If Michael Jordan returns to the NBA, he'll almost certainly
have Charles Barkley with him.
Working as a broadcaster on the NBA playoffs for Turner Sports,
Barkley sounded excited Tuesday by the prospect of a joint comeback
with Jordan.
|  | | If Charles Barkley comes back, it will likely be in a Wizards uniform. |
Barkley said he would return to the court if he could get back
in shape – and had some company.
"I wouldn't come back if Michael didn't come back. I would only
come back for him," he said on a conference call.
The 38-year-old Barkley retired last season after rupturing a
knee tendon. He said he has talked with Jordan, now president of
the Washington Wizards, about a possible comeback.
When he retired three years ago, Jordan said he was "99.9
percent sure," he would not play again, but that percentage has
apparently gone down.
Jordan, who is working out, talked last weekend in broad terms
about the challenge of a comeback.
"It's definitely the challenge," the 38-year-old Jordan said
Saturday on NBC. "I'm not coming back for money. I'm not coming
back for the glory. I think I left the game with that, but the
challenge is what I truly love."
Barkley, like Jordan, picked as one of the 50 greatest players
in NBA history, is coming along for the ride.
"He thinks we can still be good," Barkley said. "I'm very
confident. If I can get my weight down, I like my chances. I don't
think we can play at the level we once did. But I think we can
still play well.
"If something this magnificent is happening, I've got to think
of it seriously. It's the only thing that would get me out of
retirement."
Barkley began working out earlier this year and lost 30 pounds
quickly, getting down to 300. Then he went on what he called his
"Celebrity Tour" – trips to be inducted in the Alabama Hall of
Fame and have his uniform number retired by Auburn University and
the Philadelphia 76ers.
"I went three weeks with no workouts and gained 10 pounds
back," he said. "I got lazy. Now I'm back on schedule and feeling
pretty good about my weight loss."
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AUDIO VIDEO
 Charles Barkley targets July 1st as the date he and Michael Jordan will make their decision.
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