LeBron’s teammate JR Smith is the latest to weigh in on the Bron/Barkley feud. Larry Brown Sports picked up thoughts JR sent via Twitter to one of his followers.
@TheRealJRSmith how u feel about Barkleys comments on Bron true or not?
— King Dour™ (@Get_ItHowULive) February 2, 2017
He was/will never on his level as a player or person an I think it eats him up. https://t.co/4E7nlEoQLU
— JR Smith (@TheRealJRSmith) February 2, 2017
JR is not completely wrong with his assessment of the situation. Whether or not Barkley is on Bron’s level as a person is subjective. Plus, what does that even mean? While Barkley is one of the 50 greatest players ever and at one point was the second best player in the world, he is not on Bron’s level as a player. Bron is already in the top 10 of players all time and is chasing GOAT status. But that isn’t what bothers Barkley. He is secure with his place in league history.
What eats Barkley up is the power Bron is able to wield in the new NBA. This league has always been player centric and its stars control it. But that is even more evident now. Barkley has to think back to his days in Philly when he was an absolute superstar and couldn’t do much (besides demand/force a trade) to improve his situation. If you look back at Barkley’s comments that is at the core of his frustration. Bron and the Cavs won the 2016 title and he is not satisfied with the 2017 roster and demands something be done, and it will. In Barkley’s mind, that is something he can’t compute. In more ways than one.