Charles Barkley was confident he could be an excellent GM: "I'm not paying guys $20M a year to be one and done"
Charles Barkley was confident he could be an excellent GM: "I'm not paying guys $20M a year to be one and done" originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Television analyst, author and businessman Charles Barkley has donned several hats post-retirement in 2000. Known for his exceptional wit and outspoken nature, he changed the landscape of sports broadcasting, adding a more casual and fun tone.
Advertisement
Part of the award-winning panel on Inside the NBA, Barkley once revealed his plan of action if he ever became an NBA GM. Sharing his blueprint for building a contending team, Barkley stressed seeking advice from the right minds and having a long-term vision.
"The key is you got to know basketball. You got to surround yourself with the right people. If I have a guard question, I would go to Reggie, Steve and Kenny because tell me what I'm looking for in a guard. When I watch a big guy play, I joke some of these power forwards are averaging six rebounds a game; they're small forwards. If my power forward getting me six rebounds a game, they're small forwards. My power forward is giving me six rebounds a game; I just can't plug him in. My two guard need to shoot the ball; my point guard cannot shoot it that much," Barkley highlighted his strategy when he was a guest on Open Court.
Barkley cited the example of Steve Kerr
Kerr, who joined the Phoenix Suns as a consultant in 2004, took over as GM ahead of the 2007-08 season. One of his toughest decisions as an executive involved letting go of their homegrown star in Amar'e Stoudermine, who was due for a five-year max contract.
Despite making the Western Conference finals in 2010, the Suns management was wary about giving Stoudermine a five-year guarantee, given his injury history. Ultimately, the Knicks committed $100M to him during free agency, with former President Donnie Walsh willing to take the risk.
Advertisement
Shedding light on the event, Barkley didn't agree with New York's move.
"You know Steve (Kerr) had to make a decision in Arizona with Amar'e Stoudemire, whether to give him another $100M," Barkley began his analysis.
"I say, 'Absolutely not.' But I'm not paying guys $20M a year for us to be one and done and that's it. So, I'm always going to build up my team through the draft," he concluded.
An old-school guy, Barkley always relied on the traditional ways of doing things. Whether it is despising the concept of super teams or calling out the league over load management, he never minced his words. That said, the professionalism and responsibilities that came with being a GM would certainly require the veteran forward to exercise more restraint.
Advertisement
Related: "When you start endangering people's health, it's taking away from the beauty of the game" - Michael Jordan criticized how the Pistons and the Knicks played the game
A highly volatile job
Being in charge of contract negotiations, hiring, operations, and drafting processes as a general manager in the NBA is no easy feat. Though the position has its perks, especially when it comes to power and authority, one cannot eliminate the volatility associated with it.
The room for error is not big, considering the stiff competition among 30 teams. Nevertheless, some examples showed the way it's supposed to be done, which include Red Auerbach, Jerry West, R.C. Buford, Jerry Krause, Pat Riley and Sam Presti. Hence, following their career paths could serve as a great tool for those aspiring to be an executive in the NBA.
Advertisement
For Barkley, it's a lot less stressful for him to be in the analyst chair than the GM one, so given his nature, he made the right choice.
Related: Charles Barkley is pissed at TNT for not telling him "Inside The NBA" is moving to ESPN: "Damn, we've been traded?"
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
30 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Springs leads Athletics to 5-1 win over Guardians
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Jeffrey Springs allowed three hits in a season-high 7 1/3 innings, rookie Nick Kurtz homered for a third straight game and the Athletics beat the Cleveland Guardians 5-1 on Friday night. Springs (6-5) struck out six and walked one, throwing 104 pitches for his first win since May 13. He left with a 4-1 lead after giving up Angel Martínez's homer.
