LeBron fires back at 'stupid' Barkley

LeBron James carved up the Knicks for 26 points and four rebounds at MSG on Tuesday. Jeff Zelevansky/Icon SMI

CLEVELAND (AP) -- LeBron James reacted strongly to Charles Barkley's comments that the Cavaliers star isn't showing respect for Cleveland fans and his teammates by discussing his possible free agency following the 2010 season.

"He's stupid. That's all I've got to say about that," James said Friday night before the Cavaliers' game against Golden State.

Barkley made the comments on TNT's NBA studio show and Dan Patrick's radio show.

"If I was LeBron James, I would shut the hell up," the Hall of Famer said on Patrick's show. "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."

James, under contract for two more seasons, was bombarded with questions about his future when the Cavaliers visited New York to play the Knicks on Tuesday night.

The Cavaliers can offer him an extension as early as July 1, 2009. There has long been speculation James will eventually end up in one of the NBA's larger markets and the Knicks have cleared salary-cap space in anticipation of the 2010 free-agent class.

"I think July 1, 2010, is a very big day," James said when the Cavaliers were in New York. "It's probably going to be one of the biggest days in free-agent history in the NBA. So a lot of teams are gearing up to try to prepare themselves to be able to put themselves in position to get one of the big free-agent market guys."

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