Harrison Barnes has been with the Sacramento Kings longer than anyone else on the team aside from De’Aaron Fox. He’s played more games in a Kings uniform than Chris Webber, Bobby Jackson and Doug Christie, and started every single one he’s suited up for. He’s 6th in Sac-era history in 3 pointers made and 9th in points. Yet over there years there might not be a player on the Kings who has been bandied about more in potential trade discussions among fans, or who gets more vitriol when he underperforms.
It wasn’t so long ago that the phrase “but can he play SF” was a meme among Kings fans who had been searching for a quality starting Small Forward for years before finally finding one in first Rudy Gay and then Harrison Barnes. Barnes was acquired for essentially free in one of Vlade Divac’s rare trade heists for his tenure; For the low, low price of Zach Randolph and Justin Jackson, the Kings got a starting Small Forward and a veteran leader for a young group. The risk lay in if the Kings could re-sign him, and they did, not just once, but twice, as they inked him to a new three year, $54 million deal last summer after four seasons of solid, if unspectacular, play.
Barnes proceeded to have statistically the worst season of his Kings tenure this year after signing his latest deal, averaging just 12.2 points with 3 rebounds and 1.2 assists. He also posted the worst net rating of any Kings rotation player at -7.8, with the Kings being better on both ends of the floor when he was off the court.
Part of this declining performance was likely by design however. With Keegan Murray now aboard, Coach Brown and co. drew up a lot of plays for Murray and relegated Barnes to essentially play a role as a spot-up shooter, rarely if ever calling specific plays for him. In seasons past, Barnes would have his number called as both a driver and post-up player, and those touches were now instead going to Murray. Barnes saw his attempts at the rim drop in frequency by almost 8%, and his Free Throw Attempt rate fall from 52.2% last season (the most of anyone on the team) to just 26.8% this season. 52.6% of his total attempts came from beyond the arc, the highest rate of his career.
Barnes’ biggest games of the season all came when he got wildly hot from distance. A 39 point performance against the Warriors saw him go 7-12 from distance, and he only had two games where he scored 17 or more points and didn’t hit more than one three. Unfortunately there were just too many games where Barnes disappeared when the three point shot wasn’t falling, and the Kings usually lost as a result. Barnes’ shooting efficiency difference between wins and losses was staggering: In Kings wins, Barnes shot 50.9% from the field and 43.6% from three (for comparison Steph Curry shot 40.8% from three this year). But in losses, Barnes shot just 42% from the field and 30.9% from three. This “live by the three, die by the three” mentality was a problem for the Kings in general, but no player epitomized this more than Barnes this season.
Barnes also doesn’t provide a ton in other areas to make up for a lack of scoring. Defensively, he tries, and often is given defensive assignments way above his paygrade simply because the Kings have so few options upfront, but he doesn’t possess the length or athleticism to be a true plus defender, and this is becoming worse with age as he has slowed down in recent years. While never a great rebounder, this season he only pulled down 3 a game, his lowest total of his career by far. Part of that is playing next to a rebounding machine in Domantas Sabonis, but even still, you expect more than 3 rebounds a game from a frontcourt player who plays as often as Barnes does.
Barnes can still be an effective player for the Kings, and by all accounts is an excellent teammate. But it seems clear at this point in his career that the Kings need an upgrade in the frontcourt, especially in the starting lineup, and Barnes is the odd man out with both Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray secure in their rotation spots. As a bench player, Barnes could potentially thrive with more energy to come in and have some plays run for him as a primary scorer. But Barnes’ contract also makes him the most likely piece to be moved in order to create that potential upgrade in the frontcourt. It seems an unlikely scenario that the Kings would be able to acquire a replacement frontcourt starter for Barnes while retaining Barnes on the team.
Harrison Barnes has been a model Sacramento King, and will always be remembered for helping this team break a 16 year playoff drought. But in order for the Kings to progress once more, Barnes and Sacramento’s time together might be coming to an end sooner rather than later.
The commentary on the HB Season Review should be interesting to say the least.
I personally, like many on this forum, didn’t like the resigning of HB last season to that contract, and I think we were proven right. I have no clue what kind of value HB has at this point in a trade. Perhaps there’s young teams that would trade for him so they have an adult in the room.
