The Sacramento Kings have agreed to an extension with Harrison Barnes for 3 years and $54 million, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The average of $18 million per season is higher than many Kings fans were hoping, while some fans didn’t want Barnes to return at all, instead hoping for a more significant upgrade to the team.
Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes – a key part of the franchise’s rise into Western Conference contention – has agreed on a new three-year, $54 million contract extension, his agent Jeff Schwartz of @Excelbasketball tells ESPN. pic.twitter.com/JCT4RUayt7
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2023
It is worth noting that at this point we do not know the structure of the deal. The deal could be backloaded to preserve cap space now. The deal could have non-guaranteed money in it as well. Right now we’re going off an agent’s report to Woj, and agents always paint the sunniest picture.
The structure of the deal is going to be really important to how I personally evaluate this contract. If, for example, the contract is back-loaded the Kings may have still preserved more money for Sacramento in this summer’s free agency while the increases align with salary cap increases. After this year, the Kings will be operating as an over-the-cap team anyway.
A few important notes about this extension. First, according to Sam Vecenie, this contract would still be tradeable, meaning it gives the Kings a salary matching piece that could be included in future deals:
Because it’s an extension with a first-year salary that likely doesn’t see his salary increase by more than 5% (and because it’s an extension for three or fewer years versus a free agency deal), the team can still trade Barnes. https://t.co/ZymIK0xaAc
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) June 30, 2023
However, Sam Amick notes that the deal does include a trade kicker:
The Harrison Barnes deal with the Kings has a 10 percent trade kicker, a source with knowledge of the deal tells @TheAthletic. It’s three years, $54 million for him to return to the Kings. ESPN first reported.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) June 30, 2023
If Barnes were to be traded, the Kings would pay the kicker, but as long as the Kings are willing to spend that money, it shouldn’t stop them from being able to trade Barnes later if they’d like.
Second, this does not fully exhaust the Kings’ cap space. ESPN’s Bobby Marks outlined the Kings options:
Sacramento still has flexibility this offseason after the Harrison Barnes extension.
Options include:
1. Using $18M in room and also bring back Trey Lyles;
2. A combination of renegotiating Domantas Sabonis contract, bringing back Lyles, use remaining room and also the $7.7M…
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) June 30, 2023
There’s still a lot we still don’t know, including any other deals the Kings may have lined up for tomorrow. I’m willing to allow the offseason to play out before I judge Monte McNair’s plan.
I was hoping for an AAV around $15 million per year, so I understand anyone who is upset with the numbers on this. I don’t entirely disagree. I’m just reserving my anger until we have more information. Also, I have found that most contracts end up being a couple million per year higher than I expect, so this isn’t unusual.
A final thought: despite a truly terrible series against the Warriors, Harrison Barnes had a really good year last year. He was a huge factor in many Kings wins. Losing Barnes for nothing only made sense if the Kings had a bigger splash lined up. If the Kings didn’t have something else, then retaining Barnes is a smart move.
We’ll see what else the Kings have in store when free agency kicks off at 3 PM PT on Friday.
Update:
It has been clarified that Barnes cannot be traded immediately. There’s still some confusion around the new CBA. Barnes should be eligible for trade in 6 months, which would still be before next season’s trade deadline.
Pretty fair deal to player and the team. He is, and this is not mentioned much, a fairly good iso player when a basket is absolutely necessary. He has to improve his rebounding.
Good signing by the Kings when looking at the available players.
He’s 31, I just don’t see his rebounding improving. If the starting front line is still KM, HB and Sabonis, then the same issues that were clear against the duds will remain.
He focused on defense last year after not playing D well the previous year. It’s a matter of effort and will and not age.
We can still go get Kuzma for $28M, so you can finally be happy. Or do you have a better suggestion?
And, there is Veznekov. Murray is going to be much better. On the boards, going to the basket, off the dribble, and passing.
I expect Murray will be a much better rebounder this season. If his over/under was 7.5 per game, I take the over. That will cover the low numbers by Barnes.
