Barkley: Miami Heat 'Won't Be a Top 4 Team' in East in 2016
LeBron James is gone but Charles Barkley still likes to strike South Florida fans where it hurts.
The TNT broadcaster declared the Miami Heat won't be an elite team next year despite expecting to return a talented core of Goran Dragic, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Hassan Whiteside. Miami also has a 91 percent chance of landing a Top 10 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.
"They won't be a top four team [in the East]," Barkley said on a playoff conference call, according to the Miami Herald. "You don't go from out of the playoffs to a top four team. Dwyane [Wade] is going to be a year older. No, they won't be a top four team. They didn't make the playoffs.
"Now if they get LeBron to move back down, they will be a top four team. They are not a top four team. They're not even close as constructed. They need some more building blocks."