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Suns Legend Charles Barkley Makes Intense Choice of Preference Between Kyrie Irving and James Harden: “Brings a Lot of Baggage”

Published 06/05/2022, 2:14 PM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

Charles Barkley was one of the greatest players of his generation. The power forward was a little smaller than usual power forwards, but he made it up with his heart and talents. After a successful playing career, he transitioned into broadcasting. He was part of the NBA on TNT panel as a co-host for over twenty years and was never afraid to speak his mind.

Recently, during an interview on the Dan Patrick Show, he was asked about James Harden and Kyrie Irving. When asked whether he would give a contract extension to Harden or Kyrie, Chuck said, ” Wow man, you really wow Dan… probably Kyrie.”

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He explained it by saying, “You know both guys got to take a hard look in the mirror because it was not a good look this year for either one  of them.. and the problem you got with James you are gonna start paying him money when he gets old if you sign him to a contract extension.

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He continued, “Kyrie, as crazy as he can be, he’s probably one of the five greatest one-on-one basketball players I have seen… but man he brings a lot of baggage, and the one thing you can’t do in sports you can’t have a lot of baggage… it’s hard enough to win it’s really hard to win.. but when you have stuff going on.. but when you have stuff going on in the locker room, it’s gonna end badly.”

An offseason of importance

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As the season ended in Brooklyn and Philadelphia, two big questions loomed. First, with Harden, the 76ers have a decision to make. Harden for the past two years has dealt with multiple injuries and looks like a shell of the player he was in Houston.

Charles Barkley: “Nobody Told Michael Jordan After 4 or 5 Years, You Gotta Get Outta Here, You Not Gonna Win a Championship. Things Started Getting Crazy With Lebron James”

Knowing he has injury concerns now and is not the player you wanted him to be. If they let him go, then trading Ben Simmons along with two starters and future picks is too costly of a rental for a front office to explain.

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USA Today via Reuters

With Kyrie, it is less of an injury issue but more of an availability issue. Will he be able to lock in and play the full season with the team? Injury issues exist with him too, but they are less frequent. Will he take a lesser deal than a max contract? Or will the Nets look to sign and trade him? Let us know in the comments below your predictions for the offseason.

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Written by:

Nirjhar Sharma

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Nirjhar Sharma is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He is a sports enthusiast who follows all major sports and has been watching the NBA for the past 7 years now. A firm believer in the 'Greek Freak' being the best player in the league right now, he believes that the Bucks are primed for another championship run unless the injury bug bites them.
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Edited by:

Arunaditya Aima