With expectations from the Phoenix Suns and the LA Lakers to be among the most dominant teams in the 2023-24 season, and with both being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, many were quick to point fingers at their head coaches.
In the wake of this criticism and speculations regarding the future of Frank Vogel and Darvin Ham, Charles Barkley blamed the players of both teams for the abysmal state of their franchise and called them out for failing to take accountability. In response, Gilbert Arenas , while highlighting the hypocrisy of The Chuckster in those comments, addressed just why he doesn't like him.
Barkley wanted no shades to be thrown at respective head coaches
While criticizing analysts from other networks, Barkley called them out for their failure to recognize that general managers and owners who assemble star-studded teams lacking depth are to blame for the Suns and Lakers' abysmal seasons rather than solely pointing fingers at coaches like Ham and Vogel.
The 11-time All-Star labeled them as jacka**es who only provide their takes to garner appreciation from modern-day players.
"Anybody who thinks the reason the Lakers suck is because of Darvin Ham or the reason the Suns suck is because of Frank Vogel, you don't know what you're talking about," Barkley said. "Frank Vogel is a hell of a coach. Darvin Ham is a hell of a coach, but for all you punks, idiots, and jacka**es on other networks, who want all the other players to like you all, do your damn job. The Lakers suck and the Suns suck because of the players; has nothing to do with the coaches."
Arenas on just why he doesn't like Barkley
While Barkley refrained from mentioning names in particular, Agent Zero was among the new media analysts who criticized the head coaches' decisions game after game as the Suns and Lakers suffered losses in the 2024 playoffs. As a result, the panelists of Gil's Arenas podcast speculated whether the 1993 MVP was indeed referring to Arenas.
In response, the 3-time All-Star took aim at Barkley's personal history, highlighting the latter's struggles to take accountability when he was letting his team down due to being out of shape and struggling with gambling addiction. Moreover, Arenas asserted how modern-day players spend practically the entire day in the game to win at all costs, unlike Barkley, who dealt with numerous distractions.
"I don't like him," Arenas said. "I just don't like how he talks about whose fault it is because when he was playing he didn't take no responsibility for what was going on with him, right?... Whose fault was it when they went 41-41 and he needed to leave to try to win a championship? Then when he got to Houston, the team that won the championship, who was out of shape?... where was the responsibility then? I hate when you get to a certain stage and start throwing shots when you were a problem yourself when you played."
Given the confrontational nature of both these former players, neither of them is likely to shy away from airing their grievances on a public platform. Now, it remains to be seen whether the Inside NBA analyst will address Arenas' comments about him directly and escalate the situation further.
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