Keegan mentioned something about being tasked with focusing on a couple specific areas this SL. I’m betting it’s rebounding and shot creation.
I think that is spot on. I was a little surprised to see him on the team, injury and all that, and his performance for a rookie was really good. But, I am happy he’ll be there so I get to see him play with the two draft picks.
I appreciate your positivity as well, and I agree that Keegan can improve on the boards, but it’s probably overly optimistic to expect him to be the answer to their rebounding troubles. I love Keegan the way he is. I know he’s only going to get better, but I’m satisfied with him as an assassin from three, and I want to see him as a small forward. They still need a big-time rebounder, at 4, to help Domas in the front-court.
Oh, I don’t think he’ll be the answer to our rebounding troubles, but I think he’ll take some pressure off those troubles. If he can pack another 1.5-2 RPGs this season and ultimately settle in around 7.5-8 for his career going forward, I’d be perfectly content. Especially considering he’ll see ample time beyond the arc.
Assuming he starts next to Barnes, that sounds doable. That likely is the plan now. If they can acquire a better rebounder at the 4 spot, (Wood?) not so much. I can definitely understand fans wanting to see a stronger, more physical presence, in the paint, with Domas.
The article doesn’t say anything abut guaranteeing a starting spot. I like the positivity regarding this signing, (if that’s what this is) but if nothing else they secured an asset, He’ll be a lot easier to trade now.
I am positive about the move. I get tired of the constant player movement every season, where this guy forces his way here or there, teams making “big” moves that go to shit, etc. Go with stability. This franchise was crap for a 16 year stretch, with the longest tenured player being Jason Thompson.
Keep a group of guys around that are good and win games.
I like it!
I never said I wanted Kuzma.
Sure, and your right about his age, and his rebounding. Again, the article says nothing about guaranteeing a starting spot.
The issue vs the dubs was the defensive gameplan to bring Domas out so far on screens…not the personelle
I’m with you… if you look at top free agent lists he is usually in top 15. Personally, I think he is better for this team than Kuzma. I also think that Sasha will be a decent rebounder. I also believe that all this team will find a way to change when Sabonis is off the floor. Ideally, it would be great to have a four that can block shots and hit the three and help with D but there are not a lot out there. So I think we run with the core we add complementary players we figure out a way to change up our approach to maximize strengths of other players, when Sabonis is not in there. At the end of the day, it really comes down to grabbing a few more rebounds per game and just a couple of defensive stops a game..
Not the sexiest move, but I’m totally fine with this. Harrison is durable, and he’s a great 3rd or 4th wheel—happy to take backseat to the other scorers, but able to step up when needed. Classy guy too.
Efficient, durable, good chemistry and locker room guy. Fine with this.
Top five in minutes played the last four years. His durability is his best trait.
His best trait is his professionalism. Showing-up to play night in and night out is just one aspect of that.
Vuc. Mikal Bridges. Barnes. That is the entire list of NBA players that played every game last year.
He takes care of his body and always has.
Pacers coach loves his work ethic, and apparently coveted him if there is some truth to some of the FA rumors. His former Dallas coach.
Seems he was always riding the stationary to stay loose between rotations.
Um, Jordan Poole did as well.
Yeah, but he sucks ass.
Same. Not mad at all, and it’s not really that bad of a contract either (considering Jordan Poole got $30 million). Harrison definitely would been harder to replace versus the other unrestricted free agents we have right now.
Seems like an overpay to me, I was hoping it would be $13-$15 million max per year.
I am sure his agent tested the market. Kings probably had competition. Not overpaying if other teams were willing to pay basically the same.
Strong point.
I like the return of Barnes.
Always a Barnes fans.
Still think that price was a little bit high, but as McNair said,
Consistency is needed!
In MM we trust
I like this move if he returns as a starter. I love it if he returns as a 6th man.
Couldn’t be said any better than that!
So resign Lyles and bring over Vezenkov would cover the rest of cap space. Extend Sabonis’ contract.
