They were hundreds of miles away from one another, but Phil Jackson and Charles Barkley got into a little war of words on Thursday night.
Barkley, a TNT analyst, was calling the Knicks-Bulls game for the network.
Jackson apparently didn’t like what Barkley had to say.
The Knicks president tweeted during the broadcast:
do I have to mute this game? Chuck just remember your fundamental...key to ▲
— Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) December 19, 2014
Barkley responded at halftime by saying, “I can respect Phil Jackson ... But he’s too old to be tweeting.”
Barkley added: “He takes it personal when people talk about the triangle. ... You need players, the league has always been about players, and always will be.”
A minute later, Barkley concluded that “Phil’s gotten sensitive in his old age.”
Ouch.
Barkley is a longtime critic of the Knicks, but this season it’s hard to argue with anyone who is tough on the team.
New York fell to 5-23 with Thursday’s loss and is off to the worst start through 28 games in franchise history.
One issue for the Knicks, according to Barkley, is that their players in the final years of their contracts aren’t fully committed to the triangle.
“These guys aren’t trying to run the triangle and make it look pretty, they’re just trying to get numbers,” he said.
Question: Do you agree with Barkley? Are the Knicks not fully committed to the triangle?
