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They all get along with him now....but they didn't all get along with him when they were kids...he wasn't the guy that raised them.
They all get along with him now....but they didn't all get along with him when they were kids...he wasn't the guy that raised them.
Found the article:
http://www.spursreport.com/forums/ar...p/t-25018.html
Original link is gone now.
http://slamonline.com/magazine/features/Bones85
Brent Barry :: The Problem is the Solution
WORDS :: MICHAEL WEINREB
Brent Barry, high-priced offseason free-agent acquisition of the San Antonio Spurs, would like you to know that, in addition to his wife and 4-year-old son, he has a girlfriend in every Western Conference city and a set of 22-inch spinners on his ride.
There is only one problem with this: Brent Barry is lying. And he’s doing a poor job of it, too. No doubt, he would like to make more of an effort to fit what he thinks of as the SLAM stereotype, and he’d like to do a better job of forcing his ego upon us—to insist that he’s not happy coming off the bench for what may be the League’s deepest team, and to assure us that almost a decade after he became the palest man to win an NBA Dunk Contest, he can still throw down with the best of them.
But the truth ain’t quite so sexy. The truth is this: Brent Barry drives a Volkswagen Euro Van with a surfboard in tow. The truth is, Brent Barry’s got no issues being a sixth man, especially if it means he’s got a shot to win a ring (and we are convinced he actually means this). The truth is, Brent Barry attempted a routine dunk in practice a couple of days before we spoke to him, at the start of ’04-05 season, and Tim Duncan, having witnessed the ugliness that ensued, said, “You’re the same guy who won the Dunk Contest?”
So how, exactly, did this happen? How did a 34-year-old California beach bum with sporadic knee tendonitis become one of the League’s most coveted free-agent prizes, eventually signing a four-year deal with the Spurs worth about $23 million? How is it that so many intelligent people in this League are convinced a shaggy-haired 6-6 swingman might be the difference between a team that falls short just like last year and a team that wins its third NBA le since 1999?
“I don’t know, but it’s kind of flattering,” Barry says. “It’s flattering to hear from a lot of people in the offseason, to hear from teammates you used to play with, and to realize that people in and around the NBA appreciate the kind of game you have. Then again, a lot of people are talking about how I can get this team over the hump, but they were only a few seconds away [from beating the Lakers in the Western semis] last season. That sounds more like an anthill than a hump to me.”
And Barry thinks he can manage that. It’s apropos of the kind of player he is: He makes a difference without anyone realizing he’s made much of a difference—at least, not until it’s too late. He can penetrate and score, and he can penetrate and dish. He can play the point, and he can play on the wing. And he’s one of the most accurate three-point shooters in the League because he knows how to pick his spots; because he’s a shooter, and not a “chucker.”
“Not like my dad,” Bones says. “My dad was a chucker. No matter how many times it took him to score, he was going to shoot.”
There was a time, of course, when Brent Barry was known almost solely because of his dad, when he was just one of the Sons of Rick, offspring of the only man to lead the NCAA, NBA and ABA in scoring, the Hall of Famer who never met a jumper he didn’t like. Of the Sons of Rick, there was Drew (who played in the League from ’97-00), there was Scooter (who’s been playing in Europe for more than a decade), there was Jon (who’s still hanging around with the Hawks) and there was Brent, the tallest of them all, who came out of Oregon State in 1995 and, in February of his rookie year with the Clippers, threw down a smirking dunk from the free-throw line that seemed like it might be his 15 minutes of fame. His was an unconventional family dynamic, and it was exposed publicly in a 1991 Sports Illustrated story that detailed his parents’ divorce and the family divisions it created, and portrayed Rick—who called the article a “hatchet job”—as an aloof father. Brent, the story went, was the one who “likes being Rick Barry’s son,” according to Drew.
But instead of getting caught up in the considerable shadow of his father’s legacy (“I don’t think I’d use the word ‘burden,’” he says), something happened to Brent Barry over the years. People began to realize certain things about him: That he had an array of skills, that he wasn’t just a white boy with hops and good bloodlines, wasn’t just a rampant shooter like his dad. After his first four journeyman seasons, he became a valuable man over the course of five years in Seattle, so valuable that Sonics coach Nate McMillan, in the midst of last season, called Barry “the glue to our team.” And so it goes with the Spurs, who will use Barry to spell Manu Ginobili and Bruce Bowen, who will use him as an outside shooting threat when teams collapse on Duncan, and who will use him at point guard when Tony Parker needs a blow. Which has Bowen saying things like, “With his athleticism out there on the wing, he can really create something very positive for the city of San Antonio.”
And we all know what that means, don’t we?
It could be argued that Brent Barry didn’t need San Antonio as much as San Antonio needed him. He didn’t have to take up a spot on the bench for a team that has more than its share of established talent. He could’ve started somewhere else, could have put up better numbers and more shots in another city. But Barry’s been around long enough to recognize this as a pivotal moment in his career, as a chance to win a le, a chance to branch off from the family name and establish his own legacy. And so he waited until all the big names on the market had made their decisions, and then, when it was over, he couldn’t stop thinking about the Spurs.
