TheBasketballJunkie.com

Charles Barkley, the former Round Mound of Rebound, routinely speaks his mind about anything and everything. And I usually agree with him.

Now Barkley has publicly criticized LeBron James for his willingness to discuss the possibility of a post-Cleveland future.

"If I was LeBron James, I would shut the hell up," Barkley said in the Wednesday interview. "I'm a big LeBron fan. He's a stud. You gotta give him his props. I'm getting so annoyed he's talking about what he's going to do in two years. I think it's disrespectful to the game. I think it's disrespectful to the Cavaliers."

Aside from calling Barkley "stupid," here's what else James said:

"I think you do what is best for you and you do what is best for your career," James said Tuesday when asked about his sense of loyalty to the Cavs.

"I am focused on the team that I am on right now and winning a championship," he said. "So it gets funny at times, but I don't think about making a change at this point. I am focusing on the team I have here and the relationship I have with the Cavs."

James is playing great basketball (27.6 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 6.4 apg, 1.9 spg) and the Cavaliers have the third best record in the NBA behind the Celtics and Lakers at 14-3.

So any such discussion is clearly not affecting James' nor his team's play. And considering this is a "business" and in theory the Cavs could trade James at any time, I don't have a problem with James responding (honestly) to questions of his future. But it's not.