“Charles will be Charles. ESPN might want to cover their ears.” The warning came in as Charles Barkley had already begun. The recent deal between Warner Bros. Discovery and the NBA is making waves, especially since it’s bringing the iconic Inside the NBA crew to ESPN. This is great news for the show’s fans, but Barkley has already pointed out the downside.

“Times have changed, Kenny. We gotta go back to kissing a**,” Barkley said. It seems like a dig at the new deal that will move him to ESPN. The show will, however, still be licensed by TNT. As per the sources, TNT will also retain complete editorial control. So, Chuck should not have much of an issue with the new setup.

Especially because the 11x All-Star’s strongest desire was to save the jobs of others in the network, and this deal most likely provided what he wanted. Charles Barkley’s willingness to take a pay cut showed his seriousness about it.

“My number one priority is to keep people working at Turner. That’s always been my number one priority… They [TNT management] said they’re gonna keep doing the show. And I said, ‘do. I’ll take a pay cut…’ They said, ‘that’s not necessary,'” Chuck revealed on the Dan Patrick Show earlier this year.   

Some may wonder if the deal can solve Barkley’s ultimate concern: why he seemingly hit ESPN with his “back to kissing a**” comment. Well, the 11x All-Star has earlier expressed his love for the network. But taking shots at ESPN seems to be a thing for Barkley.

In fact, it was before this deal that he commented that ESPN can never create a show like Inside the NBA, let alone other networks. It’s funny how the show itself will now move to the very same network Chuck dissed.  

Charles Barkley has had his share of issues with ESPN analysts as well

If there’s one thing Charles Barkley is known for—aside from his Hall of Fame basketball career—it’s his unfiltered opinions. And when those opinions clash with others, sparks fly. Take, for instance, his critique of Team USA’s wobbly Olympic performance.

Remember their nail-biter against Serbia in the semi-finals? Sure, they had the gold, but Barkley didn’t hold back, calling out their struggles. Then came Kendrick Perkins’s stand against Chuck. Perk, a regular on ESPN, publicly disagreed with Barkley. What followed, however, was classic Barkley.

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The 11x All-Star clapped back, saying, “First of all, listen, don’t bring up a guy who averaged five points a game. I’m not gonna stoop to his level. You average five points a game. Shut the hell up!” From his strong standpoints, it’s clear that Charles Barkley will do anything but go “kissing a**”, even if he’s on a different network.