Matt Barnes on Staying in Orlando: ‘It Doesn’t Look Good’

The signing of Q-Rich by the Magic made the writing on the wall for Barnes quite clear, as he explains to the Orlando Sentinel: “Barnes has said all along that his first choice is to remain with the Magic, but the news today that the Magic had agreed to a deal with 6-foot-6 wing Quentin Richardson likely indicated that Barnes’ time with the Magic is done. ‘Honestly, it doesn’t look good,’ said Barnes, who had opted out of the final year of his two-year deal to test the free-agent market. ‘Like I said in the beginning, right when the season was ending, I was taking a chance by opting out,’ Barnes said. ‘But with everything going on with the collective bargaining agreement next year, I just felt this would be the best situation to kind of make a little bit of money before they change all the rules about that. But this is a business. From Day One, I think I’ve known that maybe a little better than anybody else in the NBA. So, if they choose not to bring me back, I always say a team’s got to do what’s best for their organization. That’s kind of the way I look at that.’ To his credit, Barnes didn’t express any bitterness toward the Magic when I spoke with him this afternoon.”