“He’s so wrong and so uninformed on so many levels” - Skip Bayless says Charles Barkley’s comments on Kevin Durant "piggybacking" make him sick
Charles Barkley ripped into Kevin Durant after the Brooklyn Nets confirmed that Durant was staying with the team. Skip Bayless believes Chuck was uninformed and disagreed with the bulk of what the analyst said.
Barkley commented on the transfer saga, calling the two-time NBA champ miserable and reiterated his "bus rider" stance. Barkley said that Durant had failed to lead his own team and was carried to two championships.
Durant has been under scrutiny since he rescinded his trade request after demanding general manager Sean Marks and coach Steve Nash be fired. The conversation has surrounded his happiness, with several people saying the superstar is not happy.
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On "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed:," Bayless refuted many of Barkley's claims. He stated that while KD might be "miserable," he did not piggyback to win the 2017 and 2018 championships.
"I've never seen anything quite like it. Now I will give you the 'Mr. Miserable,' Charles Barkley. 'Can't seem to find happiness, Mr. Sour Puss, Mr thin-skinned,' well, I get all that. But I gotta tell you, in everything that Charles said other than Mr. Miserable, he is so wrong and so uninformed.
"On so many levels that it really just makes me sick when I read this. So, I'm gonna start with the keyword here piggybacked. He's saying that Kevin Durant piggybacked the Golden State Warriors to back-to-back championships.
Bayless then talked about how the Golden State Warriors lost a 3-1 series lead to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"Remember when Draymond Green fled into the parking lot at Oracle. While crying crocodile tears and via cell phone called Kevin Durant and said 'Please, please come save us.' So, piggybacked is just flat-out dead wrong. They sought Kevin because they knew they couldn't beat LeBron without Kevin.
"They knew if it came down to superstar versus superstar, ... they were not going to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers without the nuclear weapon who is Kevin Durant."
Bayless then praised Durant's physical attributes and how they separated him from Steph Curry.
"Kevin Durant is more valuable than Steph simply because he's 7 feet tall and like 7 feet 5 inches long and can shoot the lights out. Maybe not quite like Steph can, but it's pretty close to what he can do, especially from mid-range. They needed a difference maker and they went and got him.
"Steph drove up in a Maserati, got out, went over to the passenger door, got in, and said you drive, Kevin. Well, piggybacked? Are you kidding me? He didn't piggyback. If you want to say he was the pig, he was it. ... So how do you dismiss what he did at Golden State as piggyback? Help me out."
Charles Barkley said Kevin Durant has been an abject failure as a leader
Since Kevin Durant left the Warriors, he hasn't had success in the playoffs or in being a leader. As a result, the NBA community has trolled the two-time champ for his failures.
Last season, Chuck called Durant a bus rider, which prompted several back-and-forths between the two. Durant attempted to point out that Chuck also partnered with superstars in pursuit of a championship.
More recently, Chuck had a few more words for Durant. The analyst said he piggybacked for the two championships and needs to be more responsible as a leader.
On "ArizonaSports987," he said:
"All the old guys, he get mad we say it, he piggybacked on the Warriors to win his first two championships. But if you go back and look at his career, as the best player and being the leader that all goes with that, he’s been an abject failure.
Every time he’s had to be the leader and best player, he has not had success. That’s what us old guys think about him. ... He has to deal with all responsibility and all the media stuff that goes with it, expectations. We are always going to hold that against him."
Durant has at least four years to prove his doubters wrong. So far with the Nets, he has not made it past the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Nets are one of the favorites to win the 2023 title because of their current roster.