“There’s a viability here,” he says. “It’s a different sense of team than what I’ve been a part of in the past.”
What does that mean, exactly? Well, it took some time for Barry to straighten that out himself. And then one day last summer, it came clear. This was on a July afternoon in San Antonio, and all things being equal, Barry would rather have been surfing. Four or five days a week in the offseason, he’s at the beach, and each summer for the past few years he’s gone to Costa Rica to surf and relax and get the taste of, say, a frigid December road trip to Milwaukee out of his mouth.
But Barry had just agreed to his deal with the Spurs, and there were papers to be signed, details to be worked out, and so he sat in an office with the general manager, RC Buford, and the director of basketball operations, Danny Ferry, next to a window that overlooked the SBC Center floor. The blinds were pulled low, but Barry peeked out, and he could see a pair of legs out there on the court, a pair of legs sheathed in rubber bands, doing defensive slide drills. The Spurs’ new prize poked a finger between the slats, and there was Tim Duncan, the best player in the League, maybe the best player in the world, sweating through a ish summer routine.
“Yeah, he had the Olympics to get ready for, but still, I’m thinking, What’s going on in the other gyms in the middle of July?” Barry says. “And here he is, doing the most monotonous, most boring, ****tiest drill you can be doing.” So this is what Barry means by viability. This is what he means when he says there’s an “understanding” among the players on the San Antonio roster, that a championship is one of those unspoken goals that lingers during each and every practice. This is all new for Barry, and he’s soaking it all in, step by step. In Seattle, he was the crux of a young team aiming for the playoffs, and before that, he was in transition in Chicago and Miami, and before that he was with the Clippers, where he channeled most of his talents into finding a way to survive. “I’ve missed out on the winning,” he says. “And I know the opportunity is going to be there this time.”
For more on Brent Barry, pick up SLAM 85
link (http://slamonline.com/magazine/features/Bones85/)
I smiled when I wrote those four words because I knew what would ensue . . .
I don't think any of the Barry boys had a good (or even decent) relationship with their dad when they were kids. One of them (maybe Brent) worked out their differences sooner than the others but that was still well into their NBA careers, just a few years ago.
The funny thing is...his D tonight was a pretty good target....he didn't have the same defensive intensity he did in the Orlando game. Maybe he saves that for when he gets to play PF or something....
Speaking of positions, I've been waiting for you to break out your "Barry is hitting shots because he's playing point guard" take.
Or at least your "fine, maybe he wasn't playing point guard but he was initiating the offense without dribbling" take.
Those are my favorite.
I was just watching my first few basketball games when Rick Barry was retiring...and he wasn't liked.
It's funny because a lot of the things that people are critical of the modern NBA players(selfishness, greed)...Rick Barry was the prototype
of that type of player...
Holding out for more money or a bigger role, demanding trades....making racially insensitive comments, being a ballhog...Rick Barry won the triple crown in those things.
It's not hard to see why they would try to separate themselves from that rep just a bit, and might try to play a diffferent game.
The funny thing is...I think it's Jon that doesn't get along with him that much...but Jon is the one that is the most reminiscent of Rick Barry personality wise...Brent got his game...but Jon got his at ude.
Speaking of positions, I've been waiting for you to break out your "Barry is hitting shots because he's playing point guard" take.
Or at least your "fine, maybe he wasn't playing point guard but he was initiating the offense without dribbling" take.
Those are my favorite.
He is...
It's almost like Pop is throwing him a bone for jacking up more shots and putting out more effort on D...
Pop is definitely expanding his role...
It's like he had to play the way Pop wants him to play, before Pop was going to let him play the way he wants to play. And now that he has...Pop is letting him have some fun out there.
Bonner's in the doghouse already? So much for him being our white horry.
Sounds like a Disney movie.... do they reconcile after Barry retires or does his dad show up for the last game of his career and sheds a tear while saying "Im proud of you!"?
Barry was passing up shots. end of story.
Like others have mentioned...they already have reconciled. Rick shows up at Spurs games to watch Brent play. He's not going that because he's a Spursfan.
1. Bonner may have been on the pine because the Griz were going small ball. He hasn't played particularly well in the last couple of games, but Pop has praised him this season. Pop is all about matchups and I think he'll give Bonner minutes.
2. I'm down with starting Barry over Finley in the SG spot. He's earned it. Let Finley find his missing shot stroke (4-20 for the last two games?) from the second unit.
Because one Finley isn't enough?
Be my guest...but whatever you do...don't read the article I posted from the year Brent was signed...
He is what?
"Playing point guard" or "initiating the offense without actually initiating the offense"? Which one are you going to claim this time? All he's really doing is hitting open shots, making some good passes and playing defense. Yet I'm sure you have him doing much more than that.
