Matt Barnes has played for nine teams in his 10-year NBA career and it all started in 2004 when he found his way to the Clippers. Fayetteville of the D-League and 17 games with Long Beach of the ABA were behind him.
The glory days of the remnants of a 28-54 Clippers season greeted him.
He laughed when he explained why he was so satisfied Wednesday, when Barnes talked about the three-year, $11 million contract he signed.
“Stability,” he said over and over as if to convince himself.
“I’m not supposed to be here, I’m not supposed to be in the NBA, I’ve bounced around, I’ve been down and out and to be on a contender now . . .” Barnes said, not needing to finish the sentence.
“After 11 years of scratching and clawing, I’m still scratching and clawing but I get to do it in the same place. And we have one of the better teams in the league.
“For myself and for the team we’ve come full circle. My rookie year, we were terrible. They know it, we know it, the world knows it. To see 10, 11 years later to even have something like this, people care about who the Clippers are signing now. The team’s come a long way and the I’ve come a long way personally.”
As it turns out, Barnes is not merely a valued tough guy off the bench who will unflinchingly shoot a 3-pointer. His influence reached deep last season on and off the court.
“Matt wants to win. You can just feel that when you’re around him,” Coach Doc Rivers said. “It’s so important. He loved the guys from last year. He was great to talk to on the phone, not about coming back, but just about the team. For me, he may have been the most important guy to bring back — obviously Chris (Paul) — just because he wanted to, and his knowledge of the team that’s already in place.”

J.J. Redick took a cut in pay to join the Clippers. Wait, he did what? Well, the chance to make a run with Doc Rivers and Chris Paul did make a difference.
“Who would have thought five, six years ago, a Boston Celtics head coach would want to come to the L.A. Clippers? It shows how far this franchise has come,” Redick said. “The fact that Chris didn’t really entertain anything (other than re-signing with the Clippers) speaks volumes as well. Those two things happening, it was a no-brainer for me.
“Doc and I had talked before everything kind of happened. I’ve never really played with a pass-first guy before and Chris is that. He’s a guy who creates for his teammates and puts the ball in a position where they can score and I’m very excited about that.”
Redick has made a name for himself as a shooter but has won admiration for his tenacious attitude as well.
“He’s tough, rugged, not just a shooter, he will mix it up and get physical and that’s what I appreciate about him because I’ve seen a lot of guys try to go at him and he stands up for himself,” said Matt Barnes,also a teammate of Redick’s in Orlando. “He definitely has me backing him up again, but I like him, he stands on his own and he’s not afraid of anybody. Not to mention the great shooter he is.”

Darren Collison joined two other former UCLA Bruins, Matt Barnes and Ryan Hollins, as the Clippers celebrated their newly formed roster on Wednesday.
Collison has played for three teams already in his four-year career, but the former Etiwanda High star didn’t mind plying his trade far from Southern California. But at this point in his career, he’s willing to make an exception.
“I’m not a fan of playing at home because of all the distractions that come with it,” Collison said. “But at the same time, it helps. It’s good to have the support system behind you but I think the biggest reason was to try to win the championship. I think this is a good choice for me.”
Collison began his career in New Orleans where a certain point guard named Chris Paul was running the show. Not a bad way to begin a career, and now that his career has matured a bit, he’s ready to contribute even more not only behind Paul, but next to him.
“It was extremely big,” Collison said. “Any time you get to play with one of the best guards in the league, you want to take that opportunity. I think the reason why we had so much success in New Orleans is because me and Chris had opportunities to play with one another at the same time. It gives him a lot more breathing space where he has another guy on the team who can create and get to the paint and kick out for others.”

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The Clippers waived forward DaJuan Summers on Tuesday, but they’re not exactly saying goodbye. Summers will still play with the Clippers in their summer league games in Las Vegas from July 12-22.
Summers, from Georgetown, signed a 10-day contract with the club in March and then was signed for the rest of the season in April. He appeared in only two games.

The Clippers also announced Rivers’ staff, which includes former Clippers coach Alvin Gentry as associate head coach. Gentry coached the Clippers from 2000-03.
The assistants named by the Clippers are Armond Hill, Kevin Eastman and Tyronn Lue. Eastman was an assistant for Rivers in Boston for the past eight seasons. Lue, the former Lakers player, will also coach the Clippers’ summer league team.
The club also announced that JP Clark will be assistant players skills coach.