Lakers Forward Matt Barnes Suspended From Pro-Am League

Players around the NBA are looking at various options to both stay in shape and play basketball regularly. For Lakers forward Matt Barnes, it was a Pro-Am League. The only problem? Barnes was suspended for one game of the league's finals. Why? He punched someone.

From the ESPN report:

Barnes reportedly punched an opponent during a San Francisco Pro-Am game Thursday, according to San Francisco's KGO TV.

"He elbowed me and pushed me, so he got one," Barnes told ESPN.com college basketball writer Diamond Leung.

The article continues:

"People just think they can talk any way or do anything to ... me. You can't. You can't do that, 'cause you know people are men out here. So if you think you're going to come out here and punk someone, that s--- ain't happening."

Barnes has had his fair share of attitude issues in the past, so the fight and suspension shouldn't come as too big of a surprise. As far as the silver lining of this whole ordeal goes, his injured knee is feeling better:

"(The knee's) starting to come along," he said. "There were some complications that we kind of kept to ourselves on my comeback (during the regular season). I ended up pinching a nerve in my back on the same side as my knee, and it ended up making my knee swell and really hurt. I just couldn't do anything. I was icing constantly and at the same time trying to strengthen it, but if I strengthened it I started to swell. ... We were hoping in the playoffs it would feel better, but it felt even worse.

The Lakers could certainly use a healthy Barnes next season should they play, but the suspension and fights are unnecessary. Let's all hope this is the last we hear of the incident.