Opinion: Matt Barnes trade will haunt Grizzlies in 2015

Matt Barnes is ultimately going to hurt the Grizzlies more than he helps them

Many Grizzlies fans seem happy with the fact that the team was able to pick up Matt Barnes in a trade last week. Perhaps I’m in the minority, but I do not think that this was a good pick up.

Statistically, Barnes had one of his better years last season, but he is now 35 and will turn 36 in March.  He’s obviously getting near the end of his career, so you can’t expect his numbers to go up.  Barnes’ production on the Grizzlies will not be as efficient as it was with the Clippers last season, as he was playing nearly 30 minutes per game.  If he logs that many minutes in Memphis, then the team is going to be in big trouble.

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Barnes also shot one of this best percentages from long range last season, but he historically isn’t a good three pointer shooter. His career average hovers around 33%, which is mediocre at best. The last time he had a decent three point shooting season, his percentage dropped off to 29% in the subsequent season. The Grizzlies need consistent long-range shooting, which Barnes cannot provide.

There’s also a player who the Grizzlies traded last season, who happened to have a very similar stat-line  to Barnes. That player is Tayshaun Prince.  The Tayshaun Prince who was run out of town due to his inefficiency and lack of production. Barnes and Prince are both 35, and when Prince joined the Grizzlies, he was younger. When Prince first joined Memphis, his statistics were extremely similar to Barnes’ last season.  Both averaged around 10 ppg, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, shot 36% from three, made about 1 steal per game, and Barnes averaged two more fouls per game than Prince. Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you, Tayshaun Prince 2.0 with a bad attitude.

Barnes is also known for running his mouth and causing more problems for his team than helping. You can say that he gives a team a mental edge or added toughness, but in the end getting flagrant fouls and being ejected is not beneficial to your team. Here are a few examples of Barnes in action:

There’s a difference between being gritty like the Grizzlies, and playing dirty, like Barnes has been known to do.

Overall, acquiring Matt Barnes was not worth it. His production is going to go down, and he’s going to cause more on the court problems than help.  Personally, I feel that picking up Barnes was a bad get, and the Grizzlies are going to feel that during the upcoming season.