Essentially running with the same guys but now they’ll be more experienced. Not exciting but I can see the logic. I feel that the team never reached their ceiling of how well they could play together. With a playoff appearance under their belt they may play at an even higher level next year. Keegan Murray’s development is a big X-factor on the ceiling of the team.
Agreed. Year 1 with a new coaching staff/system and lots of new players. Sometimes these things need to grow organically and take time. Play the long game and try to build a perennial winner.
With the new CBA coming in, I think being in control of the cap sheet is a huge boon. You see Warriors, Hawks, and other teams desperately scrambling to shed salary. We’ll have the same core of guys steadily growing together over the next couple years guaranteed. Not a lot of contending teams can say that about their rosters.
And while I think the Barnes contract is a bit of an overpay, I also believe he’ll prove to be worth every cent because that’s just the player he is. I think at 54/3 he’ll be a positive trade asset and good matching salary for a solid amount of high end talent that might become available on the market. Stability on the floor and flexibility on the cap sheet. That’s just good business.
Also, please correct me if I’m wrong…the contract is technically an extension so he can now be traded as an asset immediately if the situation called for it.
Instead of losing HB for nothing to chase a FA, we’ve signed a classy vet with a solid resume (both health and production-wise) who can still improve in his role for this team, plus he’s a player that would be beneficial to most teams in the NBA. Even if he’s not traded and plays out his contract, he won’t complain if he’s moved to the bench when the Kings eventually find their long-term starting wing/F to pair with Keegan and Domas.
And we don’t have to look at that ridicules hair, and stupid outfits like with Kuzma!
Buzzed hair. Nothing but white Converse shoes. Shorts that rest exactly 9 inches above the knees.
Yup. You know he’s gonna show up, play his role, and lead by example no matter what role it is.
And he’s also the perfect mentor for Keegan, and Barnes’ contract conveniently runs til the end of Keegan’s. At that point he either passes the torch or takes the Igoudala/Haslem role.
I’ve seen some confusion about whether he could be traded now or whether they’d have to wait 6 months.
I would think the Kings would give him 8% annual raises on the contract so that this year’s salary would be under $17M. Is Vecenie speculating or reporting the salary increase info?
Estimate was something like 16.6/18.3/19.1
That’s in line with 8%. It’s maybe one million or so more annually than I expected. But bringing in any available upgrades would have likely cost over $20M. Glad to have Barnes back good player, good contract, good guy.
This was a reasonable first step to the off-season.
Fantastic deal! I believe his last deal cost about 17% of the cap, this one starts at more like 13%. Barnes is a big piece here, and a tradable one at that. Steadying influence, on and off the floor, he’s the guy who gets to the line when the offense goes stagnant, and they could not find a better ambassador to represent this franchise. Here’s to welcoming back the Senator!
~22% that first year of the previous contract. (24m on a 109 cap)
Right on! Even better, Thanks.
I agree, and I support using the percentage-of-salary-cap to put player’s deals into context, I think it’s the appropriate metric for discussion.
That’s about where I was hoping it would be, if we brought him back. Pretty solid value.
…it aight
I have no problem with the Barnes signing. My only issue is that they traded a first round pick to just resign their own free agents, which they could have done anyways. This was their chance and it doesn’t look like they’re taking it.
If they could have done it without trading the pick, then it reasons that they didn’t trade the pick in order to do it.
Also, whether they can exceed the cap to sign these guys or not, the CBA is different now. They need to keep the payroll under certain thresholds to avoid penalties, and the more they constrain spending, the more flexibility they maintain moving forward.
I don’t see why this is “their chance”. I get the whole cap thing and operating over in the future. But handing 30 million to Kuzma or 35+ to Middleton while maybe gives this team a spike, is also a definitively possible outcome that they are really not much better and more risky contracts.
I don’t think they need to swing for the fences after one decent year. It’s not like this team has run into a repeated ceiling they keep bumping their head against…yet.
Improve on the margins (Vezenkov, Murray improvement etc) and see where you are at next year. Maintain very moveable contracts and most of your draft picks and the possibilities are fairly open if you are creative.
