Detroit Pistons: 25 Best Players To Play For The Pistons
By Phil Watson
<strong>How acquired:</strong> Trade, Sacramento Kings, Sept. 7, 2001.. SG. . Jon Barry. 20. player. 64
It was just an exchange of spare parts in September 2001 when the Detroit Pistons acquired Jon Barry and a 2003 first-round pick from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Mateen Cleaves.
After all, Barry was a nine-year veteran who had never started more than eight games in a season and only topped 20 minutes per game one time.
But the veteran provided deadly shooting off the bench upon coming to Detroit.
Barry was second in the NBA in three-point shooting in 2001-02 and gave the Pistons long-range punch on the second unit before signing a one-year, $2 million deal with the Denver Nuggets in August 2003.
In two seasons in Detroit, Barry averaged 8.0 points, 3.0 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 21.3 minutes per game, shooting .471/.441/.898.
The son of Hall of Famer Rick Barry had a rough start to his career, playing a single season at Pacific and spending a year at a JUCO before transferring to Georgia Tech.
He averaged 17.2 points and 5.9 assists per game as a senior and was taken with the 21st overall pick by the Boston Celtics in the 1992 NBA Draft.
But Barry and the Celtics couldn’t come to terms and in December 1992, his rights were dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks.
He moved on to the Golden State Warriors as a free agent in October 1995 before being waived the following July and signing with the Atlanta Hawks.
Barry signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in August 1997 as the cycle of one-year deals continued. After the lockout ended in January 1999, Barry inked a deal with the Kings.
He returned to Atlanta in September 2004, but was traded in December of the same year to the Houston Rockets.
Waived by the Rockets in March 2006, Barry opted to retire. He is currently an NBA analyst for ESPN.
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