"He’s the common denominator, he was just an a**” - Charles Barkley leaves the 'Inside the NBA' crew in splits as he takes a dig at Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley are vital parts of the 'NBA on TNT' show. Both are Hall of Famers who bring in their basketball expertise while also managing to entertain the audience. They share a unique bond which includes a lot of banter and arguments,
In yet another episode, Charles Barkley was seen taking a dig at Shaquille O'Neal as a teammate. They discussed Will Barton and DeMarcus Cousins arguing on the sidelines after the Denver Nuggets' blowout 126-106 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
While sharing his thoughts with the crew members, Shaq said:
"I've had this situation many times and sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes it brings you closer together. I don't want to stand up here and say I'm a great player and act like that never happened."
"I've had fights with every team I've been on, me and Nick Anderson, me and Penny, me and Kobe, me and D-Wade. And sometimes situations like that you go in the locker room, and you talk, in the end we're not going to fight, we are brothers, we just frustrated that we're getting embarrassed on TV."
Barkley wasted no time in taking a dig at his crewmate. His comments left the other crewmates in splits. The former Suns player said:
"And the bottom line is, Shaq had all of those fights, not like he was the common denominator, he was just an ass."
Charles Barkley with perfect timing to take a shot Shaq “He’s the common denominator, he was just an ass” https://t.co/03L5Lafd7A
Shaquille O'Neal teamed up with the likes of Kobe Bryant, Penny Hardaway, Dwayne Wade and LeBron James. He won four championships and established his name as the most dominant player in the history of the game.
Although there were question marks about his work ethic, Shaq never failed to bring his best to the court. He certainly had a lot of tussles with his teammates, but when it came time to deliver on the court, the big man never backed out and performed at an elite level every time he played.
Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley share their thoughts on the Barton-Cousins scuffle
Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley are no strangers to taking shots at their own teammates. They have stated this multiple times and their experience on such topics is definitely of high gravitas.
Speaking about the whole situation, Shaq said:
"The main guy is frustrated, everybody is frustrated and it just leads down. You got guys like DeMarcus Cousins, I don't know what happened, so I'm not going to speculate, so everybody is frustrated and I'm coming over to the bench and you say something, it's just going to boil over."
Will Barton and DeMarcus Cousins. 👀
https://t.co/UZNKSIEIg4
Barkley offered his take on how the coach of the Nuggets, Michael Malone, should handle the situation. He said:
"If I'm Mike Malone, I'd say, 'Listen guys, we can't beat these guys if we're gonna fight with each other. It's hard enough to beat them, we gonna fight with each other? We cant have that BS on the bench.' DeMarcus, you know you're reputation, you don't get the benefit of the doubt, you dont ever get the benefit of the doubt."
"His track record says what it is, so he don't get the benefit of the doubt. But as a coach you have to lock that down and say, ' Guys we're gonna go back home, we cant win if y'all gonna fight, but most importantly we gotta play better."
"If I'm Michael Malone, I say 'Listen guys... We can't beat these guys if we gonna fight with each other.'"
@SHAQ & Chuck talk Denver's scuffle on the bench in Game 2. https://t.co/gwUf8Ac6AH
Undoubtedly, it will only be good for the Nuggets if both these stars resolve their issues. Barton and Cousins are integral parts of the team and if they aren't on the same page, it may cause disharmony which will in turn lead to the Nuggets crumbling down against the Golden State Warriors.