WATCH: Charles Barkley blasts LeBron James over Lakers struggles

The Los Angeles Lakers entered Thursday’s game against the Toronto Raptors with a 31-36 record and seven games out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

LeBron James and Co. have now lost 12 of their past 16 games following Thursday’s loss to Toronto. Both Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram are out for the remainder of the season.

To say that things have not gone swimmingly for King James and Co. this season would be an understatement.

In talking about the Lakers’ struggles, media personality and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley absolutely blasted LeBron. He did so during halftime of the Lakers’ game against Toronto Thursday evening.

Give it a watch.

Barkley is talking about all the trade chatter surrounding these Lakers leading up to last month’s deadline.

Pretty much everyone on the roster was put up for sale in an attempt to team James up with New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis. That included the likes of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma.

It was the worst-kept secret in the NBA at the time. Interestingly enough, the names bandied about heading to New Orleans in the deal were reportedly leaked by the Lakers themselves.

Barkley is right. These youngsters have indicated that they’ll put it past them. But that’s much easier said than done. They are impressionable kids.

We know full well that James has the run of the Lakers’ franchise. He did in Cleveland. He did in Miami. Once James returned to the Cavaliers, that was magnified even further. It’s now the same case in Los Angeles.

Such is the nature of the beast when we’re talking about the game’s best player. That doesn’t make it any less contentious with young teammates.

And in reality, this could be the biggest issue in Los Angeles as the team closes up shop in what has been a lost season.

For as outrageous as some of Barkley’s takes are, he could be on to something here.