Matt Barnes was the victim of a hard reset by the Sacramento Kings last month. They shipped DeMarcus Cousins and Omri Casspi out of town for young players, draft picks and expiring contracts. It made no sense for Barnes to remain on the squad and to bring in all the players Sacramento received from the New Orleans Pelicans, a roster spot had to be made. Barnes was waived, and he went on to join the Golden State Warriors, a team that put him on the map nearly a decade ago.
No matter the locations for Barnes, the often outspoken wingman always has an interesting opinion on things and will openly talk about his enemies. From players turned head coaches to fans and now an entire organization. The breakup between Barnes and the Kings seemed simple on the surface, but behind the scenes, you can only imagine what it was like in Sacramento, an organization mired in dysfunction. And to be fair, Barnes had his own share of issues during his time with the organization.
A few weeks ago, Barnes told Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee that the moves by the Kings caught him by surprise.
“Just overall very surprised, one, because they were very adamant they weren’t going to trade (Cousins),” Barnes said. “And then to hear he gets traded on the news, and in the back of my head I’m thinking if he’s gone, they might get rid of me because it seems like they’re going to rebuild. Shoot, lo and behold, the next morning it happens.
“It was frustrating because being back home and really taking pride in trying to put that team back on the map, and then just in a day’s time you’re no longer a part of the organization. So it was kind of a rude awakening.”
But now Matt Barnes has a different take on facing his hometown team. He’s looking for domination over Sacramento.
Barnes said the following to Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Asked after practice Thursday about facing Sacramento, which released him last month, Barnes didn’t hold back
“I’m trying to kill them,” said Barnes, whose Warriors host the Kings at 7:30 p.m. Friday. “Plain and simple. Things didn’t go well there.”
“They’re the enemy now,” Barnes said of the Kings, who are 3-11 since waiving him and trading Cousins. “We’re trying to kill them, beat them by 50.”
