What should we do with Barnes?

[FNQ]

Hibbert is good enough to get on the court, and provides (expensive) Bogut insurance. If we cannot find a way to trim Lee's salary down without giving up assets, why not extend the deal a year and get a player who could conceivably step in for Bogut if (ha) he were to get hurt, and in the meantime someone who can provide breather minutes as well? Would also keep Ezeli's exposure down, maybe getting him ready for a nice, team-friendly extension?

Mo's only here for one more year regardless. Ideally, I'd pair Mo + Barnes for Thad Young, and Lee/1st for Hibbert.

Curry / Livingston
Klay / Barbosa
Iguodala / Thad
Green / Thad
Bogut / Hibbert / Ezeli

[turk3d]

So the Pacers are essentially daring Hibbert to opt out, which he won't.. if we dangled Lee and a 1st for him, would they bite to shave one year off the contract? Would we be willing to pay that for a guy who's essentially Bogut insurance?

I would be willing if Indiana was. Not so sure about the pick however. Wonder how they're feeling about West? Curious if they'd be willing to deal him since he has an option I believe the year following next. He'd be less money than Lee by a few mil next year.

FNQ, it looks like (according to sham) that next year is Hibberts last:

http://data.shamsports.com/content/page ... pacers.jsp

[Manute Lol]

Has no one ever considered the possibility that the Warriors might just elect to waive David Lee and stretch his contract? Saving that ten million may well be worth it if those are ten million in the luxury tax, and the five mil in the 16-17 and 17-18 seasons won't hurt much considering how much the cap is going up, anyway.

Lee's contract (and the rapidly rising cap to come) is actually one of the few situations where the stretch provision might actually make a lot of sense as a way for a team to dump a bad contract.

[giberish]

Has no one ever considered the possibility that the Warriors might just elect to waive David Lee and stretch his contract? Saving that ten million may well be worth it if those are ten million in the luxury tax, and the five mil in the 16-17 and 17-18 seasons won't hurt much considering how much the cap is going up, anyway.

Lee's contract (and the rapidly rising cap to come) is actually one of the few situations where the stretch provision might actually make a lot of sense as a way for a team to dump a bad contract.

Lee isn't elegible for a waive and stretch, his contract was signed before the last CBA. He would be eligible for a straight amnesty, except GS already used it on Bell (though if they hadn't, they would have used it on Biedrins or Jefferson in 2013 with the team keeping it's 2017 1st).

However, as I mentioned earlier, Lee could be traded for a different EC (ideally cheaper, likely worse on-court) and then that player is waived and stretched.

[FNQ]

So the Pacers are essentially daring Hibbert to opt out, which he won't.. if we dangled Lee and a 1st for him, would they bite to shave one year off the contract? Would we be willing to pay that for a guy who's essentially Bogut insurance?

I would be willing if Indiana was. Not so sure about the pick however. Wonder how they're feeling about West? Curious if they'd be willing to deal him since he has an option I believe the year following next. He'd be less money than Lee by a few mil next year.

FNQ, it looks like (according to sham) that next year is Hibberts last:

http://data.shamsports.com/content/page ... pacers.jsp

Hmmm.. in that case, harder to sell to Indy. I was using spotrac.com which had Hibbert with 2 seasons after this one.

I still like him as a temporary stopgap, but now you have to assume the Pacers would want some assets to make it work. Hibbert might be facing a reduced role, but Lee would be looking at almost 0 role.

[turk3d]

So the Pacers are essentially daring Hibbert to opt out, which he won't.. if we dangled Lee and a 1st for him, would they bite to shave one year off the contract? Would we be willing to pay that for a guy who's essentially Bogut insurance?

I would be willing if Indiana was. Not so sure about the pick however. Wonder how they're feeling about West? Curious if they'd be willing to deal him since he has an option I believe the year following next. He'd be less money than Lee by a few mil next year.

FNQ, it looks like (according to sham) that next year is Hibberts last:

http://data.shamsports.com/content/page ... pacers.jsp

Hmmm.. in that case, harder to sell to Indy. I was using spotrac.com which had Hibbert with 2 seasons after this one.

I still like him as a temporary stopgap, but now you have to assume the Pacers would want some assets to make it work. Hibbert might be facing a reduced role, but Lee would be looking at almost 0 role.

Yeah, especially if they intend to keep West, then Lee becomes completely redundant for them. What about Lee for West somehow? We'd be taking on the worse contract for sure in that case (same scenerio I think you were assuming with Hibbs).

[Twinkie defense]

The NBA has sent a new set of salary cap projections to all 30 teams.

For the 2015-16 season, the cap is projected at $67.1 million with the tax at $81.6 million.

For the 2016-17 season, the cap is projected at $89 million with the tax at $108 million.

For the 2017-18 season, the cap is projected to reach $108 million with the tax at $127 million.

