Sacramento Kings: 3 reasons to not re-sign Harrison Barnes
By Ben Feinberg
3. His contract would be too large and long
Harrison Barnes will want a large contract to re-sign with the Sacramento Kings. Given that he declined a $25.1 million option, Barnes must rate himself rather highly.
Barnes has reason to rate himself rather highly. At only 27 years old he is still in his prime. He has won a championship with the Golden State Warriors, giving him playoff experience.
He also has already received a max contract from the Dallas Mavericks in his career directly after a disastrous Finals, giving him and his agent precedent that Harrison Barnes is a valued commodity in the league.
Given that he only played 28 games in Sacramento it is unlikely he is going to give the Kings a hometown discount.
Thus, the Kings will probably have to pay a large amount to keep Barnes, at least $20 million a year, and offer him at least a three-year, and more likely a four- or five-year, contract.
Barnes is a good player who did fit the Kings system well. However, smart teams do not spend large amounts of money on players who are good but not great. Harrison Barnes is obviously not a max contract on a championship team type of player.
Re-signing Barnes would severely restrict the Kings’ cap space and ability to get a superstar to team with rising stars De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley III in the long run.