Kori Ellis
05-15-2005, 01:35 PM
Barry: There’s no hard feelings
FRANK HUGHES; The News Tribune
Last updated: May 14th, 2005 02:40 AM
http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/sonics/story/4864828p-4464277c.html
San Antonio Spurs guard/forward/defensive stopper :lol Brent Barry wants to make it very clear.
There have been stories written about him in several publications leading up to this Western Conference semifinal series between the Spurs and Barry’s former team, the Seattle SuperSonics, suggesting Barry left the Sonics and signed with the Spurs because Sonics coach Nate McMillan pulled him into his office last summer and told him Luke Ridnour was going to be the team’s starting point guard.
What was neglected in the telling of those stories was the real reason behind Barry’s departure, a subject that was a foremost thought during negotiations but seems to have been forgotten in the 10 months since.
The fact is, Barry wanted a four-year contract. The Sonics were offering a three-year deal and would not increase their offer because of Barry’s age (he’s 33). And so Barry’s decision became a simple one that, for some reason, has gotten confusing.
“Nate and I talked openly about that, and whether I was going to start was up in the air,” Barry said. “There is some truth to that. Nate is not saying anything that he didn’t say to me behind closed doors.
“That wasn’t a problem with me. I was always a (shooting) guard and never a point guard – I have never made any bones about that, no pun intended (“Bones” is his nickname).
“But I had a three-year deal from Seattle and four-year deals from six other teams. If I wanted to start, I could have gone to five other teams, and I didn’t do that, either. So to put any stock in the fact I didn’t go back to Seattle because I wasn’t going to start is a little outlandish.”
Barry signed a four-year with the Spurs worth $20.5 million.
When Barry speaks, his words sound bitter, but they are not, simply matter-of-fact. So as much as people want to build up the drama of a rematch against his former team, no rivalry exists, at least as far as Barry is concerned.
“It is just ironic that we are playing each other,” Barry said. “I don’t think it is anything beyond that. There aren’t any personal vendettas that need to be exorcized while we are playing. It just happens that we are playing each other in the second round.”
The real irony, of course, is that while there has been a flap created about Barry starting or not starting for Seattle this season, it turns out he is now starting for San Antonio in this best-of-seven series, which the Spurs lead, 2-1. The series resumes Sunday afternoon.
Barry has had one of the most difficult seasons of his 10-year career, finding it exasperating to fit into San Antonio’s schemes.
In the early part of the season, Barry missed 17 consecutive 3-point attempts, something he said has never happened in his life. He assumed he would break out of the slump. He never really did.
Each season, Barry makes “160” a goal, which means that if you add up free-throw, field-goal and 3-point percentages, any player 160 or above qualifies as an elite shooter.
Few players do it annually. Reggie Miller. Jeff Hornacek, when he was playing. Barry has achieved the goal in eight of his 10 seasons. But his 161.7 was the lowest total he has had since the lockout season of 1998-99, when he spent one miserable season in Chicago.
“It has been frustrating,” Barry said. “Tough times this year, just trying to find a way to fit in. A learning experience, one I am still going through to this point. I hope I can find a couple games in the playoffs to contribute the way I know I can. It’s been real frustrating that way for me.”
It was something of a surprise when Spurs coach Gregg Popovich inserted Barry into the starting lineup for Manu Ginobili, a first-time All-Star, after the Spurs lost the opening game of their first-round series with Denver.
“I know what (Popovich) was doing it for and the reasons he was doing it,” Barry said. “I talked to Manu about saving stupid fouls for him. It is definitely to add punch to the bench and have him come off and provide the offensive spark we need.”
And so here he is, starting against his former team after his former coach told him he no longer would be a starter.
Most players would draw satisfaction from that, or at least use it as motivation to play well, perhaps hoist a few more shots to make a point.
But that is not Brent Barry, that is not his nature, and more importantly, that goes against the tenets of the game, which he follows, always.
So there is no validation for him in this series, no sense of redemption, because, as he said, he has mostly good memories of his time in Seattle.
“My decision to come here, there was a lot of things on my plate last summer,” Barry said. “It has nothing to do with anything personally. It was purely professional.
“I don’t think anybody in their right mind would see the opportunity to play four seasons in San Antonio and the promise of those seasons as a negative as opposed to going to Seattle.”
