Interesting comments by Barkley

[KingKong]

Barkley is right, it's unfortunate. But it pretty much ends there. The Lakers won three championships, all consecutively, becoming only the 4th team in history to 3-peat. They made 4 Finals in 5 years and were the best team of their era. It's not like they failed to do what they were supposed to do.

But facts are that the Lakers didn't win anything the last two seasons, and Shaq was (is) on the decline. Shaq and Kobe weren't going to win anymore championships together unless FAs fell in their lap again like it did in the summer of 2003. Better to rebuild around your youngest player instead of wasting two years of his prime with Shaq getting fatter and less dominant each season.

And technically speaking, only Shaq was really in his prime during the 3-peat.

I agree with KA_2, the fat lady's been singing for the past 2 years and obviously Barkley hasn't heard her yet. Shaq's been on decline for the past 2-3 years and injuries has curtailed his dominance. That Laker team wasn't going to win any more championships unless of course they added some new pieces to their aging roster which wasn't going to happen with Shaq and Kobe's enormous contracts. The chemistry between the two superstars is irrelevant, as is the fact that the comment came from Charles. Great players always want to win but that wasn't happening for the Lakers after their 3-peat regardless of the bad blood between the two superstars.

 

[Gargamel]

Whatever the hell that's supposed to mean... :|

Means it makes me feel confused and inadequate. You know...it's HAAARRD work. HAARRD.

 

[AceKingSuited]

Why is that wrong simply because Barkley was the one who said it? He wasn't speaking specifically for himself, although he was speaking from the heart about how he felt seeing those two and their continuing soap opera.

Because he comes off as a hypocrite.

Sorry VF. You know I got love for ya, but I just can't agree that Shaq or Kobe have an obligation to league veterans to put on an act and be something they're not...nice people. Shaq and Kobe are arrogant, self absorbed jerks, and even the LA fans know it. I agree that it's unfortunate that players like Malone, Payton, and Stockton (hell, even Barkley) never got a ring. And it's equally unfortunate that someone like Samaki Walker is a World Champion.

But what does that tell us? That Walker is better than Malone? Of course not. Legendary talent is no guarantee of a ring, and that's one of the sad, unexplainable facts of the game.

This comment by Barkley sounds like he's still holding a lot of unresolved feelings about never having won the Big One, and facts are...Shaq and Kobe have nothing to do with that. Perhaps one day he will come to grips with it, but in the meantime blaming others isn't going to get him anything but a little attention on PTI.

 

[C Diddy]

I have a hard time believing this truly came from Charles' heart anyway. It sounds much more like a pity me because I never won a ring comment.


I'm gonna take an outside opinion here and say that people are more inclined to believe the message because it has something negative to say about O'Neal and Bryant. It seems like anything said or written negatively about either of them lately, especially Bryant, becomes immediate doctrine required to be accepted by all.

Sure, no one likes Bryant, or Shaq, but that doesn't make what Charles said hold any water. He has no crediibility to deliver that message and the message itself isn't an opinion I'm inclined to believe in. Where's the argument from Charles that Jordan insulted him by retiring after his father died and not winning 8 titles in a row? I mean, come on Mike, you owe it to the "greats" who never won a ring to play through off the court struggles when you could of won 2 more titles.

Its a stretch, I know. But Barkley hasnt shown me that Shaq and Kobe has somehow insulted him as much as Barkley has shown to me that he holds a lot of spite for the ring holders because he himself could never put his teams over the top.

 

[Gargamel]

I have a hard time believing this truly came from Charles' heart anyway. It sounds much more like a pity me because I never won a ring comment.

I'm gonna take an outside opinion here and say that people are more inclined to believe the message because it has something negative to say about O'Neal and Bryant. It seems like anything said or written negatively about either of them lately, especially Bryant, becomes immediate doctrine required to be accepted by all.

Two thumbs up.

 

[VF21]

I believe the message because I have a lot of sympathy for the truly greats who never won rings. How can they NOT be a little frustrated by the childish actions of ANYONE who would treat the whole thing so cavalierly?

 

[Gargamel]

I believe the message because I have a lot of sympathy for the truly greats who never won rings. How can they NOT be a little frustrated by the childish actions of ANYONE who would treat the whole thing so cavalierly?

But Charles can't point the finger and moan about others' childishness and we all know it. During his best years, he was busy getting ripped at bars during the season, coming into camp fat (and I do mean fat for those who don't remember), throwing people out of windows, fighting with numerous other players on court, spitting at fans, jumping over scorers tables to chase refs into tunnels, elbowing Angolans, etc. He also used to make childish comments about his runningmate KJ. He once told the media that KJ missed a game because he was having his period. I find it amusing that he's being treated like some martyr who toiled away while living up to every bit of his potential. When we think of such a PF, we're actually thinking of Karl Malone, not Charles Barkley...but we all hate Karl the bandwagoner, don't we, so we aren't about to defend his honor like we would Chuck's.

Wake me when ringless wonders such as Nique, Ewing, or Koko Archibong make the sentiment that Chuck is failing to make in a convincing manner.

Finally, to quote the moronic donkey rump kissing hypocrite: [font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"If you have a disagreement with somebody, you don't have to apologize to them. I ain't gonna apologize to that motherf***er I threw through the window in Orlando."

[/font][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Going by that refrain, Chuck really believes that Kobe and Shaq's disagreements aren't that big of a deal. But, as usual, he's making another one of his patented waffle comments where he conveniently changes his POV to suit his mood. In two months, he'll say that it didn't matter that Kobe and Shaq fueded as long as they got the job done.
[/font][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/font]

 

[VF21]

Charles spews an almost infinite amount of drivel. But, just like the old theory about how an infinite number of monkey typing would eventually produce the works of Shakespeare, he occasionally says something that actually makes sense. I still think, in this situation, he made a valid point.

The "ringless wonders" as you call them would NOT stand up and say anything. They, quite frankly, have too much class to get dragged into this whole sordid mess. Barkley said it for them, and I am willing to bet at least a couple of them nodded their heads in agreement.