"Unless they come to me with something crazy, I’m not leaving TNT" - Charles Barkley speaks on moving on from TNT to join LIV
A flurry of rumors have suggested Charles Barkley could potentially leave TNT's critically acclaimed "Inside the NBA." Barkley spoke about his potential departure from the network after two decades in an appearance on "The Dan Patrick Show."
When asked about how his life had been in the last week by Patrick, Barkley stated:
"It's been very stressful. ... I don't know anything to be honest with you. I met with Greg (Norman), he asked me if I was interested, I said 'I wouldn't have dinner with you if I wasn't interested.' I'm waiting for them to make me an offer, I guess. That's all I know so far, but it's been very stressful on me."
Barkley reaffirmed his love for TNT and his co-panelists on "Inside the NBA" but proclaimed money to be a pivotal facet of his decision. He said:
"I love TNT. I love Ernie (Johnson), Kenny (Smith) and Shaq (O'Neal), but if those dudes threw something crazy at me I have to listen. I mean, I'm not going to get on here and say it's not about the money, of course it's about the money.
dpshow: "I'm not going to get on here and say 'it's not about the money'. Of Course it's about the money."
-Charles Barkley says he has not received an offer from the #LIV Tour yet https://t.co/onOcNPw0wP
"Most people I talk to, they're like 'Sit down with them, listen to what they're offering but they're giving guys $200 million, $150 million' I'd be stupid not to listen to that conversation" (via) FoxSports920
Charles Barkley tells Dan Patrick that he hasn't had any conversations with Turner about him possibly joining LOV. Says Turner has been "very quiet." Barkley also said this about LIV: "Unless they come to me with something crazy, I’m not leaving TNT."
Barkley dined with LIV CEO Greg Norman. He also told Howard Eskin that people were disingenuous with their outrage and that everyone in sports had taken blood money.
He is expected to play in the pro-am on Wednesday before the three-day exhibition that begins on Thursday at Donald Trump's course in New Jersey.
Charles Barkley's departure from TNT will mark an end of an era for sports television
TNT's "Inside the NBA" is almost unanimously considered the best sports show on television.
Barkley joined Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith as studio analysts for Turner Sports in 2000. The show became an instant hit.
The blood-brothers/sworn-enemy dynamic between Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal gave the show a spark of new life. Kenny Smith works as an instigator and Ernie Johnson as the moderator/pacifier for the former NBA players.
"Inside the NBA" has won 17 Emmy awards, with Charles Barkley winning four times as a studio analyst.