Matt Barnes and Derek Fisher have shared a... uh... let's call it a weird relationship.
The two were close as teammates on the Lakers, but the friendship ended rather abruptly when a fight broke out between Barnes and Fisher back in 2015. Barnes was reportedly upset with Fisher, who was coaching the Knicks at the time, for dating his estranged wife, Gloria Govan (a divorce was later finalized in 2016). It turns out there was a different reason for the heated conflict.
In an interview with FS1's Chris Broussard, Barnes says his anger had less to do with the love triangle and more to do with his sons, Isaiah and Carter.
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"It had something to do with [Fisher dating her], but what it was, was you're around my kids without telling me," Barnes said. "You're in the house that I pay for, first of all, with my ex — which is whatever — but you're around Isaiah and Carter. And you know because we were teammates how much those boys mean to me. Come on, man. We were teammates."
Barnes eventually buried the hatchet after his kids expressed how much they liked Fisher. Barnes says he would often run into Fisher with Govan and the boys, so one day he approached Fisher to tell his side of the story.
"My boys really took a liking to him," Barnes said. "'Daddy, we want you and Derek to be friends, and he's a good guy.' I knew outside of the move he pulled, he was a cool dude. Like I said, we were teammates, and Fish was a cool dude...
"I just pulled him to the side and explained why I fought him, and he understood. He apologized. I apologized for letting it escalate to a fight, but it just kind of was what it was. I explained — it wasn't the fact that it was my ex. It was the fact that you're in my house with my kids."
"He and I are cool. ... He makes my kids happy, [so] I'm happy."@Matt_Barnes22 explains the Derek Fisher situation and its resolution in a candid interview with @Chris_Broussard on #InTheZone. pic.twitter.com/IQbzxnxht0
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) March 10, 2018
Barnes joked that he now communicates better with Fisher than he does with Govan. Barnes appears to be much more comfortable with Fisher spending time around his children, and that's ultimately the most important part of his life.
"It's about my kids now," Barnes said. "He makes my kids happy, I'm happy... I just want to co-parent and be happy."
