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[Saba Sports News] Charles Barkley has been a TV mainstay for over two decades, but he nearly transitioned to an NBA front-office role years ago. On The Dan Patrick Show, Barkley revealed he interviewed for GM positions three times in the past five to seven years.
“I’ve interviewed for three front office jobs,” Barkley said. “It’s been probably about five or seven years. But I wanted complete control because, as a general manager or president of basketball operations, you can fire multiple guys before people realize you’re the problem. I think being the president or the GM is the best job. You get to pick the players and make trades, but you can scapegoat at least three or four coaches because people never say who put this crappy team together. It’s easier to fire the coach and hide behind closed doors.”
Barkley didn’t disclose which teams he interviewed with, and it’s impressive this remained under wraps. When asked if he’d consider a front-office role now, the 61-year-old said it’s probably too late, as he wanted to do that job in his 50s.
Seeing Barkley as a GM or president of basketball operations would have been interesting. While great players rarely become great executives, perhaps the 11-time All-Star could have been an exception.