Matt Barnes To Sign Two-Year Contract With Lakers, End String Of One-Year Deals

Matt Barnes was all set to go to the Raptors until that pesky thing known as the salary cap got in the way. Now, he’s off to a far better team.

Barnes will reportedly sign a one-year, $1.7 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski. He appears to have decided to take less money to play for a contender, as the Cavaliers have a multi-year offer on the table for more than $3.5 million per season.

Matt Barnes really wants a new deal. After stints in Golden State, Phoenix and Orlando as a tough role player, ably filling that Bruce Bowen defender/shooter niche, the former UCLA star is one of the few recognizable names still on the NBA free agency market.

After hinting that a deal was imminent last week, possibly with the Heat, Barnes announced Monday night that he was set to join the Raptors as part of a sign-and-trade deal. The only problem? The Raptors and Magic simply don’t have the cap room to pull off the trade, at least not for the $5 million/year salary Barnes was reportedly set to receive.

According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the sign-and-trade that was supposed to send Matt Barnes north of the border has hit a snag. Despite his announcement Monday night, Barnes’ ability to sign with the Raptors is contingent on the execution of a sign-and-trade agreement. Toronto’s already used most of their mid-level exception to sign Linas Kleiza, making it impossible for them to pay Barnes’ 2-year, $10 million contract without the help of Orlando.

And while that initially looked like a footnote, now it’s become the story. From ESPN:

If only LeBron had thought of this, think of all the headaches he could have avoided.

According to sources, Barnes will sign a two-year deal in the $10 million ballpark.