“Violence is never the answer, but sometimes it is.”
Matt Barnes and Derek Fisher don’t have much of an on-court history, as their careers only crossed paths during a brief time when both played for the Lakers, but their off-court history is where the fun lies. If you hadn’t heard, just a month before the start of the 2015-2016 season, Barnes paid Fisher a visit at his estranged wife’s house in Los Angeles, and reportedly tried to “beat the sh*t” out of the Knicks head coach for being romantically involved with Gloria Govan, Barnes’ ex-wife, while Barnes’ kids were present at the house. The situation didn’t boil over much further in the immediate aftermath, but Barnes was suspended for 2 games by the NBA in the final days of 2015 following the league’s investigation into the matter.
Naturally, as the Knicks prepare to visit the Memphis Grizzlies–Barnes’ current team–tonight in Memphis, Fisher-Barnes fever is at an all-time high, and the Grizzlies forward, who already has a reputation of being a pesky and provocative player, is feeding the frenzy with comments like the ones above and below.
“I know I got to keep my mouth shut because then he’ll run and tell. So we’re focused on playing that team (the Knicks). And when I’m retired, him and I will cross paths again.”
The fact that the above quote is quite obviously a veiled threat aside, it’s pretty clear that Barnes has yet to make peace with this matter, meaning we more than likely–as unbelievable as that sounds–haven’t read the last chapter of this book.