HB, Lyles, Sasha…MM certainly has a type based on the players he signed/resigned last offseason. But that type (unathletic, no length) isn’t winning you playoff games. Just look at the remaining teams in the playoffs. The majority, if not all, have length and athleticism.
It will be interesting to see how MM attacks this offseason with clear needs on this roster.
I think a team like the Bucks is going to shake it up and try and trim payroll. I’d look into one of Jerry’s long time favorites Bobby Portis. Pretty good fit next to Domas, can stretch the floor but most importantly brings that dog that this team really needs. The aftermath of the stomp would have gone down differently had Portis been on the floor. We need some players like that.
I disagree on the re-signing of Barnes. Here’s the thing, had Monte not gone over the cap to retain Barnes, the Kings really didn’t have cap space to sign someone to fill his role. He was about to hit free agency in just a few hours before he locked in the extension. Had he not signed the extension there was a very real chance he would have walked for nothing and the Kings would need to fill the staring forward spot in free agency with less space.
The extension of Barnes was more about the contract to operate above the cap than it was about the player. Monte now has Harrison’s contact to play with this summer.
Now also keep in mind, Monte was also in the middle of signing Sabonis to his fat extension, only made possible by the Kings unloading Holmes and their draft pick. Both the Barnes and Sabonis extensions were only possible because of this and it allowed the Kings to go over the cap. They were also announced less than 24 hours apart. There were moving parts.
Lastly, there was the announced Lyles re-signing at $8M, the Sasha signing, and the Duarte trade
The order of the signings is important
Barnes got his extension BEFORE free agency on June 29th.
Sabonis signed his extension on July 6th
Duarte was traded into space on July 6th
Lyles re-signed into space on July 7th
Sasha signed on July 13th with an exception.
All CBA details aside, had Barnes not signed that extension when he did, and Holmes not getting traded on draft night, along with the guaranteed salarly of the draft pick, the transactions following in July may not have happened.
Of course, we may not see the possible benefit of re-signing Barnes if/when Monte moves his contract for something more beneficial. He is an asset retained and an asset that gets kicked down the road for later use.
Appreciate your breakdown on the signings. Simply put, I would have let HB walk, we can agree to disagree on that. We’re in a similar position now with needing to resign Monk not just for his value on the court but due to the same salary CAP reasons as I understand it. The difference is Monk brings value on the court and I don’t think HB does all that much any longer.
I agree that Barnes didn’t not bring his value to the court this season, but that contract was signed after he was a key cog on the #3 seed last season, which is debatable as fair market at the time.
I do feel he’ll have value to teams that see him as a valuable bench piece or or 5th option, especially to a team that’s possibly looking to cut a larger salary. I’m thinking a Kuzma/Jerami Grant type player.
Time will tell.
He just seems Like a Miami Heat player. They really need healthy players, and Barnes has been that. They don’t really have pieces that are realistically available (I do like Jovic), so another team might need to be involved.
That’s an interesting a I feel accurate observation. I’d add the Spurs to that list as well. Both teams could squeeze a very solid and productive 3 years out of him. I think he could be a good locker room guy for Wemby and company.
Barnes makes $6M more than Portis, so if the Bucks want to trim payroll, more players from their end would need to be added.
I don’t know about this. Were you proven right, really? Based on what? HB shot 39% from threes. If Monk, Huerter and Murray shot 39% from threes, collectively, instead of 36%, despite the abundance of clean looks, I contend we would still be playing.
Why would you have NO clue what kind of value HB has?
You may not have EVERY clue but you should have some clue.
Last off season I said we needed to get Kuzma and if we failed and if we did sign HB it would be as a placeholder and future trade chip until we could upgrade. This is what happened and this is where we are.
We are not married to HB. We retained him until the opportunity arose to switch him out for the better player. We are waiting on this. We are waiting on the desparate or semi desparate team
I like that you mention Bobby Portis.
It is possible the Bucks qualify as the desperate team and trade partner, after their woeful display versus the Pacers, a joke in their own right, about to get punked by the Knicks,
The Bucks should consider Davion and Lyles (or HB) for Portis.
