In wake of Kevin Durant‘s knee injury, the Golden State Warriors plan on signing veteran forward Matt Barnes for the rest of the season, per ESPN’s Marc Stein and Chris Haynes.
Golden State currently has an open roster spot, and Stein notes that they already promised point guard Jose Calderon that he would be signed for the roster spot. The Warriors are still expected to sign Calderon, but he will be waived immediately to clear the way for Barnes.
While nothing has been reported on the topic yet, it’s clear the Warriors feel the need to add a wing player in the aftermath of Durant’s knee injury. Durant left the Warriors loss to the Washington Wizards on Tuesday with was diagnosed as a hyper-extended left knee.
Durant was set to undergo an MRI last night, but those results won’t likely be reported until later this morning. Usually, a hyper-extended knee stretches across at least a couple of games in the best case scenario.
Meanwhile, adding Barnes is a terrific addition for the team’s bench when Durant is healthy again. Barnes will provide Golden State with solid defense and the ability to hit from long range, and will stick to his role, whatever head coach Steve Kerr deems that to be.
Forward Andre Igudoala would likely start in-place of the injured Durant, but Kerr does has his options. When Durant missed a game against the Nets with a wrist injury, rookie Patrick McCaw started instead.
After the Kings traded DeMarcus Cousins and acquired Buddy Hield, Langston Galloway, and Tyreke Evans, Barnes was waived by the Kings to open a roster spot that allowed Sacamrento to keep all of the players they just acquired in-addition to their young talent.
The 36-year-old Barnes is averaging 7.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game this season.
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