Is Harrison Barnes A Max Player?

It’s time to examine Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes’ skill set and potential to see if he projects as a max player regardless of the salary cap spike.

We know the salary cap is projected to rise to around $94 million, up from $70 million. With the increased cap space for each team, we’re set for a summer of big contracts.

Some players will benefit from the money that will set up their families for generations, whilst possibly creating friction in locker rooms across the league as they earn more than their superior colleagues. One of the most intriguing players in this situation is Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes.

Barnes was widely recruited out of high school in Iowa, where as a junior, he teamed up with Chicago Bulls forward Doug McDermott to lead Ames high school to a 26-0 season and the state championship. The following season his team went 27-0, making them the first big-school team to go undefeated in consecutive seasons.

Barnes was a widely recruited senior and considered offers from Duke, Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma and UCLA before making the decision to attend North Carolina. In his two years as a Tar Heel, Barnes averaged 16.4 points per game and was named the 2011 ACC Rookie of the Year in addition to becoming a 2012 second team All-American. Barnes was selected seventh overall in the 2012 NBA Draft.

After four NBA seasons and one championship, Barnes, 24, seems to receive mixed reviews in his NBA career thus far. Part of that is probably down to the expectations on him coming from North Carolina – many Tar Heels that play on the wing seem to receive intense scrutiny when they go pro! At times Barnes has also underperformed and appeared a little lost, something he leaned on a former great to help him with.

Last summer Barnes spent a week in California, with NBA legend Jerry West. The summer camp was widely reported (per USA Today) at the time and allowed Barnes to benefit from some intense workouts and family time with West. Barnes had grown up as a huge fan of Kobe Bryant and the relationship between West and Bryant was not lost on Barnes:

"“I knew that Kobe learned a lot from Elgin Baylor and from Jerry West,” Barnes said. “I would watch (video of) Jerry because he used to always say that his pull-up was unbelievable. No matter where he was on the court, he could always square up and get you a shot no matter what, so I looked up his clips after I heard that. I saw that kind of stuff, and obviously, when I got drafted here I saw some more of his stuff. And then getting on the court with him? That was nuts.”"

"“We’d work out in the morning. We’d get some work in, and then he’d show up and put me through a workout. He’d show me stuff he would do, and then we’d go out to eat and talk about what the league is like today, stuff he saw back in the day. Who were the toughest players he guarded? Who were the tough players he went against? What was his mentality going into games? And then we just talked about life, about how he enjoyed LA, about my childhood, his childhood, all that type of stuff.”"

Barnes’ maturity and thirst for the game have to be admired. Barnes game has improved year on year, although to the casual eye this might not be immediately apparent — especially given the attention generated by his teammates. Barnes has increased his scoring in each of his four seasons despite a slight drop in his three-point shooting accuracy (40 percent to 38 percent). Prior to their championship run in 2015, Barnes’ teammates expected big things from him (per The Des Moines Register):

"“We’re expecting him,” Steph Curry said, “to be a huge contributor.”"

"“He has the potential to be one of the best small forwards in the league,” teammate Klay Thompson said. “People don’t realize, the kid’s only 22 years old. I was a rookie when I was 22, so he’s already got two years of experience at that age.”"

Following their somewhat surprising loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in this year’s NBA Finals, it will be interesting to see if Curry and Thompson continue to hold Barnes in such high regard. For the playoffs, Barnes averaged 9.0 points per game on 31 minutes per game — perhaps not the contribution you would associate with a max-level player.

Barnes’ apparent disappearance in the finals allowed the Cavs to move Tristan Thompson closer to the basket on the help side, daring Barnes to shoot. Sadly for Barnes, he did not make the Cavs pay, shooting 25-of-71 (35.2 percent).

Barnes did not struggle like this in past postseasons, raising questions if free agency has affected his on-court production. With the Warriors ready to court Kevin Durant in free agency many speculate that they would be unable and unwilling to match a max offer to Barnes by a rival team.

However, Barnes has proved himself as a very useful tool within the Warriors’ Swiss Army knife approach of players that can do a little of everything. At 6’8″ and 210 pounds, Barnes has the size and strength to deal with post players but also the quickness to cover wing players. During the Finals, he worked hard to cover Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson on the boards in addition to LeBron James and J.R. Smith on switched coverages.

Despite questions over his offensive production, Barnes has been the consummate team player in Golden State. As an individual, it almost seems like a guarantee that he would flourish as the go-to player given the intangibles in his game. Barnes is a good defender, a good shooter, a good post player and a good teammate.

And therein might lie the problem. Barnes is good at a lot of things but not great. Kawhi Leonard was a great defender before he developed his scoring ability. Steph Curry was a great shooter before he developed his playmaking ability. Perhaps Barnes’ quiet demeanor works against him on a squad full of dominant personalities.

However, there projects to be a shortage of talented wings available this summer and, Finals aside, Barnes has proved in a limited sample set that he has an exciting variety of skills and athleticism in addition to his championship pedigree.

More hoops habit: 2017 NBA Mock Draft: An Early Look Ahead

Much like the draft, choosing Barnes comes down to potential. He is still young and has a wealth of experience on the games biggest stage. Does he have the personality, like his childhood idol Kobe Bryant, to take over games and grab superstardom?