Los Angeles Lakers

Charles Barkley not shocked by Kobe's silence, calls Bryant 'a loner'

Published Jul. 23, 2015 2:22 p.m. ET

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It made for a fantastic moment during the Los Angeles Lakers' introductory news conference for Roy Hibbert, Lou Williams and Brandon Bass on Wednesday. But was it really surprising to learn that Kobe Bryant hadn't reached out to the newest Lakers, given what's known of the future Hall of Famer?

According to a Hall of Famer in his own right, Charles Barkley, it's not surprising at all. The TNT analyst appeared on ESPN's Mike & Mike radio show on Thursday morning and offered his take on Bryant not reaching out to his new teammates:

"Do I think it's unusual? No. Kobe is a loner. He's obviously one of the 10 greatest basketball players ever, and he's always treated me with respect. But he's a loner. He's got a one-track mind as far as basketball goes, and I don't think he's the type of guy -- doesn't make him a bad guy -- who's gonna reach out to guys like that. He will see them in training camp."

But if Barkley were in Bryant's shoes, would he have reached out? Did he, in fact, reach out when he was a player and had new teammates?

"I think that I reached out to the stars, not the role players. Like when I got traded to Phoenix, I think I called Kevin Johnson and Dan Majerle, and when I got traded to Houston, I reached out to Hakeem Olajuwon."

Way to ignore Clyde Drexler, Chuck!

(h/t ESPN.com)

Photo Credit: Noah Graham/Getty Images; Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports

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