Barnes: No longer angry at Fisher, but 'don't respect him at all'

Matt Barnes has long maintained that he did the right thing by physically confronting former teammate Derek Fisher last October, upon learning Fisher was dating his ex-wife, Gloria Govan.

Barnes is still bitter about Fisher's handling of the situation - namely by not telling him about it - but says he's let go of his anger, and has accepted that Fisher is now an important part of his wife and twin sons' lives.

"I'm fine with it," Barnes told Bleacher Report's Chris Palmer. "Gloria and I are friends, we get along and we co-parent great. We're connected to each other forever. We know it's all about the boys."

As for Fisher himself, Barnes said: "I respect him for the fact that that's who my ex loves and makes her happy. So I respect him on that level. He makes her happy and he's around my kids and they like him. But other than that, man to man, I don't respect him at all. There's just too many other women to play that game. At the end of the day, a man is going to be a man.

"He doesn't owe me anything. I just thought we were better than that. You gonna move in with my wife and kids? And not have the courage to tell me? Nothing about that sounds like what a real man would do. I see him at my kids' football games and he won't even look at me. He stares at the ground. He won't make eye contact. The way he moved was foul. But hate is too heavy to carry. I've forgiven him but I just don't respect him. Just be good to my kids. The day that stops there's going to be a real-life problem."

Fisher - 42 years old, two-plus years removed from playing, and several months removed from his ouster as New York Knicks head coach - has hinted that he may be eyeing an NBA comeback. That possibility, distant as it may be, has Barnes licking his chops.

"I'll mark it on my calendar," he said. "It'll be like the NBA Finals. I'll make sure I'll guard him no matter what."