Jaysus. Maybe you just give Barnes his $12 mil

[Jerry Maine]

Lee can stay and expire unless we get a sweet offer, I'd not be surprised if another team that wants to make a splash when the new cap kicks in wants his expiring contract and we could net a rotation level player in return, which Lee no longer is.

Yet I haven't seen anything involving Barnes that both improves us and isn't a pipe dream that involves Barnes. He's effective in his role, admittedly it's a small role, and he's cheap next season. Most of these lost opportunities' involving Barnes aren't realistic, or sideways moves.


Utilise him in 2016 then, if the price isn't right, let him walk. It's not like we will be losing this great piece that would have netted a stud in a missed trade or likely developed into a genuine 3rd an star calibre player. His worth is currently as a small role rotation player on a cheap contract. Which fits our needs.

Again, not opposed to trading him per se but realistically the returns probably aren't there to justify a move, unless you see him as a drag on the team as 5th option with semi-massive trade value due to his age, which isn't realistic.

[East Bay Sports]

I'm surprised Omni didn't bump this thread when Barnes hit those two first quarter threes

[Mylie10]

Yeah...Barnes had a solid game....but Pondexter got way to busy on Barnes and Iguodala.

[CCComboBreaker]

Yeah...Barnes had a solid game....but Pondexter got way to busy on Barnes and Iguodala.

That he did (speaking on Pondexter).

I'm surprised Omni didn't bump this thread when Barnes hit those two first quarter threes

Naw, those are Green supporters. Like 35-7 is lock-down defense.

[Mylie10]

Although Barnes shot has gone mia....he's played solid and poised basketball. I'm impressed.

If he can become that third scorer consistently, then we should just pay him......We need a third scorer and everything else Barnes is doing has been pretty good.

[Jester_]

The problem with Barnes is that he isn't really consistently very good at anything. You bring him on the floor and yeah he'll grab a few boards or drop a couple threes, but you never really know what you're getting.

If he can spend the off-season becoming a reliable defender or develop a reliable go-to shot he'll be so much more valuable. He's a jack of all trades, consistently good at none.

[lars_rosenberg]

Hibbert is good, he was almost DPOY one year ago. He didn't win the award becuase of the poor end of the season, probably originated by locker room problems. He's very limited on offense, but he can defend. His contract looks too expensive to be worth it, but he would be a lot more useful than Lee. I don't think he's worth it if we have to pay the tax for him though.

I'd try to extend Barnes with a long term contract if he accepts a reasonable salary. He's not gonna be a star, but he's a positive on the floor, fits well and doesn't complain. Good teammate, solid role player. Just don't expect him to be a star.

[turk3d]

We have a whole nother year to decide what to do with Barnes. I say wait and see since next year Klay's new deal kicks in and we're going to have to pay Dray. I agree he's probably the less essential of all our starters but is a good fit at this point. Why screw with something that works unless it's absolutely necessary and at this point we just don't know if it will.

[Mylie10]

The problem with Barnes is that he isn't really consistently very good at anything. You bring him on the floor and yeah he'll grab a few boards or drop a couple threes, but you never really know what you're getting.

If he can spend the off-season becoming a reliable defender or develop a reliable go-to shot he'll be so much more valuable. He's a jack of all trades, consistently good at none.

He had a go to shot in that corner three..for some reason he hasn't really gotten back to that spot in recent games. His shot is off, so why not go back to the one that you were nailing all year?

He has been moving the ball really well with smart passes and unforced play. He's been cutting to the basket really well.

I agree with you that he needs to develope a go to shot inside the arc. He's getting better but nothing you can lay your hat on. I actually have been fine with his rebounding and defense. Solid.

[turk3d]

Perhaps with the way that Steph and Klay have been shooting (and Dray too now), Barnes figures he doesn't need to score much and instead is doing the smart thing by helping with the rebounding and defense in addition to not turning the ball over. He's also made a couple of nifty passes for us. Doing what's necessary and not trying to do too much is a good formula for success.

[Onus]

If Barnes just became a more aware defender and was able to take a higher volume of 3s and stay around the same percentage he'd have tremendous value. It'd open up a lot of driving lanes for him as well.

[Mylie10]

If Barnes just became a more aware defender and was able to take a higher volume of 3s and stay around the same percentage he'd have tremendous value. It'd open up a lot of driving lanes for him as well.

I'm sure that is the plan. He needs to back up the percentages he had prior to this slump. If he can stay close to that on a consistent basis, then its all good.

But if he somehow became a reliable third scorer, then we'd be even tougher than we are at this point.

[Carhanu]

I like Barnes a lot and would love to keep him on the team long-term as a core role-player. But management needs to be very careful about not bidding against themselves. As much as we like Barnes, he is a role player and nothing more. Offer him the market price salary and nothing more. What is market price? I have no idea. That's why I'm not the general manager lol.