Monte just signed a new deal, he has time, and I’m sure he’s in no hurry to saddle himself with a bunch of (or any) bad contracts.
In chess, sometimes the best move is to improve slightly and wait for your opponent to make a move which might expose a weakness.
That’s how Monte operates. There’s gonna be a GM on the hot seat or an unhappy misfit on another roster or one reason or another why talented players end up costing less than their worth.
All the while, Monte sits dispassionately, indifferent to acting now or later. And if he senses that a GM is feeling pressure to make a move, that’s when Monte coolly improves his position and waits for his opponent.
So, the pertinent question becomes, how does that effect their cap #? Do they still have room to make a significant move(s)?
Bobby Marks tweeted that there’s $18 mil left, plus a $7.7 room exception. The exception can be used on Sasha.
That leaves essentially $18 mil in cap space for resigning our remaining FA, using on the FA market, or making a trade. I could be wrong.
Then Monte does not have anything really big up his sleeve. Makes sense. There really aren’t any big names out there that would excite me much anyway, barring a trade. He could still be included in a deal for Anunoby. And until Ujiri is ready to make that deal, we have HBs services.
It may be wishful thinking but I think trading for Siakam at the deadline is the plan.
Huerter, Barnes, Davion + picks is a pretty competitive offer and matches salary perfectly.
Fox Jones
Monk Ellis
Murray Edwards Slawson
Siakam Vezenkov
Sabonis Lyles Queta
The starting 5 plus Jones, Vezenkov and Lyles are probably your 8 man rotation in the playoffs. That looks like a title team, and it’s missing at least $18 mil worth of salary.
I don’t dislike it, but I’m not down with any deal which includes Murray, OR Mitchell. Throw in another pick. Let Uriji find another defensive stud in the draft himself.
Of course, as much as I like Siakam, it’s likely too ambitious. Anunoby would be just fine for our purposes.
Maybe, but the risk of Siakam then signing elsewhere leaves you in a bad spot moving forward.
Especially since Siakam has said he won’t re-sign with a team that trades for him
It may be wishful thinking but I think trading for Siakam at the deadline is the plan.
Next year’s trade deadline?
I just think the market is weird right now. The new CBA will hopefully correct the market and and them trading someone like Barnes will garner more equal value.
Ujiri wants like 10 1st round picks for OG, an all-star level player, and am upcoming young player. Shit is wonky.
Marks said the Kings could have up to $18M but I think they keep their rights to Lyles. That would be closer to $14M for free agents and/or an extension for Sabonis plus the room exception. I’m not sure if the qualifying offers for Queta and Ellis factor into Marks’ estimates or not. His free agency primer that was just published still includes Richaun Holmes as being part of the team.
Wood made just over $14M last season. His #s were better than Barnes’s. He’s my favorite target now, and I would have them release Lyles for him, due to his rebounding and shot-blocking. I don’t know where Wood can find a bigger role than he could have here if he plays well in Sac..
My two cents: Monte has that Masai / Morey thing where he sets his valuations and does not budge much from them. If he sensed that the market for Kuzma (for example) was too rich, he may have opted for what he perceives is a more reasonable deal in the interim, with a small chance of re-visiting the market at the deadline.
I suspect Monte is waiting for the trade deadline to see who’s selling low
Banes plus picks would make a lot more sense for Sac, than Murray and picks, that is, once Uriji comes down to earth.
I’m fine with it. We always want something sexy in the off-season. But something to be said for consistency after this team just turning the corner.
That shot goes in Game 4 and the Kings win the Dubs series then half this board would think this was a great deal. He played really well majority of last season and a big reason they did what they did. That shouldn’t be easily dismissed based on a couple shots or games.
Huerter wasn’t very good, Keegan was up and down, Domas had his struggles, yet it is Barnes that draws the ire. I don’t get it either.