It could be they consider Portis to be “untouchable” which would be too funny, the same logic that led them to hire Doc Rivers, a loser of a coach.
Lyles and Davion for Portis seems like a win-win both teams, but I just thought it up two seconds ago.
Lillard is trash as a POA defender. Patrick Beverley is trash too, although you would not know this the way Haliburton performed again him.
I saw a You Tube where Beverly chucked a ball at a fan chanting “1…2…3…Cancun” or something like this. Then he chucked the ball again! If the Bucks are smart they will cut ties with a LOSER like Beverly and go after a up and comer like Davion. But it should cost them Portis. Our GM will insist on nothing less.
Now if the Bucks can do better in their effort to upgrade their roster, well then congrats and more power to them, but if they are not super dumb Davion should be on their radar.
Your rant broken down….
5% about the topic being discussed.
55% declaring you are right or were right and everyone else is dumb.
40% proving everyone else is sane.
I’ve been poking around the trade machines recently and I just don’t know what the Kings can really get for Barnes. Guys with massive contracts that the Kings would be willing to take on (KD, AD, etc.) are not the guys that teams are interested in moving, and the guys that teams are interested in moving (Beal, Lavine, etc.) are not what the Kings want to spend a third of their cap space on.
Even the Nets see Ben Simmons expiring as a means to package with picks for a big name – not to break up into smaller deals like Barnes and Huerter. And Barnes/Huerter are not the kinds of guys that any team will package a couple smaller deals to trade for.
Overall, I think the Kings are kinda stuck with both these players, at least until they become expiring deals after next season. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. They’re both very strong as 6-8 guys in the rotation and they’re both smart, selfless players, and steady locker room presences. Barnes especially could end up our version of Igoudala as he ages. The Kings shouldn’t be hasty to ship them out for less than they’re worth.
So if that’s the case, the Kings should move forward under the assumption that the following guys will be key contributors to the roster next season: Fox, Sabonis, Murray, Barnes, Huerter, Ellis & Lyles. That’s seven solid contributors, and Davion, Sasha, and Colby Jones are each kinda wild cards.
Given all this, I’ve come around to the conclusion that the Kings best move would be to have a relatively quiet offseason, which includes a.) clearing enough cap space to retain Monk and Len and b.) make a strong offer of draft capital (#13 + add ons) in order to bring in Jalen Smith. Monk is self-explanatory, so this is my pitch on Jalen:
He’s available, a near perfect fit for the roster, has upside to flourish, fits the timeline, fits the cap sheet, has no serious injury history, and no character issues. Checkmarks across the board. The only other available guys that’d fit as well would be Jonathan Isaac (serious injury history) or Herb Jones (maybe not available, and not enough of a rim protector at the 4). Maybe a lottery pick + extras sounds steep, but the Pacers won’t let a young productive player go for nothing – even if he is the odd man out. This is the type of strong offer that would pry him away, and idk who at #13 in the draft is going to plug in as perfectly as Jalen would right now. Moving forward, the roster would shake out like such:
Fox/Monk/Davion
Ellis/Huerter/Jones
Murray/Barnes/Edwards
Smith/Lyles/Sasha
Sabonis/Len
The timelines sync, the skillsets sync (top 10 team on offense AND defense???), and the contracts line up with guys like Sasha, Lyles, Barnes, Huerter, Davion, and Duarte coming off the books as you’d need to pay guys like Smith, Murray, Fox, and Ellis. But to my eye, that’s about as competitive of a 10 man rotation as you’re going to get, with some quality depth in the third string. And all of this could be accomplished with just a medium-sized commitment of draft capital. Does Jalen Smith fully pan out? Maybe not – but then Barnes and Lyles are right there. Does this team win a championship? Also maybe not, but it would have lots of quality players and nearly all of its draft assets still. It seems like a relatively small risk on a worthy player which would result in at the very least a very competitive playoff team.
Sorry for the long post but would be interested to hear what others think.
That was a long post indeed lol, but well written. I agree, it’s hard to see major changes this offseason given the contracts and assets this team currently has. But minor moves can go a long way to improving a team, the moves just have to hit and make sense. The Mavs went from a first round playoff exit team to a contender with the moves they made at the trade deadline. Just look at how much the Mavs D has improved since then, it’s wild.
