Matt Barnes Tells DeAndre Jordan He's Going to 'Foul the Beep' Out of Him

Matt Barnes still likes DeAndre Jordan, even though the two are no longer teammates. But that doesn't mean Barnes won't try to hurt him when the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies square off next season.

During a press conference in which he was officially introduced as a member of the Grizzlies, Barnes recounted a recent conversation he had with Jordan. It was then that he let Jordan know things have changed.

"I told him, 'Even though we're good friends, I'm still going to foul the beep out of you when we play,'" Barnes recalled, per the Los Angeles Times' Ben Bolch. "That's just the kind of player I am. There's no hard feelings."

Nope, there are no hard feelings.

Only well-intentioned bruises.

In all fairness to Barnes, most former teammates probably take the same approach. The NBA is a business, and the objective is to win. And most players will do whatever it takes to win, even if it means fouling opponents they still call friends.

Especially if the friend in question is Jordan.

The 27-year-old big man hit just 39.7 percent of his free-throw attempts last season, turning in the third-worst charity-stripe performance ever. Opponents aren't going to let his foul-line transgressions slide. The Clippers now have a target on their backs, as Kurt Helin writes for NBC Sports:

"

If you are looking for a team where it’s an advantage to foul them, the Clippers are the prime example with Jordan and now Josh Smith on the roster—Jordan shot 39.7 percent from the foul line last season, Smith 49.8 percent. Hack-a-Clipper will be a near nightly occurrence. Television executives may want to allow an extra 30 minutes for each Clippers game because of how slow it will go with the parade to the free-throw line.

"

What Barnes then said to Jordan isn't out of place. It's more of an inevitable theme that will help define the Clippers' season.

Of course, not all players would have used Barnes' exact words. His message to Jordan is both a friendly jab and presumptive reality.

Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images

Hard fouls are one of Barnes' calling cards. He ranked eighth in fouls committed last season and checks in at 13th overall since 2012-13. Even if Jordan was a good, almost good or simply not historically awful free-throw shooter, he wouldn't be safe.

But he is a historically awful free-throw shooter, and the grit-and-grind Grizzlies, among 28 other teams, will foul Jordan on purpose. And sometimes it'll be Barnes delivering those fouls on behalf of Memphis. And Jordan shouldn't expect a light tap or bound-to-go-viral bear hug on those occasions. 

Barnes is going to foul him really hard. Ice-his-shoulders-after-the-game hard.

So hard, in fact, that Jordan has extra motivation to become a good-to-great free-throw shooter—or at least one competent enough to not fear for his own safety when playing the Grizzlies.

Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.

Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @danfavale.