Kenny & Charles on Kobe, global expansion and more

Charles Barkley (right) likes the Hawks to make the playoffs. TNT colleague Kenny Smith isn't so sure. Photo courtesty of Turner Sports

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"The ratings system is the most bogus thing in this country," TNT's Charles Barkley says between bites of a sandwich. "It's like the BCS. I've been living for 44 years and I have never met a person with a Nielsen box. Never. And when you are black and you have money, you get a lot of people coming around you."

Laughs were on the menu at a media luncheon in New York earlier this week when SI.com joined Barkley and his Inside the NBA colleague Kenny Smith for a wide-ranging conversation on all things NBA. Here are the highlights:

• On Kobe Bryant ...

Barkley: "They were the [No. 7] seed the past two years, so it's not like somebody is trading to take the Lakers out of their championship mode. They stink. They are not any good. So you just got to make the best deal and start rebuilding. Obviously, you are not going to get equal value for Kobe. You just have to make the best deal possible at this point. If you can get two young players and a couple of draft picks, that's a good deal."

Smith: "I think there is an etiquette that players understand. It's not a written rule but there is an etiquette rule, and in this situation Kobe has broken the etiquette rule. When you say that you can't win a championship with the guys that are here, you alienate the players.

"He's basically saying these guys can't play. Now, no matter how hard you play, they know in the back of their minds that this guy does not believe in us. He's the team's best player, and the best player should give them the confidence that on some nights his teammates are better than him -- even though it's not true. That's what the best players who I played with did."

• On the Eastern Conference ...

Barkley: "The teams at the top are damn impressive, and we are finally seeing the teams at the bottom get better. Obviously, the Celtics are going to be good and Orlando is going to be better. And my Atlanta Hawks are making the playoffs this year. The Atlanta Hawks are making the playoffs! They finally got the point guard in this Acie Law kid. (Smith interjects: "I'll say my line again from last year. Did they get Kobe and Shaq?")

"I am very interested in watching the Knicks play," Barkley said. "I think there is a chance that it can work. Cleveland is not going to make the playoffs. That was a fluky thing that happened last year. They didn't make any improvements and everybody around them got better. They are the only team in the East that did not get better.

"I'm excited for the NBA, probably for the first time in 10 years or so, because there is some serious competitive balance out there. Washington is going to be solid. I picked New Jersey last year and I'm picking them again this year. If everybody had been healthy last year, New Jersey would have won the East. But you know Detroit will be there, too."

Smith: "I pick Boston to win the East. Doc Rivers has someone who can execute and finish and deliver, and this is a talent-based league where talent on 85 percent of the nights is going to win games. Fifteen percent of it is coaching taking over in terms of strategy. Those particular three players [in Boston] are different because if you have followed them over the years, you have seen the type of individuals they are. You never see anything on the court about controversy with these guys. Everyone who played with Paul Pierce wanted to play with Paul Pierce. Everyone who played with Kevin Garnett wanted to play with Kevin Garnett. Same with Ray Allen.

"I really believe Charles created Kevin Garnett getting traded. I say this because two years ago we were sitting in the green room before the show and he said, 'You know what, Kenny? Kevin Garnett needs to get out of Minnesota. But I don't think he has the heart to say I want to be traded. They need to get rid of him and start over and give him a chance to win a championship.' I had never heard anyone say it and the season was going to start. He said, 'I'm going to say it tonight because Kevin's a good guy and he doesn't want to ruffle feathers.' Well, he said it that night and I thought he created the situation. It was probably something in the back of everybody's mind in Minnesota, but Kevin would never walk in the office and say, "I want to be traded."

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