MM needs to make some similar moves and hope for the best. That’s why I would personally take a risk on players like Isaac, Bridges. Or you can play it safer with guys like Jalen Smith, Portis etc. A lot of teams are in salary cap, luxury cap hell which should present some opportunities.
It’s funny you mention the Lavine contract. It was odd to hear Jerry in the recent pod being somewhat open to taking on Lavine. That would be a hard pass for me. I’m surprised the guys on the pod didn’t push back on Jerry’s position, but it seems like they never do out of respect I assume. You can feel a sense of desperation from King’s fans for how difficult it’s going to be to improve this team. Being open to taking on horrible contracts like Lavine’s is a sign of that. Make no mistake, some GM will talk themselves into Lavine or Beal…let’s just hope it’s not MM.
I do feel an important thing to realize is that the Kings really have no “bad” contracts like a Beal or LaVine. For the the hand-wringing over Monte’s lack of improvement to the roster, he still has positioned himself with movable contracts. Also, the new CBA rules with the second tax apron is going to have some teams desperate to make make moves. Being a muti-year tax paying team is not as simple anymore as just writing bigger checks.
The Kings have enough cap space tied up in mediocre players like Barnes, Huerter, Davion, Lyles, Sasha, and Duarte that some combination of them bringing back a talent like Lavine makes sense to some degree. Bulls are not in a position to really refuse anyone who is able to break that contract for them. I’m open to McNair kicking the tires on everyone, but Lavine’s contract certainly goes against Monte’s philosophy of staying flexible and nimble on the cap sheet, especially for 3 more seasons – yeesh.
IMO Barnes will stay. Most other teams won’t take him and his contract because of age and what he did last year. IMO he should be a backup next year. Next Monty has said time and time again he wants to win now. I’m alright with that but that doesn’t mean going after players on the fringes. If IMO you want to win now then go after a player that will impact the team and bring them closer to a championship. There are said players out there but few and far between. The one I would like Monty to go after is Michal Bridges. Fits the timeline is a 2 way player and doesn’t have to be in the spotlight like say a Kyle Kuzma. The Nets management really doesn’t go all in for him to be the center piece. The Nets have almost zero draft picks in the next couple of years so that’s a plus.If Bridges were to leave they have Cam Thomas waiting in the wings to replace him. In fact Thomas scores more than Bridges right now. The Nets aren’t going anywhere as of now and really could use draft picks. Here is my trade. Huerter, lyles, Mitchell, the #13 pick this year and 2 more firsts. The King’s starters would be: Fox, Bridges Murray, Smith(who you would pickup in FA using your mle) and Sabonis. Backup: Ellis, Monk(who IMO will sign with the Kings) Duarte, Barnes and Len(who you retain). You still have Jones and Vezenkov. How go get a championship. IMO this team can do this.
Smith is an RFA and so you’d either have to make an exorbitant offer and hope he chooses Sacramento over other suitors, or you can just trade for him and not worry about it. That’s why I choose the latter.
I love Mikal, and I’d be quite excited if the Kings headed into next season with the lineup you suggested. But he’s also expensive and the Kings have a lot of guys to pay (including Monk, and eventually Smith, Fox, and Ellis). I don’t know if that works out cap wise.
Philosophically, I also think Mikal is an ‘all-in’ move in terms of the assets required to acquire him. I wouldn’t want the Kings spending a bunch of picks and cap space on a guy like him unless they were knocking on the door of the title. Maybe that roster could get it done, but I’d like to have a look at things with just Jalen first lol.
Sorry Jalen Smith is UFA not a RFA. Then Pacers can only make an offer of 4.6 mil. and no more. We have approx. 12.6 in mle. IMO that might do it. Hope so.
Thanks for the correction! My bad.
Technically he’s not a free agent yet. He has to opt out of his player option first, which seems like a no brainer on his part.
smith is so far down the bench at Indy, we cannot see him on TV. and he will start in Sac????no way
He averaged 18mpg, shot 42% from 3 on 2.4 attempts per game, the advanced numbers love him, and he averaged 20/11.6/2.2 with 1.9 STOCKS per 36.
