Sir Charles said take your anger somewhere else. After the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns made early playoffs exits, the heat is on both team’s head coaches. But Charles Barkley is not having it. He’s usually taking defeats to heart, but this time it’s different. He came to the defense of Darvin Ham and Frank Vogel with a reminder their jobs are very difficult as it is.

“Frank Vogel is a hell of a coach. Darvin Ham is a hell of a coach trying to get his career started,” he said. He proceeded to call out rival analysts who’ve been calling for their firing. “All you punks, idiots, and jacka**es on other networks who want to be in the media and want all the players to like y’all, do your damn jobs.”

“Anybody who thinks the reason the Lakers suck is because of Darvin Ham and, the reason the Suns suck is because of Frank Vogel, you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Barkley said on Inside the NBA. The Suns were swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves while the Lakers got only one win in the series before the Nuggets sent them packing. Through the entire postseason saga, the heat was directed to the respective head coaches. But who does Chuck thinks deserves it more? “The Lakers suck and the Suns suck because of the players. Has nothing to do with the coaches.” 

Once he ranted, Chuck said he felt better now. That would however leave a bitter taste in everyone’s mouths who want consequences on someone. On The Big Podcast, Shaquille O’Neal even hinted that Lakers could crack the whip on Ham. Barkley subscribes to a different notion that coaches don’t deserve the blame. He even praised both the coaches.

Chuck’s appeal doesn’t help

Darvin Ham has had most of the NBA community breathing down his neck since the Lakers won the in-season tournament. Vogel’s first year of having the Booker-Beal-Durant superteam tanked with a sweep. A lot of the chatter about their responsibility is coming from sportscasters.

Chuck very explicitly calls those analysts “cowards.” He alleged that media analysts are blaming the coaches because they want to be likable to the players. Barkley instead blames the managers who put the “trash a** teams” together and deserve the public outrage more.

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Barkley is not wrong but the sentiments aren’t easily cooled with his rant. Ham and Vogel are effectively under the bus already. Ham won 47 games this season and Vogel won 49 games, with both managing to lead their teams to the playoffs. However, their postseason success didn’t tally with the regular season. The Lakers and Suns are reviewing if a change of guard is in order. Which means, even after Chuck’s emotional appeal, Ham and Vogel’s job security is nonexistent.