Matt Barnes sounds off on Clippers' TV series

By now, most former Los Angeles Clippers players who have somewhat of a platform have weighed in on FX’s Clipped .

While the docuseries, which has received the Hollywood treatment and veered towards dramatization, has been critically acclaimed, it’s also been criticized by former players, who have weighed in on how they and their former team were portrayed in the show, which delves into Donald Sterling’s disgraced ownership.

We’ve seen Austin Rivers criticize some casting decisions, like choosing Laurence Fishburne to play his father. We’ve also seen JJ Redick and Jamal Crawford weigh in on their own awkward portrayals. But we’ve yet to see the outspoken Matt Barnes sound off on his own portrayal, which is particularly notable, especially when considering his All The Smoke podcast platform.

But Barnes finally weighed in during a recent appearance on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, and it didn’t disappoint.

“Sarunas (J. Jackson) is cool. I know Sarunas. We look somewhat alike. I guess if you’re going to say, I think they got me closest to right over any other player,” Barnes said regarding the actor who portrayed him. “We’re pretty much the same height, same complexion — very similar in that aspect. But you look at the other casting, and it’s not even that they don’t look alike or they didn’t act well; they just look nothing like.

“You look at Blake’s (Griffin) guy, like holy sh*t. You made DeAndre (Jordan) this weirdo that likes lizards, and he’s nothing like that. Real philosophical, deep guy — he’s nothing like that. You look at Jamal, and I laugh. You look at (Chris Paul), and I’m just like, ‘Damn, they could’ve done a little better.’ I thought they casted the main people great. Ed O’Neill was great for Sterling, Laurence Fishburne for Doc, the lady (Cleopatra Coleman) that played V. (Stiviano) and even the lady (Jacki Weaver) that played Shelly Sterling; they did a great job, and a great job casting.

“But the show, overall, it’s been funny to me. To relive something that was a little over 10 years old, it was entertaining just how out of touch. I think the funniest part is just how out of touch Sterling was with life. Like, he really thought people f*cked with him; he was America’s sweetheart. And although I didn’t have any run-ins and any issues with him, he was just very disconnected to reality.”

Even with its flaws, Barnes can’t deny that Clipped has been a fun watch.

“The back-and-forth of what was said in big meetings and the day-to-day, they didn’t hit the mark on that,” he added. “But again, I think — I actually consulted on this project early on. When I first started reading the first couple of scripts, I was like, ‘Uhhhhh,’ and I think it was just them trying to, obviously, sensationalize things and make it fun, I guess. But again, I think overall, it was just an entertaining look at what was a very serious situation at the time.

“We didn’t really know what we were getting into at the time, being that I was one of the main voices during that time on what we should and shouldn’t do during that time, along with the rest of that team. I was one of the leaders in that locker room. And when you look back now…we should’ve sat out. But at the time, it was just too much unknown…

“And keep in mind, we felt like we had a team that could win a championship that year. We were one of the better teams in the league during that time. And this was before the start of Golden State’s rise — the start of a dynasty — and we were the last team to beat them before they went on a dynasty run. We knew our window was closing because we had a young, very talented Golden State team behind us. I think there was too much unknown for us to make a really, really huge statement. And it was such spur of the moment; it wasn’t like we had time to think about it. This was in between games this sh*t happens.

“We came together. We thought of a little BS plan. We knocked it out. Because at the end of the day, as one thing they portrayed, we were never playing for Mr. Sterling. We were playing for everyone in that locker room and our family and our fans.”

Jessica Smetana asked the important questions, wondering why the show repeatedly depicted Jordan with a lizard, something Barnes refutes ever took place.

“The lizard, the braids; me and DJ were literally laughing,” Barnes says. “I was like, ‘Was I high the whole time? I don’t remember you having braids.’ ‘Matt, I didn’t have braids at all.’ They had the braids and the lizard; they just made DJ weird. And DJ is probably one of the coolest, down-to-earth, laughing, joking. Obviously, you guys got a glimpse of such a serious time, but that team had so much fun…

“DJ, in particular, I think they portrayed him probably the worst because it was nothing like who he was.”

Barnes also pointed out that he felt Clipped did a disservice to both Griffin and Paul with their portrayals of being overly serious figures in the locker room. That wasn’t the case for the former, as Barnes described him as a “comedic genius,” but he did think that they nailed the stereotypes regarding Griffin.

However, besides the casting, Barnes took issue with the dialogue. Being in the space, he understands that they have to move the car to get from place to place, but at the same time, he acknowledges that not only did they not talk like that, but the communication they had on that team was a unique blend that’s hard to capture on screen. It’s a testament to the difficulty of recreating real-life events, especially when emotions run high.

“This is not to sh*t on anyone who made the show because I think it’s hard to figure out exactly what was going on, what was said in those moments, and how did we get the story and hit each point,” Barnes said. “I would probably say the dialogue and the way we talked to each other was the biggest misconception.”

[ Dan Le Batard ]

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