights, he’ll become a free agent. He’s unsure about “Inside the NBA” moving to another network because host Ernie Johnson said he wouldn’t leave Turner Sports. The NBA is in serious negotiations with NBC, Amazon and ESPN/ABC to split up the broadcasting rights, which could leave TNT out of the picture.

And-Ones: NBA Rosters, Barkley, Vildoza, Wembanyama

October 18th, 2022 at 4:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s opening night rosters feature a total of 120 international players, including a record-setting 22 from Canada and 10 from Australia, the league announced today in a press release. All 30 teams have at least one international player, while the Raptors – the NBA’s only international team – lead the way with eight international players.

Meanwhile, the opening night rosters also include a record-setting 234 players with some G League experience, according to the NBA (Twitter link). All 30 teams are carrying at least four players with G League experience, while the Nets‘ roster features a record 12 players who have spent time in the NBAGL — Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, Markieff Morris, and rookie Alondes Williams are the only Brooklyn players without G League experience.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

The four members of TNT’s Inside the NBA studio show – Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal – have agreed to new multiyear contracts, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports announced this week. Barkley’s new deal covers 10 years and will be worth well above $100MM, reports Andrew Marchand of The New York Post, though Barkley said during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show that there’s “probably zero chance” he’ll stay for the entire 10 years (story via Awful Announcing).
Argentinian guard Luca Vildoza, who spent parts of the last two seasons with the Knicks and Bucks, told Mozzart Sport (hat tip to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops) that he didn’t get the opportunity he had hoped for in the NBA, but that he still feels like he benefited from his time stateside. “I feel better physically and stronger,” Vildoza said as he prepares to resume playing in Europe. He appeared in seven games for Milwaukee during the 2022 postseason, but has yet to play in a regular season NBA contest.
Lakers star LeBron James isn’t the NBA’s highest-paid player in terms of salary this season, but he’ll earn the most money after accounting for endorsements, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico. Baenhausen pegs James’ total 2022/23 earnings at $119.5MM, putting him ahead of Warriors guard Stephen Curry ($93.1MM) and Nets forward Kevin Durant ($91MM).
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report takes a look at which teams can realistically be expected to tank in 2022/23 for a shot to draft Victor Wembanyama next June.

And-Ones: P. Gasol, Draft, Barkley, 2K League

March 24th, 2020 at 9:35am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran NBA big man Pau Gasol talked a couple times in February about the possibility of suiting up for the 2020 Olympics and potentially making an NBA comeback next season. However, with the Olympics being pushed back to 2021 and the NBA currently in a state of flux, Gasol’s comeback efforts are up in the air too.

Speaking to Spanish outlet El Pais, Gasol acknowledged that retirement is an option he continues to consider, given the current global basketball situation and his own recovery from a foot injury.

“With this recovery process and the injury that I have been dealing with for more than a year, it’s undoubtedly inevitable to think about retirement,” Gasol said, per Keith Smith of NBC Sports. “Also, taking into account that I will be 40 years old in a few months. So, it’s definitely on my mind.”

Gasol says he’s focusing on the Gasol Foundation and his other off-court projects for the time being, while he continues to recover. A decision on his next professional step will come at a later date, according to the 39-year-old Spaniard, who adds that right now “the priority is to overcome this pandemic.”

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

The NCAA intends to work with the NBA to adapt to any changes to the 2020 draft calendar, NCAA senior VP of basketball Dan Gavitt said on Monday (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports). For now, with the draft still tentatively scheduled for June 25, NCAA early entrants have until the end of the day on April 26 to declare for the draft, and can withdraw at any time up until June 3 while maintaining their college eligibility.
Former NBA star and current TNT analyst Charles Barkley announced on Monday that he tested negative for COVID-19, as Marc Stein of The New York Times relays (via Twitter). Barkley was tested earlier in March after exhibiting some possible coronavirus symptoms.
Starting this Friday, the NBA 2K League will be hosting a completely online tournament called the Three For All Showdown, which will give fans, influencers, and top female 2K players an opportunity to challenge NBA 2K League teams. Arda Ocal of ESPN has the details on the tournament, which was created in response to the 2K League postponing its season due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Coronavirus Notes: Next Steps, Barkley, Testing

March 13th, 2020 at 8:58am CST by Luke Adams

In addition to recommending that its players self-quarantine through at least March 16, the NBA has told its clubs that each team is “encouraged” to conduct an educational session by Monday for its players and staff to discuss the coronavirus situation, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

While those meetings could happen in person, it seems more likely they’ll take place remotely, given the NBA’s call to self-isolate. According to Charania, several teams already conducted meetings along those lines before the season was suspended on Wednesday.

Here are more updates on the ongoing coronavirus situation:

While the NBA may have its own plans in mind for how and when to resume the season, those plans will be impacted by edicts from local governments. For instance, Adam Hoge of NBC Sports Chicago tweets that the owners of all of Chicago’s major sports teams – including the Bulls – told Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker they won’t host any home games with fans in attendance through at least May 1. New York mayor Bill de Blasio, meanwhile, suggested on Thursday that venues like Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden could be closed for “months,” as Malika Andrew of ESPN tweets.
NBA analyst Charles Barkley said on TNT on Thursday night that he hasn’t been feeling well and has self-quarantined, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Barkley was tested for COVID-19 and is awaiting those results, Feigen adds.
Teams around the NBA want to be able to test their players for the coronavirus, but a limited supply of testing equipment nationwide restricts their ability to do so unless players or staffers are showing symptoms or have definitely come in contact with someone who was affected, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic.
The McDonald’s All American Games – a showcase for high school players – announced on Thursday evening (via Twitter) that its 2020 events have been canceled.

Stein’s Latest: Antetokounmpo, Vucevic, Lakers

February 19th, 2019 at 10:00pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Plenty of teams are hoping for the chance to sign Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Warriors, in particular, have thought about pairing him and Stephen Curry should Kevin Durant leave in free agency, Marc Stein of the New York Times writes in his latest newsletter.

Antetokounmpo would have his pick of suitors on an open market, but as Stein notes, the Greek Freak may never make it to free agency. Antetokounmpo loves Milwaukee and the Bucks have to feel they have a chance at getting him to sign a super-max extension with the team during the summer of 2020—a year prior to him hitting the open market.

Yet, the Warriors will always swing big if given just the tiniest of chances. Antetokounmpo and Curry have selected one another first overall in back-to-back All-Star drafts and the two share a mutual admiration for each other, Stein notes.

Stein, who was honored over the weekend by the Basketball Hall of Fame as a Curt Gowdy Media award recipient, has more in his latest newsletter. Here are some highlights:

The Mavericks‘ interest in Nikola Vucevic may be overstated, Stein hears, adding that he doesn’t get the sense that Dallas will pursue the big man. The Mavs were rumored to have interest in Vucevic as a free agent target this summer.
The Lakers have the ninth-hardest remaining schedule and a playoff birth is no guarantee. “It’s going to be tough, but we shouldn’t want it any other way,” LeBron James said. “I look forward to the challenge — and I’m getting healthy, too.”
Charles Barkley wonders if the advent of super teams will prompt small market owners to try to take back control in future CBA talks. “I hear all these clowns on TV talking about, ‘It’s great that all these players are exuding these powers,’” Barkley told a small group of reporters prior to All-Star weekend. “Let me tell you guys something: Workers ain’t never going to have power over their ownership. Ever. Now it might work for a couple guys here or there, but in the history of the world, no workers have ever overtaken the people who own a business. And when these guys are sitting at home locked out in a couple years, I want y’all to remember I told y’all that.”