Multiple Networks Gunning for Suns Legend

Phoenix Suns legend Charles Barkley could switch from TNT to ESPN next season.

Jun 12, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; NBA TV analyst Charles Barkley talks on set before game three of the 2024 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- Phoenix Suns legend Charles Barkley has helped create one of the sports world's best shows for Turner's Inside the NBA, though this will be the show's last year of operation as the NBA struck a deal with Disney, NBC and Amazon for a new media rights package set to begin in the 2025-26 season.

Warner Bros. is currently hoping to win back some of the pie in court, though it appears to be a longshot that the beloved show will continue past this year.

While host Ernie Johnson has said he's exclusively sticking with Turner, Barkley looks to be a potential free agent next year - and ESPN is quite interested.

“Yeah,” ESPN cheif of content Burke Magnus said (h/t The Athletic). “That would be a perfect world. … I would be lying if I said we weren’t interested in Charles. The entire industry is interested.”

They're not the only one, as NBC chairman Mark Lazarus also threw his hat in the ring for Barkley.

“If Charles were available, we’d certainly love to have that conversation with him,” Lazarus said. “We’ve known him for a long time. We’ve known him from the time that we were there in 2000 or so. So we think that Charles adds a great element to everything he does. He’s been a guest on our shows. If he were to be available, certainly we’d be talking to him. Unless Burke Magnus talks to him first.”

Barkley has gone on record to say he'll keep his options open if Turner doesn't honor the full terms of his commitment, though he feels for fans everywhere.

"Clearly, the NBA has wanted to break up with us from the beginning," Barkley said in a statement on Twitter/X earlier this summer.

"I'm not sure TNT ever had a chance. TNT matched the money. The league knows Amazon and these tech companies are the only ones willing to pay for the rights when they double in the future. The NBA didn't want to piss them off.

"It's a sad day when owners and commissioners choose money over the fans. It just sucks."