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Barkley refused to share team control in 2017 bid for Magic exec job

LISA O'CONNOR / AFP / Getty

Naismith Hall of Famer and TNT studio analyst Charles Barkley maintains he would have done an excellent job if given a chance to run the Orlando Magic's front office when the opportunity apparently arose in 2017.

"I was very disappointed I didn't get the job (three) years ago," Barkley said in an episode of "The Lowe Post" podcast released Tuesday.

"They were great to me to a certain degree, but I thought I should have got the job, to be honest with you," the 57-year-old added. "They went a different direction. I think I'd be great at the job because I'm smart enough to hire people who know what they're doing."

The Magic ultimately hired former Toronto Raptors executive Jeff Weltman as president of basketball operations, with longtime Milwaukee Bucks general manager John Hammond coming over to fill the same position in Orlando.

During discussions with the organization at the time, Barkley says he was unwilling to accept anything less than full autonomy over front-office decisions, including staffing and draft choices.

"It ain't going to be like, 'Well, Charles is the president, but the general manager is making all the draft picks.' That's just not going to happen for me. I said, 'I want complete control,'" Barkley explained. "'And if I fail, I'm cool with that, but I'm never going to let other people make basketball decisions for me, period.'"

The Magic have gone 97-132 (.424) since Weltman and Hammond took over operations in 2017. However, should the 2019-20 season resume from its ongoing stoppage due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team will be on track to qualify for the postseason for the second straight year.

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