Charles Barkley sounds off on Kevin Durant’s lack of Suns management want

Charles Barkley has at all times been very vital of Kevin Durant. The NBA Corridor of Famer has by no means backed down from talking his true emotions concerning the 14-time All-Star, and Barkley is much more judgmental of Durant since he performs for the Phoenix Suns.

When Durant was traded to the Suns, the remainder of the league was placed on discover since Phoenix and new proprietor Mat Ishbia had been going all-in on pursuing a championship. In spite of everything, this crew got here so near profitable a title in 2021, which is why pulling off a transfer for Durant was monumental. Nevertheless, success is not essentially a phrase that finest describes the product the Suns placed on the court docket in the course of the 2023-24 season, as they had been ousted from the playoffs within the first spherical.

Phoenix has added expertise to their roster this offseason, and so they nonetheless have their three-headed monster of Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal. For this reason many nonetheless imagine that the Suns could be title favorites within the West. On the similar time, Barkley is among the few who nonetheless doubts his former membership, particularly since he claims Durant is not the chief his crew wants.

“I don’t assume Kevin Durant needs to be a pacesetter. He simply needs to play basketball, and that’s high-quality, however anyone on that crew has to step up and be the chief,” Barkley informed FOX Sports activities 910 AM in Phoenix. “It labored in Golden State as a result of that they had Steph Curry and Draymond Inexperienced to guide. However in Phoenix, somebody must take that position, and for my part, it needs to be Devin Booker. You may’t have a crew with out a chief.

“Kevin simply needs to hoop, and that’s high-quality, however Devin has to tackle that management position in the event that they need to win a championship.”

When two or extra All-Stars are on a crew, generally it’s onerous to pinpoint sure management roles and resolve who finally ends up being the one which defers to the opposite. Final season, Beal ended up being the one to take a step again with a purpose to permit Durant and Booker to seek out extra success. Though he’s a three-time All-Star and an elite-level scoring weapon, Beal acknowledged that his crew would discover extra success if he was to be the third man offensively as an alternative of the man for the Suns.

These are selections that leaders make, which is why Barkley defined that he needs to see extra from Durant, and particularly Booker, in the course of the 2024-25 season so far as being a pacesetter goes.

“You aren’t getting to select and select, ‘I do not need to be a pacesetter.’ You need to be a pacesetter. However Kevin has said that, and he will get mad anytime somebody says that, however it’s received to be Devin Booker for my part.”

Curiously sufficient, each Durant and Booker had been part of the Staff USA gold medal crew on this 12 months’s Olympics. Durant, who’s a confirmed champion and future Corridor of Famer, has discovered success and been a pacesetter with a number of groups all through his profession. Booker, alternatively, has spent his total profession with the Suns and continues to be reaching the top of his profession.

That is the primary motivation behind Barkley difficult him to turn into the chief that the Suns want. In spite of everything, he was the primary cause why Phoenix made the 2021 NBA Finals not too way back.