Basketball icon Charles Barkley has expressed admiration for Dan Hurley, the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the NBA Finals. However, he's not particularly pleased with ESPN's recent coverage of these subjects.
During his appearance on Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich, Charles Barkley criticized ESPN for dedicating a considerable amount of their NBA Finals coverage to discussing the possibility of UConn head coach Dan Hurley joining the Los Angeles Lakers.
On the morning preceding Game 1 of the NBA Finals, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski made waves with a report, suggesting that the Lakers are eyeing UConn’s Dan Hurley as a potential candidate for their head coaching position. This news, following the previous focus on ESPN’s JJ Redick as the top contender, shifted the network's attention towards discussing Hurley, possibly diverting from their planned NBA Finals coverage.
Charles Barkley's frustration with ESPN
Barkley expressed frustration with ESPN's programming choices, particularly their focus on the possibility of Dan Hurley joining the Lakers during significant events like Game 1 of the NBA Finals and Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. While he wished Hurley well if he were to take the Lakers job, Barkley felt that ESPN should have prioritized coverage of the ongoing games instead.
“I was so pissed yesterday, I had to turn my TV off…This is how stupid they are. Y’all got the Stanley Cup Finals and the NBA Finals and y’all talking about a team that’s irrelevant. And I’m like, whoever’s doing their programming has got to be the stupidest, most boneheaded people in the world,” Barkley passionately said.
Barkley continued his tirade of ESPN’s programming stating, “If he goes, we’ll talk about it, but to just go in there and blow air for an hour and then say, ‘Oh, by the way, we got game one of the Finals coming up tonight.’ I was like, who the hell is running their programming over there?”
Questionable ESPN programming
“I’m like, what kind of idiots are running this network? I said, ‘that was crazy’…I just thought it was so stupid of ESPN yesterday just like, ‘Wait a minute, y’all got the biggest game of the NBA season coming on tonight. And y’all spent the first hour talking about if Dan Hurley goes to the Lakers,” the veteran TNT analyst emphasized.
Barkley has been critical of ESPN's programming choices in the past, and oftentimes he has a point. However, ESPN covering the unexpected news of Hurley's potential move to the Lakers during a significant event like the NBA Finals is understandable.
The former Phoenix sun superstar Barkley did circle back to the topic though. He spoke highly of Hurley, acknowledging his potential move to the Lakers, but also pointed out that such a move would likely need the approval of star player LeBron James.
Hurley, who recently guided the Huskies to consecutive national championships, was reportedly scheduled to hold discussions with Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka in Southern California on Friday, as per ESPN.
Both sides reportedly share mutual interest, which comes after previous reports indicating the Lakers have also been seriously considering former NBA player and current ESPN analyst J.J. Redick for their head coaching role.
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