Barkley: LeBron's comments on state of Cavaliers were 'whiny'

LeBron James' recent rant concerning the makeup of the reigning NBA champions, its lack of a backup point guard, and how much the team relies on him and his All-Star teammates (Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love) was a huge topic of discussion during Thursday's "Inside the NBA" on TNT.

Charles Barkley took exception to The King not only making his grievances public, but the fact that he has any at all.

"Inappropriate. Whiny. All of the above," Barkley said, describing James' comments. "The Cleveland Cavaliers, they have given him everything he wanted. They have the highest payroll in NBA history. He wanted J.R. Smith last summer, they paid him. He wanted (Iman) Shumpert last summer. They brought in Kyle Korver.

"He's the best player in the world. Does he want all of the good players? He don't wanna compete? He is an amazing player. They're the defending champs."

Related - David Griffin: LeBron's comments inappropriate from teammate perspective

The former Round Mound of Rebound got heated with Shaquille O'Neal over their respective opinions, especially when Barkley implied that he James have plenty of help as is. O'Neal chimed in by acknowledging how difficult it is to repeat as a champion, and that all James wants is improvement considering all 29 other teams are gunning for his and Cleveland's head.

The Cavaliers are on a three-game losing streak and have lost four of their last five games. Nonetheless, they still own a three-game lead over the Toronto Raptors for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.