Lakers add Matt Barnes and Theo RatliffBarnes, a former UCLA Bruin and noted defender, turns down more money from Cleveland to join the two-time defending champions.
By Broderick Turner and Mike Bresnahan
The LA Times
July 22, 2010
The Lakers were unable to sign Raja Bell, but another antagonist is on the way.
Free-agent forward Matt Barnes decided to sign a two-year deal with the Lakers, choosing the chance at a championship over a more lucrative offer from Cleveland on the same day Theo Ratliff agreed to a one-year, $1.35-million contract with the Lakers, adding a veteran shot-blocking center to the second unit.
Photo: In this television screen capture from an Laker-Magic game back in March, Matt Barnes pretends to throw an inbounds pass at Kobe Bryant’s face. Bank! Credit: ABC/ESPN.As the Lakers found out last season, Barnes, 30, can pester shooting guards and small forwards alike. He and Kobe Bryant engaged in a trash-talking session in Orlando's 96-94 victory last March that included Barnes pretending to throw an inbounds pass directly at Bryant's face. Bryant didn't even flinch.
The most the Lakers could pay Barnes next season is $1.77 million, about half of what Cleveland was offering, and Barnes has a player option in 2011-12 for almost $2 million that would allow him to test the market again in a year if he wished.
Miami was a possibility for Barnes, and Boston made a late run, but the Lakers had the extra allure of being two-time defending champions.
"It's official," Barnes wrote on his Twitter account Thursday night. "I am a Los Angles (sic) Laker. This is a dream come true!!!"
Barnes averaged 8.8 points and 25.9 minutes a game last season for Orlando, his seventh team since leaving UCLA in 2002. Earlier this week, he appeared to be headed to Toronto for two years and $9 million as part of a sign-and-trade transaction, but the deal fell through.
The Lakers now have 11 players under contract next season, not including second-round draft picks Devin Ebanks and Derrick Caracter, who played relatively well this month on the Lakers' summer league team and could round out the roster. NBA teams must carry at least 13 players.
Barnes and Bryant are believed to be on good terms these days, but it wasn't that way when they played each other a few weeks after the All-Star break. Bryant missed a last-second 20-footer that would have sent the game to overtime and then chuckled three times in a 10-second span afterward when asked about Barnes' in-game behavior. "It's entertaining," he said.
As reporters asked Ron Artest what he thought of Barnes, Lamar Odom yelled out from across the locker room that Barnes was "a monkey" who "picked the right game to act tough." Odom then compared Barnes to pro wrestling's Ric Flair, known for whipping up crowds with his antics.
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More on Matt's attempted bank shot off of Kobe's grill...
Lakers' Kobe Bryant unfazed by Matt Barnes' ball movement
by Mark Medina
The LA Times
March 8, 2010 | 7:33 pm
The ball approached Kobe Bryant. Bryant stared right back at it. The ball went away.
That's the simple "See Spot Run" explanation when describing Bryant's outward indifference to Orlando's Matt Barnes pretending to throw an inbounds pass to his face in what eventually resulted in a Lakers' 96-94 loss Sunday to the Magic. But how is that utterly possible, given just normal human reflexes? It's long been established that Bryant is far from normal, but the latest example raised the ante just a little bit.
As for Bryant's explanation? Well, it seems that whether it's regarding his poor shooting or Barnes' antics, Bryant can't resist saying something that won't require muting his audio or bracketing out his quotes.
"I knew he wasn't going to do [anything]," Bryant said. "What would I flinch for?"
That certainly wasn't the case in the video below. Though Bryant mostly maintained a stoic and curt tone with reporters after Monday's practice, he let out a laugh after acknowledging he saw the video featuring the inbounds play. Bryant also expressed some annoyance when a reporter wondered how it was possible he didn't flinch with the ball so close to his face.
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Thanks to a salary cap technicality, Lakers snatch Barnes, also grab Ratliff
July 23, 6:45 PM
Los Angeles Lakers Hater Examiner
Justin Jervinis
The Los Angeles Lakers signed veterans Matt Barnes and Theo Ratliff yesterday. Barnes signed a two-year, $3.6 million contract and signed Ratliff to a one-year deal. Barnes is the more useful player between the two while Ratliff is just another body on the bench.
Barnes, 30, who played for the Orlando Magic last season, was primed to sign with the Toronto Raptors on Monday, but the Magic had limited options on completing a sign-and-trade with Barnes in order to join the Raptors.
He was supposed to receive a two-year, $9 million contract from the Raptors, but the salary cap rules prevented the Magic to do a sign-and-trade since the contract would have been over $1.9 million year. Also, the Magic signing Barnes would have gotten the team over the salary cap since the Larry Bird exception does not apply because Barnes was on the team for one season.
Barnes brings some solid talent and length on both ends at the wing position. He is fully capable of starting and coming off the bench, but has mostly been a reserve for the majority of his career.
Barnes has played seven season in the NBA and has played for the Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns and the Magic.
Ratliff, 37, is a 15-year veteran and has played for The Detroit Pistons, 76ers, Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trailblazers, Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs and Charlotte Bobcats.
