Barnes a risk — one well worth taking
When the Warriors announced their interest in JaVale McGee, it was widely viewed as a practical joke of some kind. Surely the NBA’s most forward-thinking franchise would reject a player largely known for his inconceivable on-court gaffes.
In the local media, most of us backed off public disdain because it was the Warriors:
Steve Kerr, Bob Myers, Jerry West and a roster full of players who could bring out the best in anyone. McGee quickly blossomed into a fun-loving character and explosive center — “probably the fastest big guy I’ve ever seen,” marveled Kerr — who teammates actively involved for dunks off lob passes.
Myers’ track record, then, remained intact. He doesn’t believe there’s room for even one “knucklehead,” as the NBA jargon goes, on a team with championship designs.
Now, with the signing of Matt Barnes, Myers’ philosophy comes into question again.
And I’d bet on the franchise this time, as well — at least through the month of June.
In the long term, Barnes has no place on the Warriors. They’re about to face an offseason of roster desperation, with Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston a pair of likely casualties under a salary structure built around Kevin Durant, but Barnes turns 37 on Thursday. He’s an NBA vagabond, having played for nine teams since his rookie season with the Clippers in 2003-04. He called his signing with the Warriors “next to the birth of my children, the happiest day of my life” and could sail pleasantly into retirement if they win the championship.
Those are conversations for another day. The Warriors also walk a fine line with a man who, over the years, has been associated with domestic violence, threatening a police officer and assaulting a woman (in a Manhattan nightclub). That represents a full-blown track record. Aligning Barnes with the organization on a full-time basis simply doesn’t sound like a good idea.
The Warriors ask just two things of Barnes over the coming weeks: Stay clear of offthe-court trouble and be yourself on the court: mean and nasty. The type of edgy enforcer who won’t be intimidated by anyone. Don’t worry about the three-pointer; the Warriors have it covered. Set the tough screens, stay in the offensive flow, and use that aggressiveness
and length (at 6-foot-7) to be the prototypical Warrior on the defensive end.
To assess Barnes’ persona, perhaps, is merely to look at him. He’s got a a tattoo of an angel on one shoulder, the devil on the other. Most definitely, he is both. In contentment, he’s engaging and wellspoken, a hell of a good teammate. If the Warriors get all of his best qualities, consistently, this is a smart hire at the time the team’s small-forward position has dwindled to Iguodala and Patrick McCaw.
When Barnes was traded by the Clippers to Charlotte in June 2015, he had a big problem with coach/general manager Doc Rivers, saying,”Doc and I never saw eye-to-eye. He couldn’t wait to get rid of me. It’s not surprising that I was out of there as soon as things went south. He couldn’t wait.”
Barnes’ teammates did not agree. “There’s no question we’re going to miss Matt,” said point guard and team leader Chris Paul. “He brought a lot to our team — leadership,
toughness. He was just one of a kind.”
Barnes’ well-publicized confrontation with Derek Fisher was a fascinating case, a bit tawdry but one that won him a street-wise brand of respect around the league. In summer 2015, Barnes was going through a divorce with his wife, Gloria Govan, with whom he has twin sons. Fisher, then coaching the Knicks, had taken a romantic interest in Govan. In October, he missed a preseason practice in New York and flew to Los Angeles to be with her, lying to the team about his absence.
Barnes, who was in Southern California at the time, responded to a text from his 6-year-old boys that “Mommy’s friend Derek is here.” Barnes drove to the house, encountered Fisher and, according to most reports, delivered a message-sending fist to the jaw. Message taken. No charges were filed, but Fisher lodged a complaint with the NBA and Barnes drew a twogame suspension.
“Every man who looks at the situation knows what’s right and wrong,” Barnes told the New York Times. “Violence is never the answer — but sometimes, it is.” In an ESPN interview, Barnes referred to Fisher as “my former teammate and friend who went behind my back, messed with my ex, got caught, got dealt with for being a snake, then ran and told the police and the NBA instead of taking that ass-whoopin’ like a man.”
So here’s the message to Warriors fans. You’re not getting Stephen Curry here. You’re not getting the wise, introspective Iguodala. You’re getting a frontier-justice type who, properly channeled, fits nicely into an NBA locker room and can help the team get through a difficult period.
It’s time for Barnes to look upward, to the stars.