The Los Angeles Lakers made the biggest NBA trade in a long time in February, acquiring Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks. 

It was a trade that nobody saw coming since Doncic is one of the best players in the NBA, but the Mavericks felt like it was one worth making.

The trade has really helped the Lakers, who are second in the Western Conference with a 39-21 record and have won seven in a row.

Kendrick Perkins loves that the Lakers made the trade and thinks that they’re saving the NBA.

“Right now, the Los Angeles Lakers are saving the NBA,” Perkins said.

AUBURN, ALABAMA – FEBRUARY 4: Former NBA player and Auburn alum Charles Barkley enters Neville Arena through the loading dock prior to a game between Oklahoma Sooners and Auburn Tigers on February 4, 2025 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Stew Milne/Getty Images)

Stew Milne/Getty Images

Charles Barkley saw that take and immediately fired back at Perkins, calling him a “fool.”

“I saw a fool/idiot on TV talking about the Lakers save the NBA. He’s an idiot and a fool but he knows he is. He said the Lakers, first of all, the Lakers have had a great two weeks. He said the Lakers saved the NBA season,” Barkley said.

He mentioned that it’s all they talk about on ESPN while knowing that’s the network that Barkley and Co. will be working for next year.

Barkley is not holding back any punches on some of his future colleagues. He’s always going to tell it how it is and doesn’t care if people disagree with him.

The Lakers are one of the top contenders to win it all this year with Doncic and LeBron James, but they’ll still need to go through some tough teams in the West, including the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, and potentially the Golden State Warriors.

The Lakers have 22 games left in the regular season before the NBA Playoffs start.

Now that Barkley has clapped back to Perkins, let’s see if the latter speaks his mind on Barkley on social media or Twitter/X.