SH Blog: Jordan unhappy with Barkley’s criticism, James wants to be best of all time

When you want to hear a candid opinion about any given subject, there may not be a better NBA personnel to listen to than Sir Charles Barkley.

The Van Gundy brothers are up there as well, but Barkley just has a way of grabbing you by the balls about what he has to say. He will be honest about anyone, even if it’s about his best friend Michael Jordan, who – as you’ll find out below – doesn’t exactly appreciate the brutal truth.

See how Jordan reacted to Barkley’s negative criticism of him, along with other news items below.

Before you do, be sure to check out Moke Hamilton’s column on the dark horses of the upcoming season. He has Evan Turner for most improved.

• Charles Barkley explained why it was important for him to be honest about the job Michael Jordan has done, from Steven Cuce of Sports Radio Interviews: “I thought my name was S.O.B and M.F., like damn, I couldn’t even say anything. I said, ‘Dude I can’t get on the radio and tell people you been doin’ a good job… “He’s relying on our friendship and I said, ‘Dude, I love you, you one of my best friends, period. You been there for me, I been there for you but.’ I think he got mad; he surrounded himself with people. One of the really difficult things about being famous, all your friends, you’re paying all the bills, they’re flying around on your private jet, very few of your friends are ever gonna disagree with you… But dude, you gotta get better people to wear on you if you’re gonna be successful. … You gotta have friends around you who [are] not afraid to say, ‘Oh that guy can’t play.’ And we’re cool now.”

• How good does LeBron James want to be? The best ever, according to The AP: “I want to be the best of all-time,” James said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It’s that simple.” He expressed similar sentiment last year, and the year before that, and probably all the way back to high school in Akron, Ohio. He always wondered if a championship would change that perspective. He now has his answer. “Not really, honestly,” James said. “I haven’t had much time to really just think about what actually happened. At the end of the day, there’s still going to be people that say, well, he’s not going to be able to win two. He’s not going to be able to do it again.” Time will tell.”

• Dwyane Wade thinks it’s not the easiest thing to stay motivated to defend championship, according to Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida: