Kyrie Irving #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers (Jason Miller/Getty Images/AFP)
NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley is not one to hold his tongue regarding issues in today’s NBA and he recently chimed in on Kyrie Irving’s supposed request to be traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
READ: Cavs star Kyrie Irving reportedly requests trade
The outspoken player-turned-analyst shared how baffled he was by the notion of Irving’s displeasure playing second fiddle to teammate LeBron James.
“You want to be on a good team. You want to play with other great players. This notion where you want to be the man, I just think is so stupid,” he said during an interview on NBA TV, as relayed by Bleacher Report.
“If I got a chance to play with another great player, I want to do that. The objective is to win,” he said.
The 1993 NBA MVP also recalled Irving’s early years with the Cavaliers while LeBron was still playing for the Miami Heat.
“When he was on a bad team and he was the man, I guarantee you that wasn’t a lot of fun for him,” he explained. “And now you want to leave the best player in the world. And listen, I hear all of this stuff about how LeBron casts a big shadow. He should cast a big shadow.”
Barkley, meanwhile, certainly knows a thing or two about accepting a lesser role, as he joined fellow legends Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler at the twilight of his career in the 1996-1997 season.
Although Barkley acknowledges that at 25 Irving is still in his prime with his best days ahead of him, he further explained why winning a championship remains the most important thing.
“You wanna share the glory. You wanna win. Right now, there’s only two, three, maybe four legitimate teams in the NBA,” he concluded. “If you’re not on one of those four or five teams, you’re really just wasting your time for seven months. So I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to play with LeBron. Listen, I wanna play with LeBron now!” Khristian Ibarrola /ra
RELATED STORY:
Was LeBron James’ tweet a shot at teammate Kyrie Irving?