You think it has anything to do with the fact that he was our worst starter and it wasn’t even close? Or that Brown had to basically bench him the last 2 games when he was borderline unplayable? I’m not even advocating this being a bad move yet, we’ll have to see how we end up using the rest of the cap, but for this price I’d rather distribute it towards building depth and maintain flexibility moving forward. Paying 18m for your 8th best player in the playoffs seems silly to me, the best arguments for him is his durability and being a great citizen, neither of this did anything to help us win a series.
Do you have #s to back-up your “8th best player in the playoffs” assertion?
I’m assuming your speaking of Barnes and not Huerter, because if you meant Kevin, it makes slightly more sense.
In terms of impact for the series
1) Fox-obviously
2) Malik- turned his game up
3) Sabonis- not his best series scoring wise but still rebounded and set great picks
4) Davion- lock down defense and timely buckets
5) Trey Lyles- we don’t win game 1 without him also timely buckets throughout
6) Keegan Murray- took the first few games off to adjust but after that he came alive rest of the series most notably games 4-6
7) Terrence Davis- we don’t win game 6 without him
8a) Barnes- great citizen, great teammate great effort, can’t think of a single impactful moment other then a wide open dunk first minutes of game 7, he was benched most of that game thereafter
8b) Alex Len- I’d say he had the same impact then Barnes based on his rebounding alone in game one that was critical to us winning that game
9) Kevin Huerter- what can we say he was out there Chucking it away and playing him more minutes then Trey and Davion cost us the series.
Not a bad argument. I wouldn’t agree, other than to say there was enough blame to go around, but good job.
Crickets…
I don’t think most fans care about the missed 3 in game 4 or the signing of HB in a vacuum. It’s more about the contract and the need to improve the talent level on the front line. KM and Domas aren’t going anywhere so that leaves HB. Perhaps HB becomes the sixth man.
I don’t think any fans would have a problem with the signing if it was $15 million per or below.
If you have no problem with it being 15 million, then I can’t fathom how it being 18 somehow makes it a stinker contract. Cap goes up and he takes up less percentage of the rising cap now than he did when he signed a few years ago.
Any contract under 20 million for a non malcontent is entirely moveable. What’s he costing you…a Terence Davis esque player?
Christian Wood, Lyles, Vezenkov, Yuta
Wood would be nice. Still a hole at the 4 imo. We need that athletic, stretch 4 to flank Domas.
Wood is a 4. He’s 6’9, 214lbs., and is listed on NBA.com as a forward. He also shot 37.6% from 3 this last season, on 4.2 attempts, after shooting 39%, on 4.9, the season before.
I love me some Yuta.
Wood- his numbers are good and sometimes his highlights are good but I just don’t trust him.
Maybe Wood finds the right role here in Sac..
I mean there is probably a reason 6-7 teams have moved on from him and 3 teams in last few years. I always feel he is likely the slightly better version of Marvin Bagley. There might be some numbers sometimes, but it frequently feels like empty calories.
If not Wood, then Lyles, Vezenkov, Keita Bates Diop and Yuta
The thing Noone is talking about is that there are no albatross contracts being signed in Sacramento. Barnes is a movable piece. Murray is a moveable piece. Huerter is a movable piece. Vezenko will be a movable piece etc. The new 18 a year contract will likely be a movable piece as well as possibly lyles.
It really gives good trade bait to the roster for an opportunistic maneuver that many cone our way
It seems like reasonable money in a vacuum, but 1) why did we trade our pick? 2) How does the defense and rebounding improve? The team was 29th in blocks, with no one averaging over 0.5 per game, and 20th in rebounding, with only one player averaging over 5 per game.
Great to see this. Barnes earned it and will continue to earn it.
Could there be a possible sign and trade in the works? Either way I like the signing, Barnes is solid.
Meh, it’s a slight overpay in my mind, but there is likely no cheaper option in free agency that can give you hat Barnes gives you. I definitely favor Barnes at $18M over Kuzma approaching $30M. Still a day or so left to see if Monte can get Sabonis to sign and extend as well.
