Harrison Barnes Could Leave 73-Win Warriors for 10-Win 76ers and Get a Max Deal
By Jason McIntyre
Before Harrison Barnes had a 2016 NBA Finals to forget – in the final three games he was a putrid 5-of-32 shooting, and the Cavs gave him whatever shot he wanted – he was destined to be a max player, a small forward who could command over $20 million a year.
The Finals surely gave some pause about Barnes, whose production plummeted in the postseason (9.0 ppg on 38/34/76) after a solid 11.7 ppg in the regular season on 46/38/76. Playing with the best backcourt in the NBA, what happened to Barnes?
Crisis of confidence? He couldn’t have worn down – he missed 16 games in the regular season, which is more than the Big 3 combined. I don’t buy the “he’s just not that good” argument – Barnes was once the top recruit in the country.
The one team with ample money to spend is the 76ers, who are desperate for 3-point shooting (they were 24th on 3-point shooting this season at 33%), and could use a “veteran” to guide one of the youngest rosters in the NBA – even if Barnes is only 24 years old.
The 76ers could offer Barnes as much as $90 million over 4-years and they’ve got to spend money to reach the NBA’s salary floor. It’s a perfect storm for the 76ers to overpay him. And their GM’s dad just plucked Barnes for the Olympic team!
But if you’re Barnes, are you willing to go from one of the greatest teams in NBA history, playing alongside three of the Top 20 players in the NBA, to playing for a lottery-bound team with no point guard? This sets up one of the best money-or-contender arguments in recent memory.
Would you take less money from Portland or Boston or New Orleans or Charlotte to actually get to the playoffs, or take max money from the 76ers? Of course, one could argue the 76ers with Ben Simmons, Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor and Harrison Barnes is a point guard (Mike Conley?) away from contending in the East.