“I would be upset too if I was Charles Barkley.” Carmelo Anthony is now a part of the ownership group at Unrivaled, so his criticism is from that point of view. The deal with TNT to continue the rights took a long time, and in the meantime, every employee of the network was not happy. One of which was arguably the face of the show and the face of the network, Charles Barkley.

About 2 weeks ago, the NBA announced its deal with new partners. ESPN/ABC, NBCU, and Amazon Prime Video agreed to an 11-year contract worth $76 billion. When TNT lost the deal, everybody was upset including Melo, “I would be upset about that like we built this sh** like we created what’s inside the NBA, like we created the vibes.”

He even questioned NBA executive Adam Silver for not taking the show anywhere else. “They part of the brand so how can you axe us out of what’s happening? Even if the contract is up, let’s sit and talk about how we move this somewhere else,” Carmelo Anthony said, via 7PM in Brooklyn podcast.

Melo even questioned WBD executives for not addressing the talents, “But I blame I honestly blame the higher-ups for that man, the execs and all of that. We can’t be here with you all of this time, creating this and building this property, and then we ain’t being told what’s actually happening here. And like, we don’t have a shot, like we don’t have a shot to keep this going after umpteen years.”

Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson have been entertaining fans with the Inside show for years now. The Emmy-winning show is a testament to how different it is than its current competitors. Even Barkley had commented on the failure of Adam Silver.

Charles Barkley and his problems with Adam Silver

“Clearly the NBA has wanted to break up with us from the beginning,” Charles Barkley said in the statement. He continued that he wasn’t sure if TNT ever had a fair chance because even if they matched the money, the league would prefer their latest partners in order to secure their future. What Barkley meant by it was that when the next deal came around, they would be in a better position to negotiate. Currently, WBD has a debt of $40 billion.

He even criticized Adam Silver for disrespecting fans. “It’s a sad day when owners and commissioners choose money over the fans. It just sucks.” Charles Barkley lastly thanked his Turner family for the last 24 years and promised fans that in the last season of NBA on TNT, the crew would give it all.

After all, it was confirmed that Sir Charles would continue with TNT and would not retire. Over a few months, Barkley criticized his bosses at TNT and WBD but now has come around. It still would be extremely sad to not see Inside the NBA again. Since the 76ers agreed to continue his contract, fans would be hoping that Shaq and Kenny Smith might do the same.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.