Charles Barkley: When TNT deal ends in 2 years, 'I'm going to be a GM'

Charles Barkley has long maintained that he wants to eventually hold the position of general manager for an NBA franchise.

While that's always seemed a bit of a stretch or longshot, Barkley remains committed to that career goal. He reiterated as much on the Waddle & Silvy show on ESPN Radio this week, saying he'll leave his post at TNT in the summer of 2016 to pursue that path.

From the interview:

I think people know I wanna be a GM and I'm going to be a GM. 

You know, I got two years left on my television deal and I told TNT that I'm probably gonna let it go after two years. Not that I don't love my job, I got the best job, I just think 17 years is long enough to do anything, to be honest with you. 

You know, when I took the job, I told them I was gonna do it for four years. I'm in year 15 now. And I think 17 years is long enough to do this job. I love TNT, love working with Ernie, Kenny and Shaq. I don't have a Plan B, I wanna be a GM, I've made that perfectly clear.

This isn't the first time Barkley has said something like this - he was very vocal about his desire to become the Phoenix Suns GM when the position opened up in 2013 - but to our knowledge it's the first time he's revealed he'll leave TNT when his deal is up.

As for whether teams would hire him, that remains unclear. While it seems somewhat unlikely given his boisterous public persona, there's no saying whether TNT Barkley would be the same figure as GM Barkley.