I like the idea of giving Sabonis his raise, and extending him, as long as, it looks basically like the structure I posted the other day. If they wanna max him out, they should just wait and be ready to match offers next off-season, depending on how they still feel about him, at that time.
Looking at some of these salaries, HB is a bargain.
2022-23 NBA Player Contracts | Basketball-Reference.com
Ok – this answers a question and begs a question
:
Domantas Sabonis is the 74th highest salary on this list. 74th! Seventy-fourth!
Give him a frikkin’ raise! Now if not yesterday! Can you set it up for one year? what’s the rule on extensions? Will it ruin his chance of a Max deal at the end of next season?
(by the by – De’Aaron Fox is 40th)
The Pelicans declined the team option for Herb Jones, he is now a RFA with early Bird rights.
Me likey Herb Jones! He’s your starting 3 if you give him $54M/4 yrs (Pels can offer no more than $53.4, and he is as good a defender as OG Anunoby but much healthier)
I doubt Jones can be had. The Pels declined that TO to make him a RFA to sign him long term. They aren’t really making him available to the open market.
This isn’t too far from what I expected, so it seems fine to me.
Me too. Especially if they’re planning on being a room team. If they exceed the cap, then it would seem to have been better to spend on acquisitions, then pay Barnes.
It sounds like going over the cap is fine in the new CBA as long as a team doesn’t hit an apron.
solid move by the Kings.
In this last fantasy season of +18 game improvement, Harrison Barnes was the Kings 3rd best player. Starter quality all around game. The 2020’s version of the late teen 2000s Rudy Gay on Sac.
I think, defensively, HB40 is under appreciated. His TS% is an impressive 63%. And got to love his attitude – shows up every game, got that Pro game face, does what needs to be done- puts in the work on and off the court. Role model. His coaches adore him.
He is decidedly unspectacular. His Comps: Andrew Wiggins – a cut above/Tobias Harris- I think he’s a shade less than HB, but these two are very close. And that is where I put him. Wiggins starts a $109M/4 year after his monster Minny deals finally ends, Tobias is another year at $36M. Kuzma at ?$30M? John Collins for $27M? Michael Porter Jr is at $150M/4 yr
His playoffs this past season were flat awful though. Just as some players are overpaid for a good playoff run (Jerome James anyone?) they shouldn’t be underpaid for those 7 games. Just my opinion.
Gimme HB for another 3 years when Keegan’s ready for his first “big” contract. I’m going to speculate that HB is re-signed at 34 with Sac.
He’s not ageless, but he’s got many good seasons left.
Barnes and Wiggins stat lines from ’23
YearTeam G MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG TOPG FG% 3P% FT%
22-23 SAC 82 32.5 15.0 4.5 1.6 0.7 0.1 1.0 .473 .374 .847
22-23 GSW 37 32.2 17.1 5.0 2.3 1.2 0.8 1.3 .473 .396 .611
I’m not sure how much the Wiggins comp holds up, although on the surface the numbers look pretty close. But I think Wiggins athleticism shows up in these stats. Half a steal per game, half a block, half a rebound…Value goes up exponentially, so differences like this scale pretty quickly in terms of player value. The good news is an incremental rise in HB’s stats makes the contract much better, if he’s got it in him.
Yes – as a comp, Wiggins is a cut above. No question you’d rather have Andrew Wiggins than Harrison Barnes on your squad.
Tobias Harris on the other hand, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Seems these two are interchangeable and Harris is at $37.6M this season.
And Harrison Barnes wants to be in Sac. And is well respected by coaches and fans.
That is still a big deal. Does the Sac Tax still exist? Yes, I believe so. One, and only one, season of success does not clean away 16 seasons of stank.
I’m an HB40 fan and happy he is returning.
And to repeat for emphasis- this deal ends when Keegan’s 4 year rookie deal ends.
I like the 3 year extension that Barnes got. And as mentioned he can still be traded since its an extension and not a free agent signing which means he would be a perfect trade chip if Massai finally has the balls to trade either OG or Siakam.
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