Draymond doesn't expect Barkley to retire: He's 'being very emotional'

Draymond Green isn't buying Charles Barkley's announcement about retiring from television after the 2024-25 NBA season.

The Golden State Warriors forward, who occasionally works alongside Barkley on TNT, explained on the latest episode of "The Draymond Green Show" that he believes his colleague is just emotional amid the uncertainty surrounding the future of "Inside the NBA."

"I just think Chuck's being very emotional," Green said. "I don't think Chuck's about to retire. I think Chuck's in a very emotional state right now and he's processing those emotions, and you know, one day you may wake up and be like, 'You know what? I'm done with this stuff. I'm outta here' while you're processing those emotions.

"And then you go a couple of days, maybe a couple of weeks, maybe even a couple of months because this decision doesn't have to be made today, tomorrow, or the next day. And then you'll probably come to your senses and be like, 'I'm not retiring, what was I thinking about?' But you never really come back and tell people, 'I don't know what the hell I was thinking.' You kind of go along with it and move on to the next thing. ... I expect Chuck to never come back and tell us, 'Ah, I was trippin', I'm not retiring. I'm moving on to the next thing.' But we will all watch him gracefully move on to the next thing."

Barkley announced during Game 4 of the NBA Finals that he intends to walk away from television next year, regardless of whether or not TNT secures a media rights deal with the league.

It was reported earlier this month that TNT's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, was in talks with the NBA about a possible fourth media rights package, but according to PUCK's John Ourand, there's a very slim chance of that happening now.

Barkley has appeared on "Inside the NBA" since 2000, winning four Sports Emmy Awards for Outstanding Studio Analyst.