FRANK HUGHES; The News Tribune
Last updated: May 14th, 2005 02:40 AM
http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/sonics/story/4864828p-4464277c.html
San Antonio Spurs guard/forward/defensive stopper :lol Brent Barry wants to make it very clear.
There have been stories written about him in several publications leading up to this Western Conference semifinal series between the Spurs and Barry’s former team, the Seattle SuperSonics, suggesting Barry left the Sonics and signed with the Spurs because Sonics coach Nate McMillan pulled him into his office last summer and told him Luke Ridnour was going to be the team’s starting point guard.
What was neglected in the telling of those stories was the real reason behind Barry’s departure, a subject that was a foremost thought during negotiations but seems to have been forgotten in the 10 months since.
The fact is, Barry wanted a four-year contract. The Sonics were offering a three-year deal and would not increase their offer because of Barry’s age (he’s 33). And so Barry’s decision became a simple one that, for some reason, has gotten confusing.
“Nate and I talked openly about that, and whether I was going to start was up in the air,” Barry said. “There is some truth to that. Nate is not saying anything that he didn’t say to me behind closed doors.
“That wasn’t a problem with me. I was always a (shooting) guard and never a point guard – I have never made any bones about that, no pun intended (“Bones” is his nickname).
“But I had a three-year deal from Seattle and four-year deals from six other teams. If I wanted to start, I could have gone to five other teams, and I didn’t do that, either. So to put any stock in the fact I didn’t go back to Seattle because I wasn’t going to start is a little outlandish.”
Barry signed a four-year with the Spurs worth $20.5 million.
When Barry speaks, his words sound bitter, but they are not, simply matter-of-fact. So as much as people want to build up the drama of a rematch against his former team, no rivalry exists, at least as far as Barry is concerned.
“It is just ironic that we are playing each other,” Barry said. “I don’t think it is anything beyond that. There aren’t any personal vendettas that need to be exorcized while we are playing. It just happens that we are playing each other in the second round.”
The real irony, of course, is that while there has been a flap created about Barry starting or not starting for Seattle this season, it turns out he is now starting for San Antonio in this best-of-seven series, which the Spurs lead, 2-1. The series resumes Sunday afternoon.
Barry has had one of the most difficult seasons of his 10-year career, finding it exasperating to fit into San Antonio’s schemes.
In the early part of the season, Barry missed 17 consecutive 3-point attempts, something he said has never happened in his life. He assumed he would break out of the slump. He never really did.
Each season, Barry makes “160” a goal, which means that if you add up free-throw, field-goal and 3-point percentages, any player 160 or above qualifies as an elite shooter.
Few players do it annually. Reggie Miller. Jeff Hornacek, when he was playing. Barry has achieved the goal in eight of his 10 seasons. But his 161.7 was the lowest total he has had since the lockout season of 1998-99, when he spent one miserable season in Chicago.
“It has been frustrating,” Barry said. “Tough times this year, just trying to find a way to fit in. A learning experience, one I am still going through to this point. I hope I can find a couple games in the playoffs to contribute the way I know I can. It’s been real frustrating that way for me.”
It was something of a surprise when Spurs coach Gregg Popovich inserted Barry into the starting lineup for Manu Ginobili, a first-time All-Star, after the Spurs lost the opening game of their first-round series with Denver.
“I know what (Popovich) was doing it for and the reasons he was doing it,” Barry said. “I talked to Manu about saving stupid fouls for him. It is definitely to add punch to the bench and have him come off and provide the offensive spark we need.”
And so here he is, starting against his former team after his former coach told him he no longer would be a starter.
Most players would draw satisfaction from that, or at least use it as motivation to play well, perhaps hoist a few more shots to make a point.
But that is not Brent Barry, that is not his nature, and more importantly, that goes against the tenets of the game, which he follows, always.
So there is no validation for him in this series, no sense of redemption, because, as he said, he has mostly good memories of his time in Seattle.
“My decision to come here, there was a lot of things on my plate last summer,” Barry said. “It has nothing to do with anything personally. It was purely professional.
“I don’t think anybody in their right mind would see the opportunity to play four seasons in San Antonio and the promise of those seasons as a negative as opposed to going to Seattle.”