11-time NBA All-Star Charles Barkley is known for his outspoken nature. Basically, he's a man who will tell you exactly what's on his mind and not think twice about it. For better or worse, that's who he is.

Barkley, now 55 years of age, recently sat down for an interview to discuss his new deal with Panini America. Amid the wide-ranging discussion, “Sir Charles,” as he's known, noted that he doesn't like the environment the Los Angeles Lakers are building for their young players.

Via Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated:

“I don’t like what (the Lakers) are doing,” Barkley said during a promotional interview for his new deal with Panini. “It’s going to take away from their young nucleus. They’ve got some good young players. You’re trying to set up Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Kyle Kuzma. With all that other stuff going on, I don’t know if that’s a good environment for those kids.”

Barkley may have a point, but let's not jump to conclusions.

As most hoops fans know, the Lakers acquired several new players through trades and other means this offseason, including LeBron James, Rajon Rondo, JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson, and Michael Beasley. If the team is indeed trying to build a young core, as most reports suggest, these names don't fit the proverbial bill. In fact, the average age of the five new Lakers is 30.2. Age is just a number, though. Productivity is what matters most.

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Though he's widely viewed as the best player in today's NBA, there is a certain amount of hype that comes with having LeBron James on your team. It's simply inevitable. How the younger Lakers will fare in that setting remains to be seen. Will they thrive under his leadership? Or will the added media attention become a nuisance?

Another factor the Lakers will have to consider is “touches.” James is certainly a pass-first kind of guy, but with so many talented players on the roster, it's hard to say exactly how the workload will be distributed.

“That’s an impossible scenario for Luke,” Barkley said, referring to Lakers head coach Luke Walton. “He’s got LeBron, who is going to do things his way. He’s got those young kids who are probably in awe of LeBron. He’s got those older guys who are going to try to seek attention. I don’t think Lance and Rondo are going there to be the ninth or 10th guys on the bench and be quiet all year. They’re going to want touches.”

Though Chuck seems confident in his opinion, we shouldn't write the Lakers off just yet. Who knows? Maybe James leads that squad back to Western Conference prominence.