Leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first playoff series win since LeBron James’ final season with them wasn’t enough to save head coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s job. He was relieved of his duties a week after their season-ending loss to the Boston Celtics, ending his four-year stint with the franchise. Bickerstaff’s sudden exit surprised many, including NBA great Charles Barkley, who believes the players were responsible for this. He said,
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“I’m so disgusted by these punk a** NBA players today… It’s always somebody else’s fault… [J.B. Bickerstaff] did not deserve to get fired. His second-best player [Jarrett Allen] was out [for the entire series against the Celtics]. This is the NBA today. Players take zero responsibility.”
Barkley also slammed general managers in the NBA as well, claiming that they never take the blame for building underwhelming rosters. Instead, he alleged that they simply fired the head coach when the team inevitably failed to hit the mark they aimed for.
His take is spot on. NBA coaches are often the first to lose their jobs when a team fails to live up to expectations. General managers and players operate with impunity until they run through multiple coaches who fail to deliver the desired results. It’s the unfortunate reality of the business, something that ‘The Chuckster’ has spoken out against over and over again.
Charles Barkley sent a message to the ‘cowards’
When the Phoenix Suns fired head coach Frank Vogel following their playoff exit in the first round, Charles Barkley was beyond enraged. Defending him along with former LA Lakers head coach, Darvin Ham, he said,
“Frank Vogel is a hell of a coach. Darvin Ham is a hell of a coach trying to get his career started; but for all you punks, idiots, and jacka*ses on other networks, who wanna be media, that want all the players to like y’all, do your damn job. The Lakers suck and the Suns suck because of the players. It has nothing to do with the coaches.”
Chuck has something to say when it comes to coaching in the NBA: pic.twitter.com/MnnDZrQr9s
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 2, 2024
Barkley’s passionate defense of coaches is commendable but unfortunately won’t affect the status quo. Head coaches will only continue to lose their jobs, while the executives who construct the rosters and the players will escape criticism until they become repeat offenders. Still, those in the hot seat will take solace in the fact that they have a motivated spokesperson looking out for them.
