When asked about the Lakers’ handling of Bronny during an appearance on The Bettor Angle show, Barkley didn’t hold back.

The NBA Hall of Famer has criticized Los Angeles’s unusual plan to have the rookie split time between home G-League games and the NBA roster, suggesting it’s hampering his development.

“Awful,” he said in response to the Lakers’ plan.

“I thought it was great, a little ceremony his first game. But the kid is not ready to play in the NBA… This thing where he’s only gonna play home games.

It’s stupid, it’s not fair to him,” Barkley continued. “It’s not fair to the team. Can you imagine the coach of that team?

You come off a road trip and you have a player you haven’t seen in a week or two. And then you probably feel like you gotta play him.”

Bronny’s statistics support Barkley’s concerns. The McDonald’s All-American averaged modest numbers at Sierra Canyon High School (13.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists) before a limited college career at USC (4.8 points, 2.1 assists, 2.8 rebounds).

Now as a pro, he’s posting just 0.7 points per game on 16.7% shooting in the NBA while managing 5.0 points and 3.0 assists in 28.5 minutes across two G-League appearances.

The criticism reflects a growing concern that the Lakers’ attempt to accommodate both James family members might be coming at the cost of Bronny’s long-term growth.

Leave it to Barkley to say what we’re all thinking.