Lauri Markkannen was a considerably less productive player with more minutes at age 24 and I’d bet you’d sell your dog to get him in Sacramento now.
You have to give up something to get something. IMO in this case it would be worth it. A little side note. Most of the King’s draft picks are closer to second rounders than lottery. IMO I’d rather have a Bridges than risking those low first rounders on somebody we know whether they will turnout or not.
Whether Jalen Smith is the answer or not your point is taken. As a quick observation look what a difference OG Anouby has made for the Knicks. My personal observation is in line with yours. Is OG in line for a big raise……Yes…..Is he in line for a bigger bag? Of course! Is it going to be a max contract? Don’t think so. Will his next contract support your family and mine for generations?…..My family wouldn’t know what hit them.
Your point is that the if the Kings want to meaningfully improve the they are going to need to spend some real dollar money on quality contributors below the max line who can help them reach the next level. Who is that exactly? No frigging idea.
But I do know this. It won’t be an older vet on the backside of his career who is making bucoo money based on what he used to bring and it won’t be Chris Duarte who had one decent season as a rookie.
I like your main points and I’ve been saying something quite similar since the season ended. Replacing Barnes in the starting lineup needs to be the priority. And he doesn’t need to leave Sacramento in order for that to happen. Barnes coming off the bench and in your scenario Huerter as well = a high quality bench. All of this depends on Monk coming back to some degree but even if you lose him you’re still left with Davion, Huerter, Barnes, Lyles and Len as your bench mob.
none of this is sexy but none of it is horrible either. I do believe that one simple trade or signing of a starting PF to push Barnes to the bench could get this team to 50 wins. Easily.
My issue isn’t so much about Barnes lack of offense, but, as the article points out, his lack of production in other areas. He lost a step or two on defense, and also on the athletic ability to rise and get rebounds.
I actually think that he can be a significant contributor offensively if you let him play extensively agaqinst backups. But that means getting a cheap option as your starting forward.
So that brings me to the question; Why talk about Barnes when we can have 40 comments about Jalen Smith?
I used to like Jalen Smith. Not anymore. Through no fault of his own, I hope that Jalen today announces his retirement from the NBA to pursue a career in backgammon.
Jalen Smith: the bespectacled former U/Maryland Terrapin selected #10 in the 2020 draft by Phoenix (Kevin Huerter, also from Turtle country, was selected #19 in 2018) has played two seasons for the Pacers and shown improvement each season.
His nickname is Stix, His alternative career path would be computer programming, and if he could play a different sport, it would be tennis, not backgammon.
What else did you want to know?
Jerry has been wanting us to pursue Jalen for sometime…it’s just destined to happen. Bruce Brown is another player to keep an eye on. Guessing DEN would love to have him back, they don’t seem the same without him.
can he play SF?
what type of player should replace HB in the starting lineup?
Jerami Grant also averaged about three rebounds and is owed a hefty contract.
Jalen Smith has been talked about quite a bit.
Jonas Valanciunas was mentioned in the latest podcast as someone who could be utilized as a stretch 5. thoughts?
Maybe the first question to be asked is where does Monte envision Keegan playing. If he’s going to be your starting 4 next to Sabonis, he needs to rebound and defend the paint like one. If you envision him as a defensive perimeter oriented wing, then you need to find someone to play next to Sabonis.
IMO Keegan is fairly obviously a 3. He’s not strong nor physical enough to bang with larger forwards. His length has proven valuable defending wings, however, and being oversized makes him a plus rebounder for the position.
Of course the NBA is positionless these days and there’s many lineups where Keegan will be the de facto 4, but just as a general vision of what he is as a player, he’s always seemed like more of a big wing to me.
That sounds fair. I think we call agree on the whoever gets the 3/4 spot, needs to have length. The pairing of Barnes and Keegan as swappable wings just doesn’t cut it defensively.
And that is the rub.
Look at the wonderful duo of PG-13 and The Klaw (Paul George and Kawhi Leonard) – each has made All-NBA defense, (and All-NBA) and neither is who you are putting on most 4s. The current roster is defensively undersized.
now Jalen Smith on the other hand…
oops! sorry, I got off track there. The Naz Reid fantasy or whomever is a beefy 6’9″ or a standard 6’10” or taller that rebounds the ball, provides interior presence, blocks shots, and heck, shoots the 3 ball and is available and affordable and ….
