Matt Barnes Suspended 2 Games for Incident with Derek Fisher
The NBA has suspended Memphis Grizzlies forward Matt Barnes for two games for an off-court incident involving New York Knicks head coach Derek Fisher.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports and ESPN.com's Chris Broussard reported the news Monday before the league confirmed the ban (via Howard Beck of Bleacher Report):
The NBA has been investigating the situation since October. Sources told Ian Mohr of the New York Post that Barnes drove 95 miles to physically assault Fisher when he found out the Knicks coach was “romancing" his estranged wife. Barnes has since denied that account of the story, saying he drove to the home after becoming concerned with the well-being of his six-year-old twin sons.
"I can't believe people think I was some maniac driving 95 miles and listening to Tupac to go beat somebody up," Barnes said, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. "No. I live 15 minutes away, and I was going over to check on my kids because they seemed uncomfortable. That was my main reason for going over there."
Barnes admitted the situation escalated when he arrived. No criminal charges were filed, and neither Barnes nor Fisher has given details on exactly what happened.
“We're two grown men who should have handled grown men's business,” Barnes said in November, per Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times, “but he wanted to run and tell the cops and tell the NBA, so now it's everywhere.”
Barnes, 35, is averaging 8.6 points and five rebounds per game this season, his first in Memphis. It's unclear whether Barnes plans to appeal the suspension. If he does not, it will begin with Tuesday night's game against the Miami Heat.
Neither Barnes nor Fisher has commented on the suspension.
Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.
