Barkley didn't mince words while talking about the situation on "Inside the NBA" -- calling Irving an "idiot" ... and blasting the Association for not dropping the hammer on the point guard.

"I think Adam [Silver] should have suspended him," Barkley said. "First of all, Adam is Jewish -- you can’t take my $40 million and insult my religion. You gonna insult me, you have the right, but I have the right to say, ‘You can’t take my $40 million and insult my religion.'"

"I think the NBA, they made a mistake."

Of course, Silver did not level punishment on Irving ... despite the basketball player tweeting out a link to "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America," a movie packed with antisemitic rhetoric.

Irving never apologized for sharing it ... and, in fact, two days after sending the tweet, he got into a tiff with a reporter who had suggested he had been "promoting" the film on his platform.

Irving did, though, eventually take down the tweet. He also said in a separate tweet he is not antisemitic.

But, Barkley's co-host, Shaq, had issues with it all as well ... calling Irving an "idiot" too.

Meanwhile, during TNT's broadcast of the Nets vs. Bulls game ... Reggie Miller, who was commentating the game, said he was disappointed there was not a vocal outcry from players in the league over it all.