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After 23 games, NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley has seen enough.
The TNT analyst said it’s time for the Chicago Bulls to throw in the towel and embark on another rebuild.
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“It’s time to break up the Bulls,” Barkley said during an interview Wednesday on WMVP-AM 1000. “Blow it up. It’s time. You’ve got some good players, you’re not good enough. It’s time to start the rebuild.”
The Bulls fell to 9-14 Sunday with a 110-101 loss to the Sacramento Kings in the finale of their six-game trip, showing clear weaknesses in firepower and defense despite the improved health of star Zach LaVine. Barkley argued that the Bulls are not good enough to compete with the top teams in the East — including young opponents such as the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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“Come on, man, you’re not close,” Barkley said. “The Celtics and the Bucks are on a whole other level than (the rest of) the Eastern Conference.”
The Bulls returned home Wednesday to face the Washington Wizards at the United Center having lost three straight and 10 of 14.
It has not been long since the last time the Bulls underwent a rebuild. And at the time, Barkley was high on the new-look roster.
Ahead of the 2021-22 season, Barkley predicted the Bulls team led by DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine would finish higher than the Miami Heat — who ultimately made the conference finals. But Barkley’s take on the team quickly soured as the Bulls floundered with injuries, rightfully predicting the team’s quick exit from the first-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks.
With the Bulls’ shooting on the downturn and injured point guard Lonzo Ball far from a return, Barkley advised the Bulls to use the remainder of the season to trade their top players for “draft picks or young talent.”
“That was last year. This is a new year,” Barkley said. “Listen, they’re not going to win a championship this year or the next couple of years. Might as well, if you’ve got some good players, you’ve got to start the rebuild. You’ve got to really start the rebuild and start over.”
