NBA News: Warriors To Sign Matt Barnes Instead Of Jose Calderon Due To Durant Injury

Trevor Lane
3 Min Read
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

In the NBA, all it takes is a split second for everything to change. In the case of Jose Calderon, all it took was a Zaza Pachulia stumble. He fell back into the knee of Kevin Durant, causing Durant’s knee to hyperextend. It looked somewhat similar to the way Andrew Bynum was injured by Kobe Bryant back in 2009, and one has to hope that Durant’s injury is not as serious.

Unfortunately for the Golden State Warriors, there is no way to fully replace Durant. We don’t know the severity of his injury just yet, but according to it’s serious enough that they have decided to bring on extra help on the wing in the form of Matt Barnes.

The issue is that the Warriors had already planned on signing Jose Calderon, who was just released by the Lakers. Now, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Warriors will immediately release Calderon in order to sign Barnes:

This is a tough turn of events for Calderon, who approached the Lakers to secure a buyout so that he could join a contender. Minutes were scarce with the Lakers, who are committed to giving their young players plenty of opportunities. The good news for Calderon is that he will still be playoff eligible after this release.

Now, with a great fit in Golden State off the table, Calderon will have to seek out another team to join up with if he intends to continue his career. The Cleveland Cavaliers are off the table now that they have added Deron Williams, and Houston added Lou Williams at the trade deadline.

Perhaps a team like the San Antonio Spurs or Toronto Raptors could give Calderon a shot, but if not it will be interesting to see where he eventually ends up.

Trevor Lane is a longtime NBA and Los Angeles Lakers fan who had the good fortune to grow up during the glory days of the Showtime Lakers, when Magic Johnson, Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, and the rest ruled the Great Western Forum. He has written about basketball, soccer, fantasy sports, MMA, and even pro wrestling over the course of his career, but the spectacle that is the Lakers is his true passion. He made the leap into podcasting for Lakers Nation and provides voice-over analysis for our YouTube channel. With a who's who of stars gracing the Lakers lineup over the years, including Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, Pau Gasol, and many others, the Lakers always provide plenty to talk about. When he isn't writing or recording, Trevor can be found spending time with his wife and daughter or on the sidelines for one of the youth teams he coaches. Outside of the Lakers, Trevor is a supporter of the LA Galaxy, US Soccer, Dallas Cowboys, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Contact: trevor@mediumlargela.com
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