Brownie Points: Barnes gives Suns flexibility, even at point

Matt Barnes will fill a lot of holes for the Suns next year. Might he help fill the backup point guard spot as well?

The Suns aren’t going to get a good enough point guard in free agency. Even if Goran Dragic comes this fall, he won’t be ready for the workload Phoenix envisions for Steve Nash’s backup.

But Barnes’ ability to play power forward and even shooting guard in addition to small forward makes the Suns more flexible and might give them some interesting options.

Are both Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa now necessary on the roster? Would the Bulls, who are still sparring with Luol Deng on a contract and looking to move Kirk Hinrich’s contract, entertain the idea of swapping Hinrich for Diaw (they have almost identical contracts) and then go after some center depth with their last roster spot?

There is no indication that the Suns and Bulls have talked. But Hinrich is a name that has intrigued the Suns in the past, and they will have to get creative in picking up a point guard. Barnes’ pleasantly unexpected arrival gives them more chips to play.

PUNCH N’ JUDY

This has to be a frustrating week for the WNBA. For all the improved play in the league, for all the strides it has made since its awful infancy, it has not been able to grab the attention of the hardcore sports fan.

Then there is a pushing and shoving match — in Detroit, no less — with former Bad Boy Rick Mahorn right in the middle. Then Nancy Leiberman decides that she can still be competitive on the court at the age of 50 and signs with the Shock.

Come on, Nancy, hang ’em up. If you prove you can hang with the best in your sport at 50, what does that really say about the game? Since she’s playing in Detroit, let’s hope she’s been working out on the speed bag.

And so the WNBA finally has our attention — for all the wrong reasons.

To its credit, the league made the right moves Thursday, suspending 10 players and limiting the punishment of assistant coach Rick Mahorn to two games. It was obvious by viewing the entire tape that Mahorn went on the court with the best of intentions and got caught up in a situation that deserved punishment (two games) but not an overreaction.

QUICK HITTERS

• The D-Backs took two out of three from the best team in the National League without Brandon Webb or Dan Haren throwing a single pitch. That gives them a great 1-2 punch going into San Francisco, where they begin a run of 18 games without a day off — with the first 11 on the West Coast.

• The Mets were an awful, sixth-run ninth inning on Tuesday from sweeping the Phillies. But they still served notice that they weren’t ready to fold up this year — at least not in July — by rebounding to win the final two games of the series.

Jimmy Rollins didn’t play because he was late to Shea Stadium Thursday. Does that sound like the more focused team?

• Give Joe Paterno credit. At least he doesn’t give retirement the Brett Favre, wishy-washy, I-can’t-decide treatment. He’s coaching and at 81, he still doesn’t have an end-game in sight. You have the feeling this thing won’t end well, but at least he’s not on the fence.

• Ever since CC Sabathia shed his periods and came to Milwaukee, he’s been unhittable and the Brewers are poised to pass the Cubs in the Central Division. Judging by their road performance this season — and in the Valley this week — the Cubs don’t want to be the wild card.