Offering Harrison Barnes a max contract wouldn’t bode well for most teams, but it’s the smart thing to do for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Even before free agency began, the Philadelphia 76ers had been mentioned as a suitor for restricted free agent forward Harrison Barnes.
The case for wanting to acquire Barnes is a simple one: he’s young (24 years old), he’s the prototypical small-ball power forward and three-and-D wing, and the Sixers have a ton of money to spend just to reach the salary floor of $84.6 million.
With $94 million salary cap and $84.6 million salary floor, NBA teams will spend well over $1 billion during free agency. Let the fun begin.
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) June 30, 2016
The Sixers came into free agency with a whopping $61.2 million in cap space but with only three open roster spots, per RealGM.com. The Sixers also have six players with non-guaranteed contracts on their roster that could be let go for little to no cost.
If and when rookies Ben Simmons, Furkan Korkmaz, Timothy Luwawu, and Dario Saric (taken with 12th overall pick in 2014) sign their contracts, the Sixers’ roster would be set at 15 if all of the non-guaranteed players remain, which they will almost definitely all stay.
If all four of those first-rounders sign to the Sixers this year, they’ll have nine players on rookie contracts, which are typically cheaper than what the players would get if not assigned a price tag by their draft position.
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The point is that the Sixers have a lot of money to spend on just a few roster spots.
So why not sign a younger player who would bring versatility, some championship experience and much-needed shooting?
Sure, it’s logical to want to avoid paying a guy who averaged 11.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game last season. It’s even more logical when you recall that Barnes gave one of the NBA’s biggest disappearing acts during the playoffs, culminating in 5-for-32 shooting in the Golden State Warriors’ last three game of the NBA Finals.
Most find it absurd that Barnes is almost certain to receive a max deal in free agency.
It’s not absurd, at least not for the Sixers.
What do the Sixers need to transition from the Sam Hinkie era in which losing wasn’t just tolerated but expected to becoming a team on the rise?
They have their big man of the future somewhere on the roster, whether it’s Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel or Joel Embiid. They have their prodigy, Ben Simmons, who could be a point guard a la Giannis Antetokounmpo or an athletic power forward who can run the offense, and question marks elsewhere on the roster.
Ben Simmons: The Sixers' new point guard, by @cstonehoops https://t.co/z3qUfANFlv
— The Rotation (@TheRotationFS) June 27, 2016
Notice that most of what Barnes provides is missing. Barnes would bring excellent versatility for a team that desperately needs it. No matter who the center is, Barnes’ shooting (38.3 percent from three last season) would help spread the floor. Whether Okafor or Noel is the starting center going forward, either one will need to have an open paint area to be most effective.
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The real player that the Sixers need to think about when adding talent to the roster is Simmons. If Simmons and Okafor/Noel are the two players to build around, you need others who can space the floor. Finding shooters at the wings isn’t too hard of a thing to do.
The bottom line is that a versatile player like Barnes fits on any team and that currently, the Sixers’ best players are guys who need certain types of players around them.
Barnes can shift between each forward position and be a key as to whether the Sixers play big or small. It’s his versatility and skill-set that will make Barnes a very rich man very soon, and no team needs his versatility more than the Sixers.
The value of power forwards who can shoot is as high as it’s ever been. It’s hard to find a power forward who can shoot threes and it’s even harder to get one without overpaying to acquire them.
Barnes for the max is an overpay, but the Sixers have the financial means right now for that not to be an issue. With so many players on rookie deals, they can afford to overpay someone who will help their best young prospects (Simmons, Okafor) be surrounded by players who allow them to be at their best.
Philadelphia currently isn’t a big free agent destination and the only way for them to become attractive to free agents is to become an excellent basketball situation. With the Sixers being so young, free agents know that they won’t be contending for a title anytime soon and that the Sixers are years away from their stash of young prospects and high draft picks developing into serious contenders.
Choosing to give Barnes the max isn’t going to stop them from being able to sign big name free agents. Right now, it’s not like giving Barnes a max deal will stop them from signing LeBron James or Kevin Durant. Those guys aren’t coming.
Also, there has to be a transition in organizational culture in the post-Hinkie era. You can be a young team with a lot of potential for only so long. At some point, you’ve got to make a leap to being competitive. Look at the Magic, who have collected attractive young assets that don’t fit well together over the past few years. At some point, you’ve got to stop collecting young players and make a push to being competitive.
With the Sixers finally landing that coveted top pick and a potential superstar, why not start making that push right now?
As a byproduct of “The Process,” the Sixers are in an excellent financial situation as to risking overpaying a player without much of the downsides of overpaying a player. They’re not going to risk losing out on top-tier free agents and would still have plenty of money to spend in this year’s free agency if they pleased. They’ll have even more money when the cap rises again next year to a projected $107 million.
The Sixers have the luxury of being in a situation where signing Barnes makes them better, puts their young assets in a situation to be at their best, and without making much of a difference in limiting their financial flexibility given their current roster and cap sheet.
Of course, Barnes is a restricted free agent and if the Warriors miss out on Kevin Durant, it’s likely they match any offer thrown at Barnes.
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Still, there aren’t many other teams that are better off in the short- and long-term by giving Barnes a max offer. The Sixers are one of those teams, if not the only team, that would fit that bill.