We told you yesterday that Matt Barnes looked done with the Lakers but was close to a deal to stay in Los Angeles with the Clippers.
Now comes this tweet from Sam Amick at Sports Illustrated:
Nothing is ever final until ink is on paper, but this sounds like it will be a reality. And at a veteran minimum price this is a good value for the Clippers, if not a need.
The Clippers are now loaded at the wing spot — they have Jamal Crawford, Caron Butler and Grant Hill at the three, Chauncey Billups, Willie Green and Eric Bledsoe at the two (although Bledsoe plays a lot of backup point). Plus, Lamar Odom can play on the wing some. So good luck finding some minutes in there, Barnes. And have fun setting the rotations, Vinny Del Negro.
But Chris Paul was in on the recruiting of Barnes, and right now what Chris Paul wants — bringing Billups back, for example — he gets as they try to keep CP3 happy heading into next summer when he is a free agent.
The Clippers have depth, they made moves this season that will make them a better team. But the real key to their success will be DeAndre Jordan stepping up and how they deal with front line depth issues. Barnes is not a huge impact just because there are not that many wing minutes to go around.
Still, Barnes is a Clipper and at a minimum deal that is a nice pickup.