There’s two ways to view the Harrison Barnes free agency situation.
A) The Warriors were three minutes away from winning back-to-back titles, so they should keep this team together even if it means overpaying Barnes.
Or…
B) Barnes was clearly the weak link against the Cavaliers and can’t be trusted to deliver in big moments. Certainly Golden State can find a stronger solution to improve their team.
As Kevin Durant ponders who he wants to play basketball for next season, it’s the Barnes domino that in all likelihood will impact the Warriors most next season.
All reports indicate Barnes is Steve Kerr and Bob Myers’ clear Plan B. On the surface, he makes sense. He can defend a multitude of positions, he hit 38.3 percent of his three-pointers last season and he’s the type of high character guy this franchise wants to found its roster on. Perhaps mostly, he’s still 24. Steph Curry will turn 29 next season, Andre Iguodala will turn 33. The Warriors aren’t exactly full of spring chickens.
Myers has to keep an eye on the future, but who is making the final call on this decision? It’s Kerr who has famously been a Barnes apologist, through thick and thin. Festus Ezeli found himself in Kerr’s doghouse when he played poorly. Barnes? He rarely saw the bench and was allowed to play through nearly all of his struggles.
Digging deeper past the surface, Barnes comes with more questions than he does reassuring answers. His obtuse contract will certainly impact locker room dynamics. With more money comes more pressure to elevate your own statistics, even if Barnes is technically a role player. Or mainly this: How do we know Barnes’ NBA Finals meltdown was a one time thing? A poll on Twitter tallied fans as equally upset with a potential Barnes longterm contract as losing the championship. When Iguodala and Andrew Bogut were hurt, Barnes was thrown in the water in a sink or swim moment, and he drowned. How long can Draymond Green continue to bite his tongue if Barnes isn’t playing up to par?
The cherry on top of all of this, is that the Warriors will have to pay Barnes superstar money to play the role of a corner three-point shooter, a role he still hasn’t even mastered. As hard as it is to question a coach and GM who have elevated to the Warriors to prominence, it feels like Kerr and Myers make excuses for Barnes’ crawling development. Barnes hasn’t become the athletic slasher the Warriors should be paying $96 million to. When he’s dribbling in from the corner to the free throw line, it’s an aimless play waiting to happen.
There is a way out. There is a way for the Warriors to cut the chord and find out if the grass is greener on the other side. Don’t match the Dallas Mavericks’ four-year, $96 million offer sheet for Barnes. Let him walk.
Look at the Warriors this way: Curry, Draymond and Klay Thompson are the three largest pieces to the puzzle. You can surround this puzzle with other smaller pieces. You don’t have to replicate exactly what Barnes gives you on the court. And understand that Curry, Draymond and Thompson make other players around them better. After losing a championship at home, some fresh faces in key roles would actually really help the Warriors.
That’s the scary part for Myers and Kerr, and why they are leaning towards keeping Barnes. They know their brand of basketball with HB works. It’s risky adding a new ingredients into an already championship-ready recipe. With Nicolas Batum and Chandler Parsons off the market, there aren’t really any cookie-cutter replacements who can step and fill the exact same role. Responsibilities would automatically have to shift, probably most with Green as more of a rebounder. With Ezeli’s future also unclear as a restricted free agent, Golden State doesn’t want to keep losing big bodies in the paint.
But similar to how the Warriors are waiting around for Durant, other free agents are waiting around for the Warriors. Pau Gasol would give Golden State a completely different feel on offense, and could be lethal playing off Curry in the high post. Jamal Crawford and Matt Barnes would give the Warriors on older feel, but both are gritty and are reliable scorers. There are hungry veterans ready to pour their heart and soul into this team to win another title.
What it all boils down to is that the Warriors should trust Kerr’s coaching ability. If and when new players are brought into the fold, Kerr can come up with an exact role for them to fill on the team. It’s his coaching strength, and should not be underestimated in this process. Kerr can get the most out of somebody. Including the Warriors’ big three, Shaun Livingston, and Mo Speights have never played better basketball in their careers. Kerr is a talent whisperer.
If the Warriors bring back Barnes, the team will spin it as a move that fortifies continuity. Why break up something that has potential to be so special?
But make no mistake, keeping Barnes is showing some complacency within the organization. Rewarding Barnes with a heavy contract extension is equally as risky as coming up with his replacement.