You're looking at his playoff stats. That's one game. He can't shoot the 3 like Luther. He only made 106 compared to Luther's 177. He doesn't seem to be any better than Luther on paper. I don't know about his defense, though. This season's stats: MATT BARNES PPG 9.8 RPG 4.6 APG 2.1 SPG .96 BPG .54 FG% .438 FT% .732 3P% .366 MPG 23.9 LUTHER HEAD PPG 10.9 RPG 3.2 APG 2.4 SPG .95 BPG .06 FG% .437 FT% .790 3P% .441 MPG 27.6
Barnes would be a great pickup considering the low cost and all. I followed him closely at UCLA and am very surprised that he has stuck it this long in the NBA. It is obvious that the guy has worked extremely hard to get to this point. From the little I've seen of him in the NBA - it seems that he really hustles his ass off when he gets the playing time - and now has legitimate NBA 3-point range. I dunno about starting him. But a 6-7 hustle guy who can handle the ball decently with 3 point range would be a very versatile guy to have off the bench. I think he has a one-year 700k contract but it may very well go up a lot =(
Barnes hustles really hard on both ends of the court and appears to be a very versatile defensive player (from the little I've seen of him in the NBA). He chases a lot of rebounds and loose balls, etc. I think he came to the realization that he would have to become a super-high-energy hustle type of player to make it in the NBA. I saw a lot of his UCLA games and was surprised by how much his game seems to have changed. I really wouldn't compare him to Luther though (unless in a trade scenario). Barnes is 6-7 and could very well share a lot of court time with Luther if we got him. No - I wouldn't trade Luther for him. Also - I went to UCLA and am extremely biased. Hell - I think we should sign the OBannon brothers.
I was surprised it took him this long to show he belong in the NBA. I thought he was the best player, and a very versatle one, off some solid UCLA teams. But I would not trade Head for him. Head is the closest thing we have to a deadeye in our guards spots and I don't think Barnes will ever be a deadeye either. Besides, Barnes is an URFA. There would be no need to trade for him. Also, since GS is so deep at swingmen--they have lots of money committed to JR and Jackson (Harrington is kind of a swingman too), Ellis at another year (cheap) and Pietrus is an RFA. They will likely choose only one of either Pietrus or Barnes to resign. They will need to committ money to bigs IMO. Since Bonzi is on his way out, and Snyder doesn't seem to have the mental make-up to be a JVG guy, there is certainly a place for Barnes or Pietrus. But I am a little torn an whether to focus more on adding a PG, PF or a big SG. If we add a big SG it means we think Head can continue a transition to to back-up the PG spot in addition to spot SG duty, and I am not sure about that. For LLE money (2 years a little under 4 mil), keeping the MLE in tact to consider options at PF and PG, yeah I consider going after Barnes early in free agency. I consider Pietrus as well. Like I said GS will only retain one I think--I would suspect they think Pietrus has higher upside and since he is restricted he might be tougher to wrestle free. Either player would really help the Rockets athletically match-up with teams next year and help the Rockets in their NBA title defense.
I agree. He played very well. A few mess ups, but something that can be fixed. Hustled out there like Hayes, but can make shots AND defend.
Yep, but let's have a run at G. Wallace (G/F) of Charlotte and J. Pargo of the Bulls (PG)... This threadis like several weeks off target...WE are in a PLAYOFF RUN!
I wouldn't mind Barnes....but Pietrus is the guy I really from that team....very athletic and defensive minded....fits well into our system.
i'd split the mle between barnes and atkins if it came down to it. however, i am hoping they use the full mle to bring in a bigger name off the bench.
we also have the lle, we used it last time for derek anderson, but i'm pretty sure we could get at most atkins. and we should get some kind of exception from bob sura. so we have lots of spending money for the summer. plus the draft. if at least one of our plan works, hopefully the mle, we might be serious contenders. two years ago was supose to be a great sucess. cd did a wonder ful job getting swift and anderson, but sadly none of them fit. but he did get hayes. we have hayes and also mutombo i think bird rights. we might be ending up trading kirk snyder. both him and luther got contract extensions. cd did a wonderful job giving morey an easier job. morey just gotta ad the icing.
How many tattooes does this guy have?!? Wouldn't be surprised if he is the guy with most tattooes in NBA...
