The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported that Charles Barkley will be re-signing with Turner Sports on a 10-year, $210 million deal. A target for every major television network, Barkley mentioned in interviews that he had conversations with various networks. However, the camaraderie and love from his co-workers at Turner Sports made it hard for the NBA legend to leave.
“I love my TNT Sports family,” Barkley said in a statement. “My #1 priority has been and always will be our people and keeping everyone together for as long as possible. We have the most amazing people, and they are the best at what they do. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with them both on the shows we currently have and new ones we develop together in the future. This is the only place for me.”
A perfect work-life balance with long-term friends is a compelling reason to stay. Barkley explained on Paul George’s podcast why ESPN could not recreate Inside The NBA.
“I don’t know if anybody ever gives it a chance, to be honest with you. ESPN, which I love, never gives anybody a chance to build chemistry. They’re always trying different combinations, throwing stuff at the wall like, ‘Let’s put this group together.'”
“And then they do that for like six months to a year. Then they’re like, ‘It didn’t work.’ Well, you didn’t give it a chance to work. I don’t think it’s fair to say, after 24 years of how great our show has been, and I can’t remember… I’m pretty sure we had some rocky roads in the beginning when SHAQ first came on.”
Chemistry is important. SHAQ, Kenny, and Charles have been together for almost 15 years, and Ernie, Kenny, and Chuck for over 20. There were ups and downs, but they figured it out.
“It’s always an adjustment,” Barkley told Paul George and his crew. “We started out with Ernie [Johnson Jr.] and Kenny [Smith]. Then, I came on, and we were kind of like, ‘Let’s figure it out.’ But they didn’t say, ‘Hey, you guys have six months to a year.’ No, they said, ‘Let’s keep working.'”
Valid points were made, and it also explains why Barkley re-signed with Turner Sports. NBA Twitter will be happy that the Inside The NBA crew will not be disbanding.
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