A couple of days ago, news broke of free agent forward Matt Barnes finally receiving some interest from three teams around the league. The Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers were reportedly the three teams reaching out to Barnes with the offer of a one-year deal worth the veteran’s minimum.
Reportedly, Barnes has made the decision to stay in Los Angeles by agreeing to a deal with the Clippers according to ESPNLosAngeles.com:
“Sources told ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Ramona Shelburne that Barnes received a one-year deal at the veteran minimum of approximately $1.2 million.”
With the Los Angeles Lakers having no intentions of bringing back Barnes after signing Antawn Jamison and re-signing Devin Ebanks this summer, the veteran journeyman had an uncertain future in the league to say the least. Talks between Barnes and Lakers were supposedly in the works over the past month or so, but it was clear at the end of last season that the Lakers wouldn’t re-sign him.
This will be Barnes’ second stint with the Clippers. Barnes has played for eight different teams over the course of his career starting with the Clippers back in 2004. Since making his NBA debut with the Clippers back in ‘04, Barnes has played for the Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns, Orlando Magic and the Lakers.
Even though the Lakers have stolen all the headlines during the off-season by bringing in Jamison, Jodie Meeks, Steve Nash and Dwight Howard, the Clippers have also made considerable moves.
Along with bringing in Barnes, the Clippers also signed Jamal Crawford and Grant Hill. The team from across the hall also brought in former Laker Lamar Odom and re-signed Chauncey Billups. These fives moves alone make the Clippers one of the deepest teams in the league with plenty of veteran talent surrounding superstars Blake Griffin and Chris Paul.
It’ll be interesting to see how the new-look Clippers match up with the reloaded Lakers next season. The battle for Los Angeles has been given a boost with all the moves made by both teams this summer and should make for some entertaining basketball.
Fans of the Lakers and Clippers should start circling the dates below for the four games these two division rivals will play next season:
Friday, November 2: Clippers @ Lakers 7:30 p.m. PT on ESPN
Friday, January 4: Lakers @ Clippers 10:30 p.m. PT on ESPN
Thursday, February 14: Clippers @ Lakers 7:30 p.m. PT on TNT
Sunday, April 7: Lakers @ Clippers 12:30 p.m. PT on ABC
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