This upcoming NBA season is the last time the ‘Inside the NBA’ show will officially broadcast. That means the likes of Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson might part ways in a year’s time. But this was not supposed to be, as Barkley expected TNT to compete and stay on, even messing with his retirement plans.
The ’round mound of rebound’ was a guest on the latest episode of The Bill Simmons Show. When asked about the situation at TNT, Barkley said:
My original gameplan was to retire at 60. They’re like, ‘You got to stay till the new deal is done’.
Charles Barkley on his retirement plans
Hearing this, host Bill Simmons asked if that was their ploy to keep him till the negotiations were over. Barkley replied:
Yes, but little did I know they were going to f*** that up. I was like, ‘You guys been great to me. I’ll stay for two more years’. Next year was supposed to be my last year, and I was going to walk off into the sunset.
Charles Barkley said
That sums up what caused Charles Barkley to rant about all the time. He knew TNT not doing their bit to get the NBA deal was messing up his plans.
As mentioned in the discussion, TNT already messed up his plan to retire at 60, asking him to stick around until they green lighted the new deal. Now the deal has gone to Amazon. This means TNT will air its last Inside the NBA episode on one of the Conference Finals finales next season.
But Charles Barkley is still contracted to the network. He did claim that he would retire after next season but has since changed his stance. TNT apparently want to continue with the show despite not being able to use live coverage.
TNT want to continue Inside the NBA with Charles Barkley
Further into the discussion, Charles Barkley revealed what TNT wants to do next. They have lost the NBA media rights deal, but they still want to continue with the show.
It’s interesting as I have 0 idea what we’re gonna do. I’m sitting in this meeting, they’re like ‘We wanna keep doing the show. We wanna keep you all together’. I said, ‘What are we going to do?’. They are like ‘We haven’t figured that out yet’.
Charles Barkley said
It seems TNT wants to continue with the crew until the former league MVP retires after the 2025-26 season. But Barkley cannot understand how they will do it.
TNT will have to pay either NBC, Amazon or ESPN to use highlights or clips from games or interviews. They will also not be able to talk to players before or after games. TNT told the Hall of Famer that they are still working on how to do the show.
It might not be a live experience considering the costs involved. But if TNT can pull off by continuing with the show without having to pay the billions, it might entice Charles Barkley to postpone his retirement and continue for some time.
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