The Lakers got lucky when it comes to signing Barnes. Of course a technicality in the salary cap rule had to come into effect, giving the Lakers a chance to snatch Barnes. The Raptors probably would not have been much better with Barnes anyway, but he surely benefits the two-time defending champions greatly.
It didn't look like Barnes was on the top of the Lakers list until the financial gaffe between the Raptors and the Magic took place earlier this week. Barnes literally fell on the Lakers' lap and it is very unfair. Barnes was dumb to want to sign with the Raptors in the first place. It's not like the Raptors are going anywhere in the near future since they unloaded Chris Bosh, their only good player.
Now that the Lakers have Barnes, they finally have depth in their front line complimenting Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol. Now when the Lakers starting big men Gasol and Andrew Bynum need a breather, they have two good players coming off the bench instead of just one like the last two seasons.
The Lakers continue to convince quality players to join their franchise. They have already signed Steve Blake to a four-year contract and have re-signed Derrek Fisher to a multi-year deal for less money. As long as the Lakers are the defending champions, good players will want to go to them for less money, which makes the team. To say the very least, this Barnes transaction was just unfair.
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Ron Artest asks fans via Twitter to describe Matt Barnes' toughness
by Mark Medina
The LA Times
July 23, 2010 | 11:00 am
For those wondering how the Lakers feel about acquiring Matt Barnes, well, you can always count on Ron Artest to give his opinion. From one tough guy to the other, Artest asked fans via Twitter to submit comments to him describing what makes Barnes so tough. Artest would know, seeing how the pesky Barnes tried to intimidate Kobe Bryant last season and even pretended to inbound the ball toward his face.
Among the fan feedback:
"Matt is tougher than nails Tougher than a penguin on steroids Tougher than richard Simmons trying to take off his spandex" -- RONARTESTCOM
“@AR_Fresh16: @RONARTESTCOM @Matt_Barnes22 is tougher than Chuck Norris and that's a tough dude lol”
"“@NickJunior: @RONARTESTCOM Matt Barnes is tough like elephant taint”
“@CELTICSin2011: @RONARTESTCOM matt barnes is so tough that he doesnt cry so his tears get donated to kobe cause he needs more tears”
“@IvanRott: @RONARTESTCOM Matt Barnes is tougher than Run-D.M.C.'s Tougher Than Leather.”
“@folllowthesun: @RONARTESTCOM tougher than trying to beat the Lakers?”
“@SBekovic: @RONARTESTCOM Matt Barnes is tougher that (sp) Kimbo Slice's beard.”
“@moongrim: @RONARTESTCOM Barnes is so tough I saw him dunk with no hands”
“@WBandoy: @RonArtestCOM Yo, @Matt_Barnes22 is tougher than doing Chinese calculus in your head!”
“@FabioLLanes: @RONARTESTCOM matt barnes is tougher than sodoku”
“@ziadaljamaan: @RONARTESTCOM matt barnes so tough he doesn't sleep he just waits”
“@koronanlime: @RONARTESTCOM Matt Barnes is tougher than using the restroom after eating jalapeno tabasco sauce”
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Matt Barnes a perfect fit for the Lakers
by Mark Medina
The LA Times
July 22, 2010 | 10:11 pm
The chippiness and physical play last season became so overwhelming that Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and Orlando Magic guard Matt Barnes had to be separated. Now, with the Lakers signing Barnes on Thursday, the two probably will be embracing a lot more. If that sounds like something that's happened before, well, something similar took place last season.
In the 2009 playoffs, Ron Artest ran across the court and got into Bryant's face after he thought he was elbowed in the throat. With the two helping the Lakers win the 2010 championship, each oozed enthusiasm when speaking about the other's work ethic. Barnes tried to test Bryant last season in a regular-season matchup so much that he pretended to inbound the ball at Bryant's face, and the Black Mamba refused to flinch. With Barnes joining the Lakers to bolster the backcourt defense, don't expect Bryant to flinch next season when he talks about how much Barnes brings to the team.
It's an interesting situation we're in these days. There's been much debate recently about whether past generations of NBA players would have joined forces in a fashion similar to what LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have done in Miami. Besides Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird already having solid supporting casts around them, many point to the reputation that all three carried in being obsessive about beating their opponents. Barnes now crosses into friendly territory, but the circumstances are different. As shown in that game last season, Bryant and Barnes couldn't stand each other.
But similar to the Bryant-Artest dynamic, the very same reason the two nearly came to blows on opposite teams serves as the very same reason that they will bond together on the same team. Artest might have often appeared lost in the triangle offense, but Bryant knew he'd give it his all every game. Barnes may need to keep his emotions in check, but Bryant likely recognizes that passion can easily help spark a team that's often gotten beaten defensively.
The Lakers' acquisition of Barnes also neatly fits into their off-season storyline, in which General Manager Mitch Kupchak has added tiny wrinkles to make the two-time defending champions even more dangerous. With Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher returning, the entire corps remains intact. In acquiring Steve Blake, the Lakers added an immediate offensive punch to the backcourt reserves. With Devin Ebanks, Derrick Caracter and Theo Ratliff, the Lakers have dependable options to back up the loaded and talented front line. And after acquiring Barnes, the team brings in another Bryant adversary who will soon become another worshiper.
And when a player is in Bryant's good graces, that usually spells success.
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