The Great Jerry Reynolds mentions Valanciunas who has his limitations, I like Nikola Vucevic despite his limitations, notably defensively (he is comparable to Domas in that respect). Neither are young, in fact, likely, post prime. Both would give Sac a twin towers line up, one more decidedly defensively the other offensively.
At this point, it’s another day, another player to talk about.
The other item to circle on your calendars is next Sunday’s NBA lottery and see if just maybe, the Kings move down from the 96.4% of staying at lucky number 13. Unless you have triskaidekaphobia.
In watching the Magic/Cavs game yesterday I couldn’t help but notice Wendell Carter Jr. He seemed athletic and quick and made me think of someone like him next to Sabonis.
I also couldn’t help but notice that the Magic really need a dynamic playmaker and scorer like Monk. They were missing a player like him.
I then went down he mental rabbit hole on the scenarios if Monk signs with Orlando and what Monte may have to do to shake up the roster. I thought keep Monk and and Fox together. De’Aaron for Suggs, Black, Carter Jr. and a pick or two could work. That’s a Donovan Mitchell to the Cavs type of return.
I can’t see MM trading Fox. Pretty sure Suggs, WC and Isaac were available at some points the last year or so, those are the kind of players to buy low on, but MM doesn’t seem to operate that way.
Are we able to sign and trade Monk? We can net a nice return I imagine from the Magic as they have the aforementioned players we could use.
I agree that Fox is close to unavailable as Sabonis, but Monte may have a tough decision ahead of him with Fox wanting a max extension before next season. Having 2/3 of you salary cap tied up in Fox and Sabonis through 2028 may not be a winning formula.
Fox, whatever faults you wish to identify, is a star. He is the biggest star Sac has had in some time – and he not only performs like a star (last season All-Star, All-NBA, inaugural Clutch Player of the Year – this season Top 10 in scoring, led League in steals), he seems to be an upstanding citizen and appears happy and comfortable being here in Sacramento.
That makes him almost irreplaceable, IMHO.
Sabonis, whatever faults you wish to identify, is a star. Last season, this season. Also, irreplaceable, IMHO.
They are the pillars that raised Sacramento out of the record breaking 17 year hiatus that this ownership seemed to cement the franchise in.
Minnesota and Sacramento have followed very similar paths. TWolves are perhaps closer than any other franchise that we can compare to the Kings.
Until last week.
Timberwolves finally broke through with a bona fide superstar – and that team was up for question until then. Not Karl Anthony-Towns. Not Andrew Wiggins. Not OJ Mayo. Not Derrick Williams. Not Zach Lavine. However, in 2020, with the first pick, Anthony Edwards.
Difference maker at 22 years of age.
If you leave him out – would you trade TWolves roster for Sacramento roster? I wouldn’t.
You could run the same exercise with Denver Nuggets and what’s-his-name there, I suppose.
My point; You build with De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray. You don’t deconstruct and start again with Vivek Ranadive and Co. And if you make the right moves at the right time than it finds a way to work. There is plenty to do – talent infusion needed. Starters and Bench. De’Aaron Fox ain’t the problem. Pay the man. If you can’t figure out how to get more talent, that is a problem with the Front Office. If you can’t afford to pay to get more talent, that’s on ownership.
Keep FoxOxSpock or this franchise is F.O.S. (full of spit).
Solid takes. I give Monte this summer to figure out how to build around Fox and Sabonis. Fox is eligible for his extension this summer. If Monte commits that’s approaching $100M for those two alone by 2027.
If he gives Fox the extension and doesn’t build around them this summer, I feel the kings are stuck in late lottery/first round exit purgatory for some time.
Recent article mentions 7 players Orlando is considering. MM not on list. They need shooting. Monk gives them that. But they like length. Right now, their PGs are Suggs, C. Anthony, Fultz (URFA?) and maybe Black. These guys are mostly SGs. In Orlando land, Banchero is the guy with Franzs as his sidekick. Suggs himself and the front office see him as the clear #3. That along with the fact that he and MM play the same position may be a problem for them in signing MM. and how much are they willing to give? Anything less than 4 years/22 M per year is not good enough. MM can sign in Sac for 78 M over 4 years or sign a 2 year deal and re-up in 2.
