John Beilein’s tenure as the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers did not go well, and Charles Barkley believes a big part of that is due to the team’s players.
Barkley spoke on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” Thursday night, which was the first day of games since the All-Star break. Barkley said the Cavs players tried to get Beilein fired. He equally blamed the veterans for not being good leaders, and the young players for thinking they were too good to do what Beilein was asking of them.
Charles Barkley GOES IN on the Cavs players, claiming that they purposely tried to oust John Beilein pic.twitter.com/S63ZCy7CQn
— ClutchPoints NBA (@ClutchPointsNBA) February 21, 2020
“I want to call out the Cleveland Cavaliers. I thought what they did to Coach Beilein was ridiculous, unprofessional,” Barkley said on TNT. “I think the veterans on that team were not leaders. I think the young guys who can’t play think they’re better than they are and they tried to get that man fired.”
Beilein was unable to connect with his players or get them to buy in. The complaints from players had to do with practicing too hard, watching too much film, and Beilein trying to implement a college culture.
The blame for the issues probably falls on both parties. The players — and especially the veterans — maybe could have made a better effort to give Beilein a chance. And Beilein maybe could have worked harder to build trust first before implementing his complete culture.
