Barry picks Spurs over Suns
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 28, 2008 07:24 PM
Brent Barry will not be playing for Phoenix.
Suns General Manager Steve Kerr said the 36-year-old guard told him tonight that he chose San Antonio over Phoenix, as well as suitors like Boston, Dallas and Houston. Barry cleared waivers Tuesday after being traded by San Antonio last week to Seattle, which released him Friday to set off a week of recruiting.
Barry will not be able to sign a deal with San Antonio until March 21 because NBA rules prohibit a player from re-signing with a team that traded him until 30 days after the deal was made.
"I spoke with Brent and he informed me he was going to stay in San Antonio," Kerr said. "He said that it was a tough decision but he's going to stay."
Phoenix is now expected to turn its attention to Philadelphia 6-foot-6 guard Gordan Giricek, who the 76ers planned to release so that he could sign with Phoenix if Barry turned down the Suns. Giricek has not been bought out by the 76ers yet and would have to clear waivers for a 48-hour period before he could sign with Phoenix. The 76ers visit Phoenix on Saturday.
Barry, nicknamed "Bones" for his 6-foot-7, 210-pound frame, was targeted by the Suns to help them spread the floor better with another shooter and have another playmaking option with his ability to slide to point guard. Barry is a career 40.7 percent 3-point shooter and the Suns are trying to keep the floor spread as they work in Shaquille O'Neal, who can not play as wide as Shawn Marion did to start possessions.
Barry helped the Spurs win 2005 and 2007 titles and his family is settled in San Antonio. He was already guaranteed his full $5.7 million for the season from the Spurs but now can make a pro-rated veteran's minimum check in addition to it. The Spurs and Suns were offering a contract that was fully guaranteed for next season but the Spurs were believed to be adding a partial guarantee for 2009-10 as well.
Barry is in his 13th NBA season out of Oregon State and has been with San Antonio since 2004.
With Barry, Phoenix would have boasted four of the 17 most accurate NBA 3-point shooters in NBA history with Steve Nash (sixth), Leandro Barbosa (11th), Barry (14th) and Raja Bell (17th).
Giricek, 29, is a 36.7 percent career 3-point shooter who has rarely played since being traded to Philadelphia for Kyle Korver. He is not the playmaker that Barry is but is a better defender. Giricek, originally from Yugoslavia, has only appeared in six of the past 22 Philadelphia games.
He was a double-digit scorer for most of his first five NBA season with Memphis, Orlando and Utah but fell out of favor with Jazz coach Jerry Sloan this season before being dealt.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns...0228barry.html
Welcome back, Brent Barry. This makes the Spurs trade for Kurt Thomas an A+. Oh, and the Spurs also beat the Mavs last night for their seventh straight win. GO SPURS GO!
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