Charles Barkley was as outspoken as ever during the lead-up to NBA's All-Star Weekend. The Hall of Famer sounded off on the state of player empowerment in the wake of Kevin Durant's trade to the Phoenix Suns. He dropped a rather ominous prediction as well.
Barkley believes that players asking out when they're fresh off signing a new contract with their team, just as Durant did, will ultimately trigger an NBA lockout that will see team owners lobbying for change, via Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake City Tribune:
“You can’t take my money and say you want to divorce me in six months to a year, because you can only get the max from this team. You can’t take all my money, then say ‘hey, I want a divorce.’ So I’m pretty sure that’s the next thing that’s gonna come out of the CBA. I have no doubt in my mind that these guys are gonna get locked out. These owners, you can’t take all their money and treat these owners and fans like crap. No doubt in my mind these guys are gonna get locked out, because these owners aren’t going to be standing for this.”
Kevin Durant is undoubtedly the most high-profile player that pulled off what Barkley sounded off on, but he's hardly the only one. We saw Ben Simmons hold the Philadelphia 76ers hostage for an entire year, leaving the team little recourse but to trade him not long after his $170 million max contract kicked in.
With the current collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and its Players Association potentially up for renegotiation as soon as this coming offseason, should either side opt out, this issue will surely be a major point of discussion. After Durant's trade this season that sent shockwaves across the league, Barkley feels it's only a matter of time before another NBA lockout ensues.
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