The never shy, always loquacious Charles Barkley continued his outspoken streak by criticizing the Washington Wizards.
Sir Charles said
the Wizards wouldn't be in such a bad state if had they listened to him.
"You know, I told that team three years ago: (Bradley) Beal and (John) Wall can’t play together,"
Barkley said. "They should’ve traded one of them two years ago when I said that."
"They were just a (middling) team and it’s unfortunate because I like Scott (Brooks) a lot. I think he’s a good coach, too,” he said of
his former roommate and the current Washington head coach.
Brooks, who has
taking a bit of heat for the Wizards (24-34) down season, did manage two playoff trips in his first two seasons with Wall and Beal on the roster. However, Wall missed the second half of the 2017-18 season due to injury before losing this season to
a heel surgery and next season to a
raptured Achilles tendon.
"My love for the game is still there and I'll come back and conquer this like it was just a little step in the road," Wall said. "People doubted me, I prove a lot of people wrong."
“It’s amazing what happens when they actually pass you the ball," Barkley said sarcastically. "It’s a new thing they just started in the NBA: If they pass you the ball, you can actually play."
Which begs the question: Would the Wizards be better off right now if, two years ago, they had made Barkley their general manager and
fired Ernie Grunfeld?
Fifty-eight games down, 24 games to play in the Wizards' 2018-19 season.
