It wasn't exactly earth-shattering news, as it was expected for over a month, but Matt Barnes made it official on Wednesday. The forward will return to the Lakers for one more year, exercising his option to return to the team for the 2011-2012 season. Barnes will make roughly $1.9 million next season.
When head coach Mike Brown was hired last month, Barnes told reporters at that time of his intention to remain a Laker, so today's news was no surprise. Barnes played in 53 games for the Lakers last season, and was one of their primary weapons off the bench, especially defensively. He averaged 6.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 0.7 steals per game in 19.2 minutes last season. Barnes also missed two months after undergoing knee surgery in January.
For more news and information on Matt Barnes and the Lakers, be sure to read the SB Nation blog Silver Screen and Roll.