"The Lakers are such wussies" - Charles Barkley sounds off on the LA Lakers for throwing Russell Westbrook and Frank Vogel under the bus for their struggles

Charles Barkley has sounded off on the LA Lakers. The basketball Hall of Famer lashed out at the purple-and-gold franchise for the manner in which they are apparently holding Russell Westbrook and Frank Vogel responsible for their recent struggles.

Speaking on NBA on TNT, where he features as a regular studio pundit, Barkley came down heavily on the Lakers. He said:

"The Lakers are such wussies and I only say wussies because I can't say the word that I really want to say. The way they have tried to throw Russell Westbrook and Frank Vogel under the bus is just really pissing me off."

Barkley didn't stop even as the on-air program went off for a player interview. Immediately after the interview was done, the 58-year-old continued like he had never stopped. He commented:

"I'm still mad. Listen, I'm not going to sit out like all these clowns on other networks, got their heads up the Lakers' bo***es. Now they're blaming Frank Vogel and Russell Westbrook. The people up top, who put that trash together, are running and hiding like cowards, saying, 'It's Frank, it's Russ.'"

The 1993 MVP added:

"You put all them old geezers out there. Listen, the best guy out there, other than LeBron, in the last month has been who? Stanley Johnson. And for them to be bringing a guy who was on the street and he becomes your second-best player, whoever is running that trash out there, it's ridiculous man."

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Charles Barkley attacks LA Lakers after franchise apparently green-lit Frank Vogel's decision to bench Russell Westbrook

Charles Barkley's comments came in the aftermath of LA Lakers head coach Frank Vogel benching Russell Westbrook for the last four minutes of Wednesday's contest against the Indiana Pacers. The Lakers went on to lose the match 111-104 on their home floor.

When asked why he benched Westbrook for the final stretch of the game, Vogel gave a fairly blunt answer. He said:

"Playing the guys I thought were going to win the game."

Further investigation by ESPN's Dave McMenamin revealed that the LA Lakers had given Vogel full authority to handle Westbrook. McMenamin's story says:

"Over the past week and a half, Lakers management has told the coaching staff to coach Westbrook as the coaches see fit, even if that means pulling him from a game, as Vogel did for the final 3 minutes, 52 seconds of the fourth quarter against Indiana, sources told ESPN."