What you say and you have said it before just might make sense. Monty might want to look at this. Very interesting. Very interesting.
KM is a 3. The clear and obvious conundrum is finding the ideal 4 next to Domas. Until MM solves that puzzle, we’re headed nowhere fast.
JV will shoot if he is open. More often than not, he just pump fakes and crab dribbles and powers over you. Not a great fit with DS. Better than Len but that’s about it.
Smith is end of bench and Kings expect him to be savior? Just not sure about that.
No savior available to sign for 10 million in FA but the risk seems OK considering other options even if they exist . The same things were said about Portis and Naz Reid 2 or 3 seasons ago .
Uninspiring. That is the word that came to mind when I thought about Barnes’ 23-24 season.
The off the court value doesn’t inspire you?
There aren’t many realistic options to move Barnes for an upgrade but one that has been mentioned previously is John Collins. Ainge stated he regretted bringing Collins in because it has taken minutes from Hendricks and other young players. A 32 year old Barnes should be easier to reduce minutes from than JC at 26. I think Utah would view Barnes’ contract and the $16M in savings over the next two years as more or less equal value to their current situation. Collins, while not great at rebounding and rim protection, is far more productive than HB in those areas. Utah gave up Rudy Gay and a 2nd round pick that is unlikely to convey for Collins. Receiving HB and the 45th pick this year would be an improvement all told.
I don’t see the fit with Collins and Domas. I’m guessing we’re talking KM at the 3, Collins at the 4 and Domas at the 5. I just don’t think it moves the needle much and financially constrains us even more. We need defense and length and shooting at the 4 next to Domas. Just my two cents.
His fit is not ideal but think he provides an upgrade to Barnes. I view it as better direction than current if other options don’t materialize.
Collins is an average shooter that rebounds far better than HB.
there is a reason that no one jumped for JC and that he finally went for “not much” . There is a reason for all that. Hard pass.
I’m a huge Mike Brown supporter, but his utilization of Barnes was the most baffling part of the season to me. Barnes has always needed the ball in his hands to succeed, and he’s still — as we saw in flashes — able to do that on a given night. What he needs is an easier landing spot. I think we should have moved the starting four spot between Lyles and Sasha this year. Both fit the role of a marksman and defensive liability, but are better equipped to embrace that exact role. That would have bolstered the bench quite a bit. I think that what we should do this next year as well unless we can make a move for major piece (Mikal Bridge, Brandon Ingram and Lauri Markannan are my go-to to cash in our chips). The drop off in starters between Barnes and Lyles or Sasha doesn’t change much, but if Barnes can become the elder statesmen of the Bench, he’s going to be much more worth his keep.
+1 all that was said about not losing him for nothing? Still true. Salary dumps can happen. But you have to have assets to move things around. From what I can see half the league is looking to change things up. I think there will be major changes in Utah, NOLA, LAL, PHX, MIA, PHI, and minor moves from a dozen or more other teams.
Rumors are that this is going to be a very active offseason across the NBA which tells me opportunities are going to be there for MM to change the make up of this team and improve the talent level.
Lauri was available for not much back when he was on CLE, Ainge struck gold with that move. I’ve said it ad nauseum, MM needs to take flyers on distressed assets. I’ve been a big Lauri fan since he was coming out of college and was hoping MM would pursue him when he was in CLE. Lauri would be an interesting fit next to Domas.
I heard Sam Vecenie mention that the Rockets might not be sold on extending and keeping Jalen Green. He could be a guy that is underutilized for MM to nab.
Green played really well once Sengun went down for the season.
Green would be redundant with Monk. Maybe Monte pursues a Green trade if he’s made available if he strikes out on Monk.
I am going with the mindset that Monk is leaving. Replacing him in the rotation would be needed.
When Sengun is healthy, does Green return to his production from earlier in the season? Who knows. But it seems the Rockets plan in having Sengun be an integral part of their plans. Maybe Huerter for Green as a basis of a trade.
I can hear Rapheal Stone laughing right now. No way.
