Charles Barkley launched into a passionate defense on behalf of Darvin Ham and Frank Vogel, two coaches who are widely expected to be fired after their team’s first-round exits this season. Barkley believes the pressure on them to be fired is being manufactured by talk show hosts who want players to like them.
“Part of our job, we watch the games and the talk shows. A lot of these people on television are cowards. They want the player to like them, they don’t want to do their job, which is to tell the truth. I just want to say this about coaching. If anyone thinks the reason why the Lakers suck is because of Darvin Ham or the Suns suck because of Frank Vogel, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Barkley called the national media, told them to do their jobs, and criticized the poor players in both franchises.
“Frank Vogel is a hell of a coach. Darvin Ham is a hell of a coach, trying to get his career started. 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. The Lakers suck and the Suns suck because of the players. It has nothing to do with the coaches.”
Barkley also indicated that the front office needs to be held more accountable than the coaching on both franchises.
“Who put them trash-ass teams together need to be fired. They didn’t all of a sudden suck as coaches, the people that put those teams together should be packing their stuff.”
Barkley makes very strong points on behalf of both Ham and Vogel, but both coaches are in different situations despite the similarities. Both are coaching superstar-led teams with high expectations that were beaten by well-constructed rosters with younger stars. But that’s where the similarities end.
Coach Ham made inexcusable mistakes over the course of their five-game loss to the Nuggets. The Lakers easily could have protected leads in all their losses but a lack of a play from the coaching staff sunk the players as well. Vogel had a roster that was completely outmatched on every front, so his adjustments likely wouldn’t help without the personnel he prefers. He also reportedly lost the team after a few out-of-character outbursts.
Both coaches are on the hot seat this summer and changes are likely inevitable. Coach Ham seems to have completely lost the Lakers locker room, with players openly criticizing his strategies and actions while team leaders are yelling at him during the game. Ham is backed by Lakers ownership, so there’s a chance he still retains his position. Ham’s assistant Phil Handy has been supported by the players as a possible replacement.
All indicators from the Suns camp show that Vogel will be replaced if the Suns can find an upgrade. There aren’t many coaches on the open market right now who would make for attractive options unless former championship coach Mike Budenholzer wants to return to coaching.
Both franchises will also monitor if any playoff head coach such as Jason Kidd or Ty Lue become available, though that also seems unlikely. Both the Lakers and Suns have to make tough decisions this summer, with the future of their coaching arguably the toughest of all.
