ATLANTA (Sept. 16, 2004) -- Atlanta Hawks General Manager Billy Knight announced today that the club has signed former Georgia Tech guard Jon Barry to a free agent contract, reuniting the 12-year NBA veteran with the organization after seven years. Barry spent the 1996-97 season with the Hawks, playing in 58 games under then-coach Lenny Wilkens.
A scrappy player who has the ability to knock down jumpers from long-range, Barry has appeared in 732 games and brings career averages of 5.7 points and 2.2 rebounds to Atlanta. He is a lifetime .388 three-point shooter who has played for seven teams since he was selected in the first round of the 1992 NBA Draft (21st pick overall) by the Boston Celtics. He averaged 16.6 points in two seasons with the Yellow Jackets (1990-92).
“Jon will be a great addition to our roster,” said Knight. “He is a proven veteran, and a familiar face to local fans, with extensive playoff experience who brings a great deal of leadership to the squad. He also has the ability to knock down shots from the perimeter and that will serve us well.”
Barry has participated in postseason play during each of the last eight seasons, beginning that string in 1997 with the Hawks and playing in 55 career playoff games (4.8 ppg, 1.4 apg and 1.6 rpg, .396 FG%) with Atlanta, the L.A. Lakers, Sacramento and Detroit. Traded to Milwaukee during the first month of his rookie season, the 6-5 Barry spent three years with the Bucks (1992-95) before he was signed to the first of three free agent contracts by three different teams – Golden State, Atlanta and the Los Angeles Lakers. After one season with the Warriors (1995-96) he made his first appearance in a Hawks uniform in 1996-97, averaging 4.9 points and 2.0 assists before moving on to Los Angeles (1997-98).
Barry enjoyed his best pro seasons over the next three years as a member of the Sacramento Kings, as a key contributor off the bench, recording 6.1 ppg in 167 games (.437 FG%). In his second year with Sacramento (1999-00) he recorded his finest year to that point, averaging 8.0 points in 62 contests, connecting on 46 percent of his shots.
He was traded by the Kings to the Detroit Pistons prior to the start of the 2001-02 campaign and saw extensive action with the Pistons, playing in a career high 82 games and averaging 24.2 minutes a night, in addition to delivering personal bests in points scored (9.0 ppg) and rebounds (3.3 rpg). He made 48.9% of his field goals that year and knocked down 47 percent from three-point range and 93% from the charity stripe.
Barry’s only season in Denver saw him finish with 6.2 points and 2.6 assists in 57 games.
The 35-year-old Barry was born July 25, 1969 in Oakland and his brother Brent is a nine-year pro who was signed to a free agent contract this summer by the Houston Rockets. Another brother, Drew, spent two seasons on different occasions with the Hawks (1997-98 and 2000-01). His father Rick, named one of the NBA’s Top 50 players all time, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987.
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