Matt Barnes has made a name for himself among NBA players — he might not score at a 20-point clip per night or be the hound that takes their cookies or the tower to stifle shots on the way to the basket — but he is known as the guy players want on their team instead of being the one they're playing against.

The 36-year-old Barnes, who's played for nine different teams in his 13 NBA seasons, has a knack for earning the respect of the locker room and having his voice heard when it counts the most. He feels confident he'd have the same effect on Kings All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins.

“It’s not hard,” Barnes told Andy Furillo of the Sacramento Bee.

“I think I have a unique way of – no matter what team I’ve been on and who’s been on that team, even playing with Kobe (Bryant) and those guys (on the Lakers) – of having my voice being respected. I’ve never been a star player, so to speak, but I’ve been one of the leaders, one of the voices of reason, and I have, I think, an uncanny ability to be able to get through to everybody, and not so much by talking. I lead by example, so that when I do talk, people listen, and I’m respected.”

Barnes has made a living on being an effort guy on the court and doing what it takes to ignite his team into a winning position.
From his days as a fireball guy off the bench with Golden State and Phoenix, to the “3-and-D” role he's played this past few years with the Clippers and Grizzlies — Barnes has always been the gel guy. He's the first to throw down and the last to back away from a fight. His in-your-face style of defensive tenacity often gets opponents either overly eager or shying away from Barnes.
The 6-foot-7 UCLA product feels his own experience will earn the respect of the mercurial franchise player.
“He’s probably the most talented center in the game,” Barnes said of Cousins. “I think we’re similar in some ways, because when I was younger, I was hotheaded, so to speak, and focused on the wrong thing, and I think that would obviously take away from my game but then take away from my team because you’re getting technical fouls and committing dumb fouls that are vital to the team, especially for someone like him, because he’s such an important part of the team. But I think his growth has shown over the years, and I really think that him playing in the Olympics this summer has helped.”
Barnes said the 6-foot-11 Cousins has “been trying to get me over here for three or four years.” Both of them have talked and texted on a regular basis “when he’s going through stuff,” Barnes said.

“Even when we weren’t teammates, he would listen to what I have to say, so I think the fact that we are teammates is only going to help that,” Barnes said. “I know he respects me as a man and as a player, and for someone like him, that’s what he needs – he needs an older, veteran player that he respects, someone he’ll listen to.”