*He may be old school, but Charles Barkley is very much in the here and now with his view on load management in the NBA. To hear him tell it, players making millions without fans getting the most bang for their buck is unacceptable.
“When we have guys making 80, 90, a hundred million dollars, not playing back-to-back games, that to me (is the biggest problem),” Barkley expressed recently on “The Dan Patrick Show.” “When the new TV deal kicks in next year, and you got a guy making 85 million dollars and he says, you know what, I’m not gonna lay back-to-back games, it’s ridiculous to think fans are gonna pay as much as it costs to go to games now.”
“We can’t have a guy making 95 million dollars saying, ‘I can’t play basketball four days a week,'” he added.
Barkley’s comments come as the league catches flack related to Joel Embiid view that he would not play back-to-back games for the rest of his career. The topic is not new to Barkley, who BasketballNetwork noted, weighed in on with his “Inside the NBA co-host Shaquille O’Neal. Crazy ticket prices should not be paid by fans, Barkley stated while also putting the prices for the NBA’s official subscription service, the NBA League Pass, in the “unfair” category.
“In fairness, most teams play three games a week but let’s say hypothetically you play four games. You can’t ask fans to pay that money for a guy making $95 million and won’t play back-to-back games. If anybody thinks that’s a good idea, they’re crazy,” the original Dream Team member said.
In late October, an investigation into Embiid’s playing status was opened by the NBA. The action was part of the league’s standard procedure to ensure teams follow protocol, BasketballNework, noted, adding that Embiid was cleared of violating the player participation policy.
Although he was cleared, the league fined Embiid’s team, the Philadelphia 76ers, $100,000 for inconsistent statements about the 30-year-old former Kansas Jayhawks standout’s injury.
Barkley isn’t alone in his opinion about load management. For those who competed in the pros with the ex-Phoenix Sun, the “put your head down” approach is what they know and promote. That old school notion of: play if you can and sit out if only if you’re injured. Never plan to take days off ahead of time because it might come back and haunt you in the end.
“You play basketball, man. We’re the luckiest dudes in the world,” Barkley voiced. “This is the thing that bothers me with the entire 76ers team: Number one, you don’t tell people you’re not gonna play back-to-back games. That’s where the stupidity started. But also, if you’re tired or a little sore, which every basketball player is during the season, hey, you know what, Coach, I’m gonna play 25 minutes tonight; I’m not gonna play 42.”
So what say you? Do you agree with Barkley and feel load management is something that could be a major problem if it isn’t put in check or is he overreacting to Embiid’s situation and load management in general
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