Raptors Should Target Outlaw Matt Barnes
The Raptors don’t necessarily have any holes, but due to the Serge Ibaka trade, the team should look into adding wing depth. Matt Barnes has recently become available and would fit on the team as a deep bench player.
The entire NBA was thrown for a loop with the DeMarcus Cousins trade. While Vivek Ranadivé and Vlade Divac combine for arguably the worst management in the NBA, they have let a certain asset go on waivers. I know this is going to sound crazy, but please, hear me out. The Raptors SHOULD target and acquire the troubled Matt Barnes.
He is not a role model for the young guys, and he’s not a champion. He’s not an elite player piling up accolades. He may not be any of those, but I can absolutely, positively say that Matt Barnes is not someone you want to meet in a back alley. Barnes is the type of player that has lasted in the NBA this long because he is ruthless and mean. If you look in the basketball dictionary, flip to the T’s and look at “tough”, you’ll find a photo of Matt Barnes chasing John Henson to the locker room. The Raptors on the other hand, are unreasonably soft, which will hurt them come playoff time.
The best thing the Raptors have going for them currently is their depth. At almost every position they are almost 3 players deep. After trading away Terrence Ross for the possible defensive saviour that is Serge Ibaka, the Raptors are now a little thin on the wings, specifically at SF. Essentially, Matt Barnes would take over Norman Powell’s role at the end of the bench. He might even push Powell for minutes.
A team cancer? Not Really.
There are obvious concerns about his character. He’s irresponsible sometimes and untrustworthy off the court. He has a lengthy list of trouble surrounding him. One thing that you should consider is that he hasn’t had any locker room trouble. Opponents HATE him with a passion, but teammates adore him. Chris Paul, J.J. Redick, and Blake Griffin all sing praises for him even after his Twitter outburst. Kobe Bryant basically acquired him for the Lakers, stealing him from the Raptors. You can say all you want about his troubled past, but do not say he is a bad teammate.
Pleas ignore everything off the court, the Derek Fisher incident, the NYC nightclub, the inappropriate language towards fans and owners, just block that all out for a second. Barnes is a decent player on the court. He’s not going to go for 51 like Ross, but he’s a valuable veteran. He’s played in 83 career playoff games and he’s played in bad environments. You name it, Barnes has experienced it.
The Addition We Need
Currently he’s averaging 7.6 PPG, and 5.5 RPG off the bench, albeit with a 38.4% FG percentage. Certainly he’s not setting the world on fire, but if he joins the Raptors, he’ll have a similar role to James Johnson in our previous two playoff runs. In all honesty, I’m personally not concerned with his numbers. The Raptors should add him solely for his attitude, but he’s also super cheap. He was just cut by the Kings so the most the Raptors would have to do to make room is send one of the rookies down to the D-League or waive Jared Sullinger.
Imagine this scenario. LeBron James tears down the lane for a thunderous dunk on Jonas Valanciunas in the Eastern Conference Finals. James then proceeds to stand above our Lithuanian Center and taunt him. Currently I don’t think anyone on the Raptors besides maybe Kyle Lowry would get up into LeBron’s grill and we can’t afford to lose our best player to a technical or ejection. Matt Barnes on the other hand is expendable, and hungry for his team. He’d have no problem getting into it with King James.
Again, Matt Barnes is not a sixth man of the year. He’s not a safe bet, but who is? If a second round rookie can get minutes in the playoffs last year for the Raptors (don’t get me wrong, Norm is awesome), I think we could benefit from a playoff veteran like Barnes. He has that intangible “F- you” attitude. He will stick with his teammates through thick and thin, just don’t mess with his girl. If he’s good enough for Kobe, he’s good enough for me. The Raptors should sign Matt Barnes.