Sacramento Kings: Complete grades for the 2019 NBA offseason
By Phil Watson
Re-signing Harrison Barnes
The Sacramento Kings acquired veteran Harrison Barnes from the Dallas Mavericks at the trade deadline last season, finding a place to dump the contract of Zach Randolph and giving up young Justin Jackson in the process.
A combo forward who was part of the Golden State Warriors’ first championship squad back in 2015, Barnes reunites with then-Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton after getting a couple of months in with the Kings last season and fitting in nicely.
After nearly three years as the go-to guy in Dallas, Barnes didn’t immediately come into Sacramento seeking to be the first option and was much more efficient after coming to the Kings than he had been for the Mavericks.
In 49 games with Dallas, Barnes averaged 17.7 points and 4.2 rebounds in 32.3 minutes per game, but shot only 40.4 percent overall and 38.9 percent on 6.3 triple tries a night.
He took more than three fewer shots per game after coming to the Kings, 11.1 compared to 14.6, but shot 45.5 percent overall and a solid 40.8 percent on 4.6 3-point attempts per game, putting up 14.3 points and 5.5 boards in 33.9 minutes in 28 games for Sacramento.
When Barnes declined his player option for 2019-20 and his agent said his client was open to returning to the Kings, it was hard not to take that with a grain of salt.
But lo and behold, there was Barnes putting pen to paper on a four-year, $85 million deal that will have the cap-friendly effect of decreasing each season, from $24.15 million this season down to $18.35 million in the final year in 2022-23.
Barnes is a bit of an enigma — a highly touted player coming out of high school and a former lottery pick that has had a solid, but unspectacular career.
He’s never been an All-Star, never threatened to be selected for an All-NBA team, but has a ring and proved capable of being a first option in Dallas, albeit for non-contending teams.
A young veteran, Barnes gives the Kings a solid option to work with at the 3 with Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox in a suddenly pretty darn good perimeter group.
Give Divac bonus points for negotiating the declining annual salaries as well and to Barnes for looking helping the team keep flexibility to add new pieces down the line.