Matt Barnes?

I doubt the Suns who are already over the lux tax cap could afford him without some other cuts, but I do like him coming off the bench in the 3 spot if can be done.

I think I lot of what happens will depend on how they see Diaw being used. If they are going to play more at the 3 then you have Diaw and Hill and Tucker behind them so there is enough depth there and they need more bigs.

If they still see Diaw playing up front with Amare then yes, the Suns need another wing player.

But I actually think even with Boris at the 3, the Suns could use him. As much as I like still going with Tucker, I think the Suns hardcore NEED more 3 point shooters. Like the suns really aren’t a roster now made up of them like they used to be.

Think about it.

After 2004-2005 the Suns lost 2 shooters: JJ and Q (making up for 1 with Raja Bell)
Then, James Jones leaves, now no Marion (who, while not a great shooter, was still above 30%)

So, I can see Barnes stepping ahead of Tucker for playing SF, but also coming in and playing some 2 when Nash is out

So Lineup like:

PG – LB
SG- Barnes
SF- Diaw
PF- STAT
C- Shaq/ Lopez

but I would probably shoot myself if we gave him the full mid-level exception. This years FA market is very much a buyer’s market, so to spend 5M/year on Barnes is wiggity-whack.

Personally, I’d be happy if we just resigned Gordan. I love that man.

Let’s sign them both. Barnes would be signing a $7-$8 mil deal if he had been able to build on his playoff performance against the Mavs last year. It seemed like he couldn’t get any traction this year. Like Rose said, it is a buyer’s market. He can be had for a portion of the midlevel. Give GG the other half. Come on, Sarver. It’s only money.

I hesitate to do this since NBADRAFT.NET nailed me on the trade rumor, but the Clips seem a lock to sign Baron Davis. With Davis, Brand, and Kaman, along with EGordon, the Clips might push for the playoffs. With P-town sure to be in the mix, which WC teams fall? I say Houston and Denver will fall out of the playoffs.

I kind of think Barnes hit his peak in the Dallas series. His failure to get traction last year was, from what saw, because he couldn’t hit water from the ocean.

You know how you had that one, really amazing game that one time? Yeah, that was his series.

And the tats make me dizzy.

I think it’s true that he probably has peaked with his 3 point shooting…

But even more so than his shooting potential, I suggested the idea because of his size/athleticism/hustle. Losing Marion reallly highlights the fact that now, the Suns aren’t very athletic as a team. There’s Amare or course…and flashes of Shaq…and some Barbosa. But that’s it. Barnes is 6’7, a great runner, and finisher around the rim.

I think he’d bring a lot of energy…which considering the Suns’ average player age, might be a good idea.