Matt Barnes distances himself from LA for disrespecting Chris Paul
Matt Barnes not satisfied how The Los Angeles Clippers have been in business lately.
A two-time Clippers All-Star who began his professional career with the team in 2003 after a college career at UCLA, Barnes was a fixture of the Lob City era from 2010-15, where he played together Blake Griffin and Chris Paul as they revitalized LA’s interest in their own second basketball team.
While Barnes is undoubtedly proud of his time in LA, he he is not too happy with how the organization treats the stars like Blake Griffin and Chris Paul under Steve Ballmer, as he broke down on All The Smoke.
“It really bothered me. To be honest, I think I’ve only done one game since then. I had to cancel the game, and I don’t think I’m going to come back, to be honest with you, because I just think it’s s**t, to be honest. I mean, you’re playing with someone’s superdir the last time you played. Blake was signed to a big contract and then they traded him to Detroit,” Barnes said.
“I mean, you’re running your franchise, you know, maybe the two greatest players your organization has ever had. You’re running them dirty. It’s just that s—t rubs people the wrong way.”
While Griffin and CP3 came to L.A. in very different ways, they turned the Clippers into must-see television in a city historically marked by the Lakers. Even if the decisions to trade the duo were made for very different reasons, the fact remains: Los Angeles had the opportunity to do both players right and decided against it, which, combined with their current outlook, is less than ideal, to say the least.
2026-02-25 05:11:00