Washington Post
31 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Bayern Munich advances in the Club World Cup with 2-1 win over Boca Juniors
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Michael Olise fired Bayern Munich into the knockout stages of the Club World Cup, scoring in the 84th minute for a 2-1 win over Boca Juniors on Friday night. German champion Bayern made it two wins in Group C and advanced to the round of 16 with a game to spare. Olise secured the victory at Hard Rock Stadium after Miguel Merentiel had put Boca in position for a draw with a brilliant solo goal in the 66th. Bayern, which tops the group, took the lead on Harry Kane's clinical finish in the 18th and went on to miss of a slew of chances before Merentiel's equalizer. South American teams had been unbeaten in their first nine games of this expanded Club World Cup. Bayern looked like it would be held until Olise's cool finish. Collecting Kane's layoff inside the box, the forward curled a powerful first-time effort low into the bottom corner. Bayern has the luxury of resting players for its final group game against second-place Benfica on Tuesday, which could be bad news for Boca. Argentine giant Boca, which plays Auckland City, needs Bayern to beat Benfica to have any chance of advancing to the next round. 'We knew it wasn't going to be easy, we knew we were coming into a hostile environment, hot weather, it was tough. It's a massive tournament. We are playing against the best teams in the world. We just have to compete to our highest level and we should be able to beat most teams.' — Kane. 'We have to find a way (to advance). A draw would've been great but it's up to us to compete and do our best and I would not be surprised if that happened.' — Boca Juniors coach Miguel Angel Russo. ___ James Robson is at ___ AP soccer:
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump and TSMC pitched $1 trillion AI complex — SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son wants to turn Arizona into the next Shenzhen
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Masayoshi Son, founder of SoftBank Group, is working on plans to develop a giant AI and manufacturing industrial hub in Arizona, potentially costing up to $1 trillion if it reaches full scale, reports Bloomberg. The concept of what is internally called Project Crystal Land involves creating a complex for building artificial intelligence systems and robotics. Son has talked to TSMC, Samsung, and the Trump administration about the project. Masayoshi Son's Project Crystal Land aims to replicate the scale and integration of China's Shenzhen by establishing a high-tech hub focused on manufacturing AI-powered industrial robots and advancing artificial intelligence technologies. The site would host factories operated by SoftBank-backed startups specializing in automation and robotics, Vision Fund portfolio companies (such as Agile Robots SE), and potentially involve major tech partners like TSMC and Samsung. If fully realized, the project could cost up to $1 trillion and is intended to position the U.S. as a leading center for AI and high-tech manufacturing. SoftBank is looking to include TSMC in the initiative, given its role in fabricating Nvidia's AI processors. However, a Bloomberg source familiar with TSMC's internal thinking indicated that the company's current plan to invest $165 billion in total in its U.S. projects has no relation to SoftBank's projects. Samsung Electronics has also been approached about participating, the report says. Talks have been held with government officials to explore tax incentives for companies investing in the manufacturing hub. This includes communication with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, according to Bloomberg. SoftBank is reportedly seeking support at both the federal and state levels, which could be crucial to the success of the project. The development is still in the early stages, and feasibility will depend on private sector interest and political support, sources familiar with SoftBank's plans told Bloomberg. To finance its Project Crystal Land, SoftBank is considering project-based financing structures typically used in large infrastructure developments like pipelines. This approach would enable fundraising on a per-project basis and reduce the amount of upfront capital required from SoftBank itself. A similar model is being explored for the Stargate AI data center initiative, which SoftBank is jointly pursuing with OpenAI, Oracle, and Abu Dhabi's MGX. Melissa Otto of Visible Alpha suggested in a Bloomberg interview that rather than spending heavily, Son might more efficiently support his AI project by fostering partnerships between manufacturers, AI engineers, and specialists in fields like medicine and robotics, and by backing smaller startups. However, she notes that investing in data centers could also reduce AI development costs and drive wider adoption, which would be good for the long term for AI in general and Crystal Land specifically. Nonetheless, it is still too early to judge the outcome. The rumor about the Crystal Land project has emerged as SoftBank is expanding its investments in AI on an already large scale. The company is preparing a $30 billion investment in OpenAI and a $6.5 billion acquisition of Ampere Computing, a cloud-native CPU company. While these initiatives are actively developing, the pace of fundraising for the Stargate infrastructure has been slower than initially expected. SoftBank's liquidity at the end of March stood at approximately ¥3.4 trillion ($23 billion). To increase available funds, the company recently sold about a quarter of its T-Mobile U.S. stake, raising $4.8 billion. It also holds ¥25.7 trillion ($176.46 billion) in net assets, the largest portion of which is in chip designer Arm Holdings. Such vast resources provide SoftBank with room to secure additional financing if necessary, Bloomberg notes Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
