Charles Barkley Fires Back, Takes Playful Shot At Draymond Green, Warriors

Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley has a knack for speaking his mind, whether warranted or not.

Barkley on Friday continued his back-and-forth with Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, which initially began during Green's May 6 appearance on "Inside the NBA" on ESPN.

Barkley had expressed his opinion on the Warriors, saying their dynasty run is over and that Green and Stephen Curry should consider leaving if their career goals are to win more NBA championships.

"It’s over for the Warriors,” Barkley said on May 6. “No disrespect. It is for every old team. You have your run, you get old … it just passed you by. Y’all had one of the greatest runs ever.”

Green's response: "I think the goal is to not look like you in the Houston Rockets uniform. That is ultimately the goal."

Barkley was later backed by the guys he's been on the show with for three decades. Later in the show, they discussed how James Harden had more turnovers than field goals against the Detroit Pistons.

Green defended Harden, only for it to be a setup as producers had a stat that blew even Green's mind. Green has had 43 playoff games where he's finished with more turnovers than field goals made, tied with Kendrick Perkins for the most since 2003.

The "feud" continued on Friday, with Barkley going on a spree of radio interviews. Here's what he had to say in response to Green, doubling down on his stance:

Charles Barkley responds to Draymond Green jab

Barkley stood on what he said about the Warriors and Green. He went on a couple radio shows on Friday, May 8 to reiterate his stance.

During an appearance on the "Bickley & Marotta Morning Show" on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, he praised Green but said the two of them aren't on the same level.

"Hey man, I never punch down," Barkley said. "Draymond's a good player. We're not on the same level. I can hear, but I don't have to respond every time somebody says something about me. Draymond's a really good player, he's had a hell of a career, but we're not on the same level."

Barkley also went on "The Dan Patrick Show," where he continued to elaborate about Green's attempts to take personal shots at the Hall of Famer.

"He took a shot at me but I don’t get offended because ― I’ve said things about guys, they took personal shots at me,” Barkley said. “You know, it’s so funny, last time you had me on the show, I told you I regretted those Rocket years, especially the last two where I sucked as a player. But I wasn’t turning down no free money, I had two years left on my contract."

Turning the attention back to the Warriors, Barkley lamented how their run seems over, as he did to Green.

"He made it personal," Barkley said. "The Warriors haven’t been relevant for three or four years. They been in the play-in. When you’re in the play-in, you’re not in the playoffs."

He continued: "The play-in is something they just made up to add more games to put on a different network. The Warriors have been in the play-in I think four straight years. So they (have) been irrelevant. And I know he don’t want to say it. ... It's over for Golden State, they had a great run. He took a personal shot at me, but I'm not sensitive. But it's been over in Golden State. If Golden State was relevant, he wouldn’t be in the studio with me."

Charles Barkley's Houston Rockets stats

Here's the thing that many don't realize. Barkley was traded to Houston at 33 and played there for four seasons, from 1996 to 2000, retiring at 36. In those four seasons, he averaged 16.5 points, 12.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals in 152 games.

Barkley was named to the All-Star Game in 1997, but didn't play due to injury. Barkley joined a team with Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon; playing with those Hall of Famers, he averaged under 20 points per game for the first time since his rookie season in 1984-85. He averaged 19.2 points that season.

The 1996-97 campaign marked Barkley's last real chance at winning a championship, as the Rockets lost to the Utah Jazz in the 1997 Western Conference finals in six games. Barkley averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds in the series.

Injuries would derail the tail end of Barkley's career, ending with a ruptured his left quadriceps tendon during the 1999-2000 season.

Unless Green was referring to career-ending injuries, maybe looking like Houston Barkley isn't so bad, after all.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Charles Barkley responds to Draymond Green with joke about Warriors