Matt Barnes played some terrific defense in Orlando’s 96-94 victory over the Lakers, he stood toe-to-toe with one of the game’s fiercest competitors, and he pump faked a ball in Kobe’s face. That’s more than enough to dub Monday, March 8th, something of a Matt Barnes appreciation day, particularly among the internet’s sometimes vicious anti-Kobe contingent. They minimal amount of bad blood between the Magic and Lakers had long since dissipated, but Barnes went out of his way to make things interesting for the reigning conference champs.
For that, we are indebted. But for Barnes’ toughness, utility, and fill-the-gaps production, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel insists that the Magic are indebted:
Matt Barnes can opt out of his contract after the season ends, and if the Magic let him leave, they will go backward in their title quest. Pay the man. He makes the league veteran’s minimum of $1.8 million. He’s the lowest-paid starter, and it’s criminal. “I want to stay here, of course….but I need to get paid, too,” Barnes says, matter of factly. They need to convince him t stay even if it means going deeper into the tax or trading away somebody else. Barnes was clearly the difference in the Magic’s win on Sunday against the defending champion Lakers. Clearly.
…Barnes signed a two-year deal with an option last summer as a free agent. What he gives the Magic is hard to price. But he gives them something they don’t have all the time — toughness, grit, rebounding and defense. He guards Kobe and all the other star scorers. Pay the man.
Barnes is certainly capable of performing well above his pay grade, but there is a reason the Magic were able to pick him up for $1.8 million. He clearly regressed during his second season with the Golden State Warriors which, coincidentally or not, came just after his first decent payday (a one-year deal worth $3 million). That was enough to put Golden State on notice and not re-sign him in 2008, despite the fact that Matt had been an indispensable part of the “WE BELIEVE” Dubs just a year earlier.
Plus, to say that Barnes’ being the Magic’s lowest-paid starter is somehow a crime is a bit misleading. Yes, he’s a quality rotation wing that a lot of playoff teams would love to have. But when he’s starting alongside the likes of Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson, and Vince Carter, what would you expect?
Barnes’ next paycheck will likely be determined by how much he can help the Magic in this year’s playoffs. But even then, let’s not confuse the fact that Barnes’ real contributions are difficult to valuate with the idea that he somehow exceeds in the value of Orlando’s other starters.