Probably. It is the kind of chance the Kings need to take though. Maybe not Green, but someone like that where MM thinks the acquired player would be better in the Kings system.
they love Green and his potential- they will not trade.
Maybe, but Houston has a glut of young guys that need to grow. Kind of like OKC in a few years. They’re going to pick guys who are going to be great somewhere else because you can’t just nurture all the young talent in the world forever while growing a team.
I love HB as a player and acknowledge that his production is tied to the role he has been assigned to create his own shot and, later in the season, be the 2nd or 3rd option on the DHO 3 point shot. A ton of usage goes to Fox, Sabonis and Murray, plus Huerter and Malik. HB brings alot of intangibles that aren’t seen in the stats. He has a very high Basketball IQ, and is always working hard. He knows how to get to the rim and draw fouls. And he makes very few turnovers (that game-losing pass to Fox near the end of the season being the glaring exception). After the first game of the season against Utah when he dropped 30, I thought this was going to be his break-out year for the Kings. Alas, it was not to be. HB is simply too slow on defense against quicker, more athletic 3’s and 4’s.
I agree with others that it will be difficult to unload his big contract and land the pieces we need. If he stays, HB should become the 6th or 7th man who starts occasionally against suitable match-ups.
I wouldn’t put his contract as “big.” He’s currently 97th in the league in pay right between Marcus Morris and Davis Bertans. His $18M owed next year which is 13% of a team’s cap sheet. That’s 6h man level pay, and it’s the same with Huerter.
Those are movable and stackable contracts, IMO.
I am extremely grateful that the Kings do not have a select few of the commenters here as GM.
What would you do as GM of the Kings?
The phone calls could be extremely long…never make any trades before the deadline passes.
Could we get a draft pick in before the clock ran out?
nice write up on HB. I really like the guy but at this point only as a reserve if he is retained. Too many games he disappears. One game in 20 he will be great, but that’s not enough.
Are Nesmith and Hart the same player? Those two go balls to the walls non stop all game. We need players like that around Fox and Ox.
Wow, did not see the Timberwolves going up 2-0 against the Nuggets, including blowing them out on their home floor tonight.
Denver has no bench, which hurts them. Braun, Reggie Jackson, Peyton Watson, and Justin Holiday leave a lot to be desired.
It’s going to get harder and harder to build a solid bench with the new cap rules when you have 3 dudes making max money. IMO, rookie scale deals are going to become more valuable because it’s the best way to get consistent players at a discount price. Minnesota is able to pull it off this year because McDaniels and Ant are on cheap deals. Next year, with those two getting their extensions, the Wolves are approaching the 2nd tax apron. It will be interesting to see what they do going forward, especially with their ownership in legal limbo.
That is one of the reasons why I want the Kings to keep the 13th pick this year. Find a decently priced bench guy. Also, the improvement of Colby Jones is going to be a thing to watch. Can he develop in to a rotational player? Or will he just be sitting there getting garbage minutes again. They really need him to contribute positively while the contracts of Fox/Sabonis/Murray start to creep higher and higher.
13th pick has salary value.
at that spot. Tristin DaSilva is oldest, most likely to play.
Salaun is 18 or so and from France- crap shoot
Filipowski has potential but needs development. Potential Steve Novak to Lauri Markenon)
Kelel Ware needs development Zeke Nanji to Nik Claxton to Derrick Lively)
Johnny Furphy- needs time and strength- Duncan Robinson to Sam Hauser)
Isiah Collier- if MM goes. Isiah Rider to Isiah Thomas
C. Jones is not afraid to shoot and could develop to a Brogdon type or a high level G League guy
of that group, I think the two players I’d take a swing on would be Salaun (based on less available info) and Furphy. Maybe Da Silva.
Starting to question Filipowski’s hips.
What about Devin Carter? looks like a 2-way player.
they will have 3 max guys and 2 close (McDaniels and Conley)
Shocker and who saw Tyrese being terrible in Knicks opener ? NBA hard to figure .
We really going to leave everyone hanging with the Fox one to drum up suspense? Am I going to see Slawson and Ford’s yearly summation first? I’m interested how the editors will perceive his drastically inconsistent and inefficient season
Hoping he gets traded before it needs to be written.
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