I'm not sure Barry has dribbled the ball in the last two games but I'm sure you'll find a way to explain how he's been free to be Steve Nash out there.
LMAO...you and I just see a different game....I had everyone from every journalist in SA to Manu to I think evne Pop saying that Barry got minutes at the point...not to mention the fact that we had no healthy PG's on the roster at that time to bolser my argument...you said otherwise. I really don't know how to argue with that...
Secondly...he sure as was acting as the point at times tonight, and he was dribbling the ball.
Proof you and I see completely different games....
I'm not sure Barry has dribbled the ball in the last two games but I'm sure you'll find a way to explain how he's been free to be Steve Nash out there.
To me the Orlando game was entirely different than this one...they ran small ball a of a lot more in the Orlando game and Barry was being played as one of the (interchangeble)bigs in it, at least defensively...which hadn't been done with him much since a couple of times in 05(the big comeback against the Nets immediately comes to mind).
I can't think of many times we've run small ball since with a lineup utlizing both Barry and Finley....it's usually one or the other.
In any case...I never claimed the Orlando game was a game he got used at the point to benefit him, comepletely different...but they did run at least one play for him to get a shot off, which is something they haven't done since like the 20th game of his first season here...
IF you want proof of this...well there was a pregame interview with Barry tonight explaining that it helps a lot when you know when and where you are going to be getting the ball.
What does preseason Brent Barry have to do with anything?
When? Give me a time/date/quarter anything as proof. He dribbled a couple times in a half court set but thats about it.
Do you have proof or do you wear second Brent Barry Point Guard goggles that allow you to see things that don't happen?
Ben ROFLsberger.
Barry has plays drawn up for him all the time. Even in the playoffs. Remember the Barry Lucky Bounce? You think that play drew up itself? Even during last year's playoffs Pop drew up plays for him at least five times throughout the playoffs. Barry probably ranks second to Finley as far as plays drawn up specifically to get a shooter a shot.
Yeah notice he didn't say anything about dribbling.
Please point me to where Barry was dribbling the ball up the court. In either of the last two games. The one time he got the ball in the backcourt he stood still until someone came to get the ball.
Please point toward proof.
Thanks.
LMAO...go back watch, he sure as did do it.
LMAO..Bruce Bowen even brought it up once tonight. Bad night to ask that question....
To you that defines being the PG I guess...to me it doesn't. I guess that means Bruce got a minute at the point tonight. I'm sure that technically your definition is probably accurate...but it's not exactly what I mean..and I have other knowledgable people that agree with mine...including Manu..and the two guys announcing the game tonight on Fox.
I think it's rare that the Spurs draw up a play for a shooter to get a shot as the first option, except in the most extreme of cir stances..and Barry usually isn't on the court in the most extreme of cir stances.Barry has plays drawn up for him all the time. Even in the playoffs. Remember the Barry Lucky Bounce? You think that play drew up itself? Even during last year's playoffs Pop drew up plays for him at least five times throughout the playoffs. Barry probably ranks second to Finley as far as plays drawn up specifically to get a shooter a shot.
And you notice I didn't say he was doing any dribbling in the Orlando game...Yeah notice he didn't say anything about dribbling.
In fact, I said that game was the game where he was finally the player everyone expected him to be(but never had been before in his career).
Spot up shooter who hustles on D...
Please point me to where Barry was dribbling the ball up the court. In either of the last two games. The one time he got the ball in the backcourt he stood still until someone came to get the ball.
Please point toward proof.
Thanks.
You have some stict purist and narrow definition of playing hte point or something...but guess what? He did do that tonight, at least once...and like I said earlier...even Bruce actually did it once tonight. No ...bad night to ask for that example.
I can't believe that you are even trying to argue with Brent's mom about this.
I wrote in the game blog that at least Iavaroni has got them not playing defense and not rebounding just like The Master would.The game was basically over when Marc Iavaroni, head coach of the Grizzlies, started the game with Rudy Gay on Tim Duncan. How Iavaroni thought Gay, a small forward, was going to guard Duncan I don't know. Then again, when your previous job was the defensive coordinator of the Phoenix Suns, we probably shouldn't expect too much out of him.
The game was basically over when Marc Iavaroni, head coach of the Grizzlies, started the game with Rudy Gay on Tim Duncan. How Iavaroni thought Gay, a small forward, was going to guard Duncan I don't know. Then again, when your previous job was the defensive coordinator of the Phoenix Suns, we probably shouldn't expect too much out of himTrue
Back to the game, that 3-quarter court bounce-pass that Duncan threw was a thing of beauty. Sa-wheat!
There was some speculation that Iavaroni was the brains behind the Suns. If that's true, then Phoenix is in deep .
@timvp:
Dude, you're good... you are really good...
My only concern with starting Barry over Finley is the scoring off the bench. Ginobli is a given and Barry has really matched his energy and is shooting lights out. That's a nice a punch off the bench.
With Udoka struggling on both ends I'm not sure Pop is willing to give him a chance at starting just yet.
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