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Matt Barnes and Mickael Pietrus - No Contracts Yet

Matt Barnes and Mickael Pietrus have not yet signed contracts even though the signing period started on Wednesday. Most likely, both will sign with a team who can use their mid-level exception. It was raised to $5.36 mil this year and that's probably the highest either of the two will get. It's my guess that, they'll probably get something in the range of $3.5-4.5 mil/year. Teams in the recent past have been reluctant to hand out lucrative contracts to 2nd and 3rd tier class of free agents. Janny Hu breaks it down.

League sources said Toronto, Dallas and Miami were among those interested in Pietrus, but the Raptors committed their midlevel exception to sharpshooter Jason Kapono, and the Heat are still hoping to lure point guard Mo Williams away from Milwaukee.

Talks with Golden State have been slow-moving and interest in a multi-year deal might be lukewarm on both ends. Happy Walters, Pietrus' agent, said the Warriors "have not been very responsive" since tendering a one-year offer of about $3.5 million last month.

Warriors vice president Chris Mullin confirmed this week that he has been in contact with both Pietrus' and Barnes' representatives, but no deal appears close with the latter, either.



Matt will be dunking on Dirk next year, but in which uni?


As far as what Matt Barnes is doing, he's home in Sacramento starting up a basketball camp while waiting on contract offers to start rolling in. None of have arrived yet.

"Right now, there's nothing happening," he said. "I was thinking the midlevel exception was realistic, but my agent has been telling me teams have questioned whether the success I had was because of (Warriors coach Don) Nelson's system and whether or not I could have the same success in another system. "It's pretty frustrating because I thought I had a good year," said Barnes "It was not a great season, but it was good. And from what other players have received, I thought I'd be right there in that mix. But Golden State has not come around to what I thought they might, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens."

One option is that he could go to the Blazers with their need for a small forward.

Portland also could shop for a small forward or point guard among other free agents. Players such as Golden State forward Matt Barnes and Denver guard Steve Blake could fill needs for the team.

I think the Warriors sign Barnes and let Pietrus walk. Barnes will get anywhere from 3.5 to 4.5 mil per year and Pietrus will probably get the same. Where do you think Barnes and Pietrus will sign?

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