Matt Barnes In Sweetest Custody War Ever

Matt Barnes says he's TRYING LIKE HELL to be a good dad -- but his ex-wife is blocking him from spending precious quality time with his 8-year-old twin boys.

His ex-wife, however, says Barnes is completely full of crap.

It's all in new legal docs obtained by TMZ Sports ... in which Barnes is begging the judge to completely overhaul his custody arrangement with Gloria Govan.

Look, the point of the legal docs is actually sweet ... two parents who both really want to be involved with their kids. The problem is both sides claim the other parent is impossible to get along with.

Barnes says he's offered to pay for all of the expenses to fly the kids out to him when he's on the road, but Gloria keeps throwing wrenches in the plans and it makes the kids sad.

Gloria says she tries to make plans with Matt but he always makes last-minute requests and it's hard to get on the same page.

CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?!

The two are set to meet in court in April -- in the meantime, Matt did get a chance to hang with the kids earlier this month and everyone looked happy.