PHOENIX SUNS

Charles Barkley on Suns moving on from Eric Bledsoe: ‘It’s his fault’

Oct 25, 2017, 12:13 PM | Updated: Oct 26, 2017, 11:33 am

Some choose to blame the Phoenix Suns management. Others might choose to blame Eric Bledsoe after the team sent him home following his tweet that may or may not have to do with a bad trip to the hair salon.

Count former Suns forward, current TNT analyst and always-opinionated Charles Barkley among the latter.

“It’s his fault,” Barkley told TMZ in a video interview.

“Somebody is paying you 15 million dollars a year, you shouldn’t say, ever, ‘I don’t want to be here.’ Listen, you shouldn’t have said that. If you don’t want to be there, you go to them quietly, you don’t put it on the internet.”

Bledsoe tweeted “I Dont wanna be here” on Sunday, hours before the Suns fired head coach Earl Watson.

The point guard claimed the tweet had nothing to do with the Suns.

Bledsoe had met with Phoenix prior to the year, asking to be traded, Phoenix general manager Ryan McDonough confirmed Monday. McDonough also said he didn’t believe Bledsoe’s explanation for his cryptic tweet over the weekend.

“He said he was at a hair salon with his girl and he didn’t want to be there anymore,” the general manager said on Monday. “I don’t believe that to be true.”

Barkley, apparently, doesn’t believe Bledsoe, either.

Like McDonough did on Tuesday by further criticizing Bledsoe’s leadership and obligation to play under the two years left on his contract, the former Suns All-Star believes Bledsoe’s move was the wrong move.

“I like Bledsoe a lot, but that’s not cool,” Barkley said.

Phoenix Suns

Grayson Allen of the Phoenix Suns...

Kevin Zimmerman

Grayson Allen agrees to sign 4-year contract extension with Suns

Grayson Allen and the Suns agreed to a four-year, $70 million contract extension Monday after the guard's first regular season in Phoenix.

3 hours ago

Associate head coach Kevin Young of the Phoenix Suns during the first half of the NBA game against ...

Arizona Sports

Report: Suns assistant Kevin Young to replace Mark Pope as BYU head coach

Phoenix Suns assistant Kevin Young, the NBA's top-paid assistant coach, will reportedly replace Mark Pope with the BYU Cougars.

5 hours ago

Devin Booker and Kevin Durant from USA Basketball in the Tokyo Olympics...

Arizona Sports

Report: Suns’ Devin Booker, Kevin Durant on finalized Team USA Olympic roster

Devin Booker and Kevin Durant are part of the finalized Team USA roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

22 hours ago

Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns shoots the ball against Naz Reid #11 of the Minnesota Timberwol...

Kellan Olson

Will Suns continue to be Timberwolves’ kryptonite in the playoffs?

The Phoenix Suns were a mismatch for the T-Wolves in the regular season. Will that remain the case in the first round of the NBA Playoffs?

24 hours ago

Kevin Durant and Anthony Edwards...

Arizona Sports

Schedule as we know it: Suns face Timberwolves in 1st round starting Saturday

The No. 6 seed Phoenix Suns will travel to meet the No. 3 Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

1 day ago

Kevin Young, Houston Rockets...

Damon Allred

Suns’ Kevin Young reportedly a finalist for Brooklyn Nets head coaching job

Phoenix Suns associate head coach Kevin Young is one of three finalists for the Nets' head coaching vacancy, according to Shams Charania. 

2 days ago

Charles Barkley on Suns moving on from Eric Bledsoe: ‘It’s his fault’