Charles Barkley is concerned about the future of TNT's Inside the NBA

Losing Inside the NBA would really stink.

Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Prince J. Grimes.

What’s up hoops fans. I hope you enjoyed that absolute masterclass Nikola Jokic put on against Rudy Gobert and the Minnesota Timberwolves last night. I certainly did.

But one thing you might have noticed when TNT’s broadcast kicked things back to the studio for Inside the NBA was the absence of Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal. The two biggest personalities on the show weren’t there. Instead, Draymond Green and Vince Carter filled in.

It would have been nice to hear whether Shaq still thought Jokic wasn’t the true MVP after that performance. But I guess we’ll have to wait until next time.

There was a good reason the two were missing, though. According to Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy, Barkley and O’Neal were instead in New York preparing to pitch ad buyers at TNT Sports’ Upfront presentation. They had to go make the company some money.

Unfortunately for those ad buyers, Inside the NBA may not be a part of TNT Sports for very long.

If you're wondering why Charles Barkley + Shaquille O'Neal are NOT on for 'Inside the NBA' pregame show, they are in NYC preparing to pitch ad buyers at TNT Sports' Upfront presentation Wednesday.

Smart move: TNT's 40-year NBA relationship hanging by thread. #saveinsidethenba

— Michael McCarthy (@MMcCarthyREV) May 14, 2024

As you’ve surely heard by now, TNT’s current rights contract with the NBA ends after next season. And the network doesn’t yet have a new deal in place after ESPN/ABC and Amazon Prime Video secured the first two of three new rights deals the NBA plans to license out.

TNT is embroiled in a bidding war with NBC for that last slice of the pie, and Barkley told ESPN Chicago on Tuesday it has him and others at the network concerned. It should. At least one person is saying the deal is already done, with The Ringer’s Bill Simmons saying on his podcast “NBC’s getting it.”

No more NBA on TNT would obviously mean no more Inside the NBA.

Charles Barkley on TNT's future with the @NBA

"I am concerned…100%"

Full interview: https://t.co/MqIrVh1020@waddleandsilvy @twaddle87 @tyleraki_ @Jeff_Meller pic.twitter.com/yx3zDJ6P0q

— ESPN 1000 (@ESPN1000) May 14, 2024

“Am I concerned? One hundred percent,” Barkley said.

While most of us are going to miss the studio show if TNT does lose the NBA — the laughs and entertainment created by the chemistry of Barkley, O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson — I’m glad Barkley expressed sympathy for the other people he works with, because we don’t think about them enough in all this.

What happens to all those jobs?

That’s not to mention there’s no way to replicate what TNT has with Inside the NBA. Look no further than ESPN’s bland studio show. The magic of Inside the NBA will just cease to exist. A memory of the NBA’s past — just like the NBA on NBC is now.

If NBC gets the deal and is able to create a product anything close to when it previously owned NBA rights, we’ll all move on and continue watching and probably even enjoy it. But knowing everything that’s at stake, the trade off almost certainly won’t be worth it.

Bronny James addresses playing with LeBron

David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

We’ve heard a whole lot of over the past couple years about how LeBron James wants to eventually play on the same team as his son Bronny. But I don’t think we’ve heard much from Bronny about how much he actually cares to play on the same team as his dad.

Until now.

As FTW’s Bryan Kalbrosky wrote, Bronny finally addressed the elephant in the room at the NBA Scouting Combine and there was “genuine honesty, humor and humility” in his response. Here’s what he had to say about whether he shared in his dad’s dream:

“No, never. My dream has always just been to put my name out, make a name for myself, and get to the NBA, which is everyone’s end goal that’s here. I never thought about just playing with my dad, but of course he’s brought it up a couple of times. But yeah, I don’t think about it much.”

Read Bryan’s story for more on James’ answer and how he’s performed at the combine.

One to Watch

(All odds via BetMGM)

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland Cavaliers (+900) at Boston Celtics (-15.5; -1600), 7 p.m. ET

Dallas Mavericks (+155) at Oklahoma City Thunder (+4.5; -190), 9:30 p.m.

Let’s focus on the first game here, because that is a massive spread for a playoff game… and I really don’t think it’s going to matter. After playing with their food a little too much and barely edging the short-handed Cavs in Game 4 after having already lost Game 2, I think the Celtics will finally smell blood tonight.

They have a chance to advance with a win and Donovan Mitchell is expected to miss his second straight game, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported. Combined with the fact Boston is back home, I think the Celtics roll in this one and cover that huge number.

Rest up, hoops fans. Save your energy for Mavs-Thunder.

Shootaround

— 2024 NBA mock draft consensus of how experts project top prospects

— NBA fans can’t stop laughing at this Nikola Jokic “day in the life” parody

— 5 players with notable measurements at the 2024 NBA Draft combine

— Thunder bettor cashed out $1.7M Thunder ticket in the worst way possible

That’s it from me y’all. Enjoy tonight’s games.