Sacramento Kings: 3 reasons to not re-sign Harrison Barnes

1.  He would harm the young players’ growth

Harrison Barnes needs to shoot to be a productive player. He is not a great passer or rebounder and only an above-average defender. If he is not shooting the ball there is no reason sign him to a contract as big as he would require.

While on the Kings Barnes only shot 11.1 times per game. However, this was in a small sample size, only 28 games. In his 49 games on the Mavericks, where he was a more central part of the offense, Barnes shot the ball 14.6 times per game.

The problem with Barnes is there is no acceptable middle ground for how often he should shoot on the Kings. If Barnes shoots 14-15 times per game he is shooting the amount he needs to warrant earning a large contract.

However, if he is shooting the ball this much, he is taking shots away from Fox, Bagley, Hield and Giles. These players need to take more shots than a player of Barnes quality if the Kings hope to build around this young core.

However, if Barnes only shoots around 11 times per game there is no reason to sign him to such a large contract. Barnes is a good three point shooter and a good defender, but great teams do not spend large amounts of cap space on three and d players.

Great teams usually spend the large money on superstars and find 3-and-D players in the draft or through trades.

Think players like Malcolm Brogdon on his rookie deal, Trevor Ariza for around $7 million to $8 million on the Rockets and Kyle Korver rentals at the trade deadline by the Cavaliers and Jazz.

Thus, there is no practical reason to re-sign Harrison Barnes for the money he would demand. If Barnes signed a team-friendly deal or found a dry market the Kings should reconsider.