Skip Bayless Wants Charles Barkley As His Replacement For Shannon Sharpe

Sports commentator Skip Bayless thinks he’s found a new debate partner for Undisputed: former NBA player and NBA on TNT co-host, Charles Barkley, the New York Post reports.

The seasoned host is eager to get Barkley in the hot seat, so much that he is willing to pay Barkley’s salary personally.

“Charles Barkley would be my dream debate partner on ‘Undisputed,’” Bayless said on a episode of his podcast, The Skip Bayless Show. “I would dive out of bed every morning out here in Los Angeles at two o’clock in the morning to get to work with Charles.”

“Charles Barkley would be my dream partner for Undisputed.” — @RealSkipBayless pic.twitter.com/vVBTdLFHmd

— The Skip Bayless Show (@SkipBaylessShow) July 6, 2023

The idea came to mind after Barkley called the podcast host a “damn idiot.”

Bayless, tongue firmly in cheek, feels Barkley would be the perfect replacement to set him up for retirement, comparing him to former co-host, Shannon Sharpe, who left the Fox Sports 1 show in June, and his former ESPN parnter, Stephen A. Smith.

“I could semi-retire….I could, dare I say, actually have a life and forget about prepping so furiously…hard night after night after night for every day’s Undisputed,” he said. “You’d be a solo Shaqtin’ a Fool on a daily basis. You’d be the equivalent of an Adam Morrison, an all-time NBA draft bust…This damn idiot would cherish working with you.”

Reportedly Bayless and the network are struggling to find a replacement for Sharpe. According to Front Office Sports, Bayless is taking a two-month break, returning on Aug. 28. Since ESPN made some blockbuster layoffs recently, other names have come up as replacement ideas including former NFL stars Keyshawn Johnson and LeSean McCoy.

Fellow FS1 analysts and hosts Emmanuel Acho and Joy Taylor have also had their names thrown in the ring.