Surprise, surprise: Matt Barnes has a bone to pick.
The Los Angeles Clippers rocked the NBA world Monday night by trading Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons in a blockbuster move that was made official Tuesday morning. It was an eye-opening move, considering L.A. had just signed its star forward to a five-year, $171 million contract this summer.
Barnes was as perplexed as anyone, it seems. The retired NBA forward, who spent three seasons as Griffin’s teammate from 2012 to 2015, voiced his strong criticism of the move Monday night on Instagram — while taking a shot at Clippers head coach Doc Rivers.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BejeFwoFPHI/
“So you trade this guy after paying him this much money … when everyone in the organization & everyone who’s played there knows DOC IS THE PROBLEM!!!” Barnes wrote.
So, yeah. Barnes isn’t a Rivers fan. He’s not the only detractor of the former Boston Celtics coach, though: Ex-Clipper Chris Paul reportedly “despised” Rivers during his L.A. tenure, while Glen “Big Baby” Davis still has beef with Doc after a few run-ins during his playing days.
Rivers’ talented Clippers teams have thrived in the regular season but never managed to get over the playoff hump: Despite winning 50-plus games in each of his previous four seasons in L.A., the team never made it past the second round of the playoffs.
With DeAndre Jordan the only remaining piece of the Clippers’ “Big Three,” that likely won’t change anytime soon.
