Charles Barkley Rips TNT Bosses Amid 'Inside The NBA' Uncertainty

Charles Barkley is giving his blunt reaction to the rumors surrounding the future of "Inside The NBA" ... admitting morale is at an all-time low amid reports the show is on life support.

The rumors have been swirling for weeks -- TNT is on the verge of losing its broadcast deal with the Association to NBC ... which, as a result, would mean the end of the wildly successful basketball program starring Chuck, Ernie Johnson, Kenny "The Jet" Smith and Shaquille O'Neal.

Barkley opened up about the situation on "The Dan Patrick Show" Thursday ... and he certainly didn't sugarcoat anything -- but admitted even he has been left in the dark.

"Morale sucks," Chuck said minutes ago. "Plain and simple. I just feel so bad for the people I work with, Dan. These people have families and I just really feel bad for them right now."

"These people I work with, they screwed this thing up, clearly. We don't have zero idea what's going to happen."

Chuck said he doesn't feel good at all ... especially after TNT announced a five-year agreement to host College Football Playoff games in the future.

He went on to point out the money used in that deal should've been used to keep the NBA on TNT ... as they should be "spending every dime we got" to prevent a breakup.

There's a bit of hope if everything goes as expected, though -- Chuck told Patrick he has thought about signing his team to his own production company to continue the 'Inside' magic ... which they could then flip and sell to another outlet.