In yet another move to bring home a former fan favorite, the Phoenix Suns have agreed to a two-year deal with the Brazilian Blur, Leandro Barbosa.
When the Phoenix Suns agreed to sign Jared Dudley to a bargain deal worth $30 million over three years, it was seen as a commitment to providing the team’s young core with a positive veteran influence, landing a capable starting power forward and giving in to the youth movement as the bigger name free agents were never really in play.
With the Suns set to bring home Leandro Barbosa, general manager Ryan McDonough seems to be all in on a youth movement accompanied by nostalgic, feel-good signings of former fan favorites.
As first reported by The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Suns have agreed to bring home the Brazilian Blur on a two-year, $8 million deal. According to Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro, only $500,000 of the $4 million is guaranteed for the second year.
LB deal is 2 years $4 mill per year but only 500K is guaranteed in second year
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) July 7, 2016
Coming off what should’ve been a second straight championship season with the Golden State Warriors, the 33-year-old Barbosa averaged 6.4 points per game on 46.2 percent shooting from the floor and 35.5 percent shooting from three-point range for a 73-win team.
In the 2016 NBA Finals, Barbosa was one of the Dubs’ most reliable bench contributors, averaging 8.2 points in just 13.2 minutes per game while shooting 18-for-28 from the field (64.3 percent) and 5-for-10 from three-point range (50 percent).
Though he’s not quite as speedy as he once was during his prime years with the Suns, he could still be a useful reserve for an inexperienced Phoenix team as someone who can play spot minutes, knock down a few threes and entertain the crowd with a throwback burst of speed every now and then.
Leandro Barbosa shot 50% on corner 3s last season. Posted an eFG% of 71% in transition, 70% on pull ups & 62% on spot ups in the playoffs.
— Synergy Basketball (@SynergySST) July 7, 2016
In what will be Barbosa’s third stint with the Suns, the Blur is returning to a franchise where he enjoyed his best individual years despite not winning a championship until joining the Warriors for their 2014-15 campaign.
In eight seasons in Phoenix — including the first seven of his career — Barbosa averaged 12.4 points per game on .467/.396/.827 shooting splits. He quickly became a fan favorite in that time, delighting fans with his speed attacking the basket, which was always accompanied by his patented hunched over dribbling stance.
My man!!!! TheBlurBarbosa is back!!!! Congrats on your deal!!! See you soon my man!!!
— Jared Dudley (@JaredDudley619) July 7, 2016
Barbosa will join Tyson Chandler and Dudley — who played with Barbosa in Phoenix from 2008-10 — as the locker room leaders of a young Suns core that includes 19-year-old Devin Booker, 23-year-old Alex Len, 22-year-old T.J. Warren and 18-year-old rookies Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss.
Valley of the Suns
Like Dudley, Barbosa is hardly the kind of sexy free agency signing that will get Phoenix back to the playoffs, but the move is encouraging because it reaffirms the front office’s commitment to the full-scale rebuild this franchise has needed since McDonough first took over in 2013.
The surprising success of the 2013-14 Suns jumpstarted that process, launching Phoenix into a build from the middle up strategy that has backfired at nearly every turn. With Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight coming off injury-riddled seasons and Booker looking like a franchise cornerstone, the Suns’ timeline may have changed.
Phoenix does not project to be a playoff team in 2016-17, especially if the Suns trade away one of Knight or Bledsoe to carve out a starting role for Booker. Knight has repeatedly rejected any sort of sixth man role, making him the likelier candidate for a potential trade, but his value isn’t particularly high at the moment.
Barbosa’s $8 million deal is practically negligible under the booming salary cap, and though it’s surprising he’d leave the Warriors’ championship culture after just absorbing Kevin Durant into it, it’s understandable the Blur would take such a sizable pay raise over the Dubs’ only possible offer of a veteran minimum deal.
Now Barbosa gets to return to a familiar franchise where he’s beloved by the fans to possibly play out the end of his career. His mentorship for the younger players will aid Phoenix’s rebuilding process, though his fit on a roster already stacked with guards is a bit questionable.
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With Bledsoe and Knight locking up the two starting spots in the backcourt, head coach Earl Watson will have to find a way to dole out backup minutes to Booker, Archie Goodwin, rookie Tyler Ulis, John Jenkins and the newly acquired Barbosa.
However, the reasoning behind this signing has little to do with fit, and that’s okay for a team whose chief goal for the 2016-17 season will be development…and quietly tanking for another high draft pick in an extremely talented 2017 NBA Draft class.
It may seem cheap to some, but bringing back Dudley and Barbosa — who was an honorable mention on our list of top free agents for the Suns to consider this summer — is a nostalgic throwback to better days for the Suns meant to help distract fans from the inevitable growing pains this young team will experience.
More hoops habit: Phoenix Suns: 5 Best Free Agency Options
With Barbosa and Dudley back in the the Valley, now all the Phoenix Suns need to do to cap off their nostalgic offseason is convince Amar’e Stoudemire to return home.