Golden State Warriors: Should Harrison Barnes Start?
Andre Iguodala has built a reputation in his career as a perennial glue guy that helps his teams win. Never a prolific scorer, Iggy is a versatile player who does just enough of everything right to make himself a valuable asset to any team that fancies itself a playoff contender. Throughout his 10-year career, Iguodala has been a lockdown wing defender, a decent three-point shooter, a skilled ball handler, a helpful rebounder and a smart distributor. But for the first time in his career, Iguodala may need to be even more of a team player.
According to Diamond Leung of The Oakland Tribune, head coach Steve Kerr is not opposed to the idea of bringing Iguodala — Golden State’s prized offseason acquisition from only a year ago — off the bench in a sixth man role. In a preseason blowout win against the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday night, he did just that. Iggy responded with four points, eight assists and zero turnovers in 21 minutes.
That kind of stat line isn’t going to blow anyone away, especially when Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson pretty much have that area covered, but Iguodala’s value hasn’t been measured in the stats columns in the last few years. And with Shaun Livingston still out with a toe injury, the Warriors could used a skilled ball handler and floor general to facilitate the offense as a backup point guard, unless Kerr is willing to commit to Nemanja Nedovic.
No offense to Nedovic, who has had a promising preseason so far, but the prospect of Iguodala filling in for Livingston as the team’s secondary point guard is a pretty promising one. Last season with the Dubs, Iguodala averaged only 9.3 points per game, the lowest mark since his rookie season. And although he shot an efficient 48 percent from the field, he took very few field goal attempts on a nightly basis. His defense was invaluable and helped make the Dubs one of the league’s best defenses, but the Warriors need help on the offensive end now.
Instead of worrying about whether he's starting or not, Andre Iguodala said he's still focused on getting Klay Thompson paid.
— Rusty Simmons (@JRustySimmons) October 14, 2014
It’s not just about Iguodala as a facilitator off the bench either. Moving Iggy to a sixth man role opens up a starting spot for one of two young, promising players who need to be given more minutes: Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green.
Draymond Green only averaged 6.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game last season, but he posted the fifth-best defensive rating in the NBA and in the playoffs, he stepped up in a big way for a Warriors team missing Andrew Bogut. In the decisive Game 7, Green was probably Golden State’s best player in a losing effort, putting up 24 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals while shooting 9-for-13 from the floor and 5-for-8 from three-point range.
Is Green going to put up numbers like that every time he gets extended minutes? Probably not. But he’s already a versatile defender who can guard four positions and since he’s been working on his perimeter touch, he’ll be able to spread the floor on the other end as well. If Green can bring more to the table than intangibles and wonky stat lines, Kerr will definitely need to give him more minutes this season whether he’s in the starting rotation or coming off the bench.
As for Barnes, most of his critics would wonder why he deserves attention from Kerr for the starting small forward spot after some major regression in his sophomore slump of a season last year. But isn’t that kind of the point? Barnes is a young player and despite the fact that Iguodala’s arrival made the Warriors a much better team, Barnes had to adjust to a bench role and it shook his confidence.
Steve Kerr told reporters Harrison Barnes starting not bc of Andre Iguodala's broken nose, wants to look at Iguodala in backup pt-fw role.
— Diamond Leung (@diamond83) October 13, 2014
Harrison Barnes hasn’t blown anyone away this preseason, but he has provided consistent scoring whether he’s come off the bench or been placed in the starting lineup. Iggy knows his role as glue guy and if Barnes proves himself capable of defending his position while also spreading the floor as a perimeter shooter, Kerr might be on to something here.
If I had a vote (I don’t, but thanks for asking), my first thought would be Green as the best option for starting small forward. But Iguodala and Barnes are too similar to come off the bench together, even with Barnes’ stretch-four potential, so the Warriors’ best option right now seems like giving Barnes a chance to redeem himself as a starter.
At age 22, Barnes is by no means a bust. He has the tools, the athleticism and the shooting ability to be a very good NBA player and with Iggy entering his 11th season, the Dubs need Barnes to be a long-term fixture within the organization more so than Iguodala. Iggy has always been a team player and it’s unlikely he’d pout about being resigned to bench duty. Even better, this arrangement wouldn’t have to be permanent. Once Livingston returns healthy, Kerr can re-insert Iguodala into the starting lineup if he sees fit.
Andre Iguodala is an important piece of a team that fancies itself a contender, and the Warriors need his defense and ball handling skills. Bringing him off the bench, even if it’s only for a short time, seems like the best way to put those skills to use for the start of the 2014-15 season.