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Charles Barkley went scorched earth on the people throwing coaches Darvin Ham and Frank Vogel under the bus for the Lakers and Suns’ early exit from the NBA playoffs … saying the real blame for their woes should go on the folks putting together these “trash-ass” teams.
Ham and Vogel have been at the center of criticism following the first round of the postseason … with many claiming their two squads would be better off with someone else at the helm.
Chuck’s clearly heard enough … ’cause the Hall of Famer unloaded on the notion during TNT’s “Inside the NBA” on Wednesday — calling out other outlets for pushing the narrative.
“I just want to say this about coaching,” Chuck stated in his rant. “Anybody who thinks the reason the Lakers suck is because of Darvin Ham or the reason the Suns suck is because of Frank Vogel, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Frank Vogel is a helluva coach,” he added. “Darvin Ham is a helluva coach trying to get his career started. But for all you punks, idiots and jackasses on other networks who want to be media and who want all the players to like y’all — do your damn job.”
FYI — Ham has a 90-74 record through two seasons with the Lakers … but many were upset with the fact L.A. lost 8 out of the last 9 postseason matchups with the Denver Nuggets.
As for Vogel, he won a championship with the Lakers in 2020 … but failed to have the same success with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker in Phoenix, getting swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Chuck said the main issue is the talent on the floor … and he’s pointing fingers at the front offices for putting the bad pieces together.
“Who put them teams together, them trash-ass teams together, need to get fired.”