Charles Barkley calls out Ja Morant, Rob Pelinka sparks trade rumors with visit to Indiana, and Cade Cunningham loses his Crypto signing bonus.

Finish the week off strong!

CHARLES BARKLEY

Charles Barkley Calls Out Ja Morant

No one would ever accuse Charles Barkley of keeping his feelings to himself, even if those opinions are unpopular. Case in point, Chuck just took a shot at Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant and accused him of not making his teammates better.

Barkley said: "The next evolution for Ja is that he's gotta learn how to make the players around him better. When you're a great player, you can get your shot anytime you want to. I don't think he's added that to his game yet. Sometimes when you make a play, you gotta be thinking, 'I can go around this guy but I need to get this guy going.'"

It’s fair to say this criticism is a little unwarranted. Morant is the Grizzlies' best player, he's expected to score, and he's been crushing it. Not only is he averaging a career-high 29.3 points, but he’s shooting a career-best 40.3% from beyond the arc.

However, just because he’s scoring at a record clip doesn’t mean he isn’t getting his teammates involved. Morant is currently averaging 6.8 assists per game and has dimed up his teammates a whopping 88 times this season, which is good for the 13th most in the NBA. Among those thirteen players, the only person averaging more points per game is Luka Doncic. Morant didn't waste much time responding to Barkley's remarks and simply tweeted “kneepads,” likely a diss to Barkley’s knee injuries.

ROB PELINKA

Rob Pelinka Sparks Trade Rumors With Visit to Indiana

Rob Pelinka was recently spotted traveling to Indiana, and it sent Laker Nation into a frenzy. Pelinka could be in Indiana for any number of reasons, like seeing his family or taking in the Champions Classic, but it's hard not to see it as a business trip.

The Lakers and Pacers have been linked as potential trade partners for months, but the Lakers are justifiably reluctant to part with their last two tradeable first-round picks for a package of Myles Turner and Buddy Hield.

The problem for the Lakers is that even with those two great talents in the mix, they still might not be legitimate contenders, especially in an increasingly competitive Western Conference. One thing that could force the Lakers into action is the Clippers rumored interest in Myles Turner. It remains to be seen what the Lakers will do, but Pelinka visiting Indiana has definitely put fans and teams on notice.

CADE CUNNINGHAM

Cade Cunningham Loses his Crypto Signing Bonus

As the projected 1st overall pick, Cade Cunningham had no shortage of sponsors eager to align with his potential superstar talent. One of those sponsors was crypto company Blockfi, who, unfortunately, has just filed for bankruptcy.

Cade’s Blockfi sponsorship included collaborating on educational videos and promotional giveaways, but most importantly, and costly, he agreed to take 100% of his signing bonus in Bitcoin. It’s unclear how much of his signing bonus has been paid or how much he’s still holding, but Bitcoin is currently worth just 33.8% of what it was at the time he signed his deal. Worst of all, assuming he kept it all, he still may not even be able to recover his funds in the wake of Blockfi’s bankruptcy news.

Thankfully Cunningham has looked every bit deserving of the number one pick and is likely to make a ton of money in NBA contracts, but it’s hard not to feel for the guy and mourn the loss of what was likely a seven or eight-figure bonus.

THE RUMOR MILL

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