Charles Barkley said JJ Redick “is a dead man walking” in his first year as head coach of the Lakers.
During Thursday’s “Inside the NBA,” Barkley ripped Redick for comments he made about NBA ratings last month — when the former ESPN analyst placed blame on the league’s media partners for fueling negative talk about their own product — and predicted he won’t be at the helm long in Los Angeles.
“He said something about, ‘We’re the reasons people ain’t watching this crappy product we got,’ like we out there jacking up a hundred 3s a night,” Barkley said in the midst of host Ernie Johnson voicing the highlights of Boston’s 118-115 win over Minnesota. “JJ, you come for the king you better not miss, because I can get you brother.
“Remember, I got your Lakers’ games. You can’t hide them flaws they got. You just a dead man walking. They got rid of [former coach] Frank Vogel, who did a good job. They got rid of [former coach] Darvin Ham, who did a good job. But you came out there thinking you were gonna change things with that same ugly girl you went on a date with.”
The TNT crew couldn’t contain their laughter while Johnson attempted to move on by continuing the game highlights.
“He came in there thinking, ‘I can make this thing work,’” Barkley said of Redick leaving his ESPN job and his basketball podcast with Lakers star LeBron James to coach the team. “Hell you can! Put some makeup on that pig! The Lakers stink, man. Come on, man.”
The Lakers are in sixth place in the Western Conference with a 19-14 record.
Barkley was referring to Redick’s comments he made last month while discussing the NBA TV ratings being down.
“I don’t think we … have done a good job of storytelling, of celebrating the game,” Redick said before the Lakers beat the Kings, 113-100, on Dec. 19. “If I’m a casual fan and you tell me every time I turn on the television that the product sucks, well, I’m not going to watch the product. And that’s really what has happened over the last 10 to 15 years. I don’t know why. It’s not funny to me.”
Redick, a 15-year NBA guard, cited “national partners” among those who played a part in the negative discourse, according to The Athletic.
The Lakers coach didn’t name anyone in particular.
“This game should be celebrated,” Redick said. “The league is more talented and skilled than it was 18 years ago when I was drafted. That’s a fact. There are more players that are excellent. There are more teams that are excellent.”
The TNT “Inside the NBA” crew, including Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal have been critical of an emphasis on 3-pointers amid sinking ratings.
The Lakers are set to face the 76ers in a TNT broadcast on Jan. 28.