Charles Oakley criticizes 'soft' NBA, calls for more veteran leadership / News - Basketnews.com

Charles Oakley slams load management trend, urges players to prioritize fans: "I feel sorry for the fans, I'm apologizing for the old-school guys that you all had to go through this." Oakley also suggests more veteran involvement to improve NBA culture.

Credit: AFP – Scanpix Credit AFP – Scanpix

Charles Oakley and Kevin Garnett sat down for a conversation where they discussed the current state of the NBA, among many other topics.

Oakley, an NBA All-Star (1994), admitted he is not a fan of load management.

"A guy is making 40-50 million dollars. I think that you should wanna play, people are paying your salary, kids are coming to the games and they wanna see you. Especially, when East Coast comes to West Coast or vice versa. You gotta play those games [with full roster]," Oakley said in the recent KG Certified episode.

"I think they are allowed into a business right now because they got lean and got so soft as the players league. They get what they want," the 59-year-old continued. "I feel sorry for the fans, I'm apologizing for the old-school guys that you all had to go through this. I am sorry. Hopefully, they might straighten it out.

"They said cut the schedule down to 72 games, but they still gonna miss [games]. If it's 72 games, they gonna play 60. If it's 62, they gonna play 50. ... We played 82 games, we wouldn't cop it out because it's a part of your job. It's about work. When they started all this, that's lazy. That's why a lot of teams don't win. That's why it's hard to build a team these days because the league is missing a lot of leaders. It's not a lot of leaders on the teams, they are just playing."

What would Oakley add to the league?

"They need more veterans on these teams," he emphasized. "I think they will help the team make these players better pros. Talk to them, teach them how to be around people. A lot of these players are scared to be around people, scared to be around crowds.

"When I was in New York, I just tried to go to dinner after every game at a different restaurant to show that I respect the city. You didn't come to the game because you are here working. So I wanted to go to these places with people so that they could see me. Spread the love because everybody wants to see you," Oakley concluded the topic.

Charles Oakley's NBA career spanned 19 seasons, during which he played for the Bulls, Knicks, Raptors, Wizards, and Rockets. He was an All-Defensive First Team selection in 1994.

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