During the NBA playoffs, Matt Barnes was one of the most inconsistent players for the Los Angeles Lakers as he struggled to play through injuries while averaging 3.5 points per game.
Along with the poor point production, Barnes couldn’t get back to form from beyond the arc. As if shooting 27.1 percent overall wasn’t bad enough for the NBA journeyman, Barnes was awful from three-point range with an ugly shooting percentage of 16.1 percent.
Now that the off-season has begun for Barnes, the 32-year-old will officially become an unrestricted free agent as of July 1. This isn’t new territory for veteran forward as Barnes has played for eight different teams throughout his career in the NBA and is no stranger to making changes via Mark Medina of the L.A. Times:
“I know probably better than anybody that this is a business,” said Barnes, who’s played for eight different teams in his nine-year career. “When you don’t win here, changes are made. With that said, I would like to return. But I have to sit down with my family and my agent and see what the cards hold. I’m not really thinking about that right now. I’m just going to relax and hang out with my family.”
With all sorts of different areas to address in both the starting lineup and the bench, it is uncertain if Barnes has earned a spot on this roster moving forward. There’s a good chance that the Lakers choose to re-sign 22-year-old forward Devin Ebanks over the nine-year veteran.
An indicator that Barnes might not have a future with the Lakers moving forward is the fact he didn’t even see the floor in the Game 5 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. With Ebanks being younger and still developing, Barnes might be searching for a new team once again this summer.
