Will Barton

[NuggetsWY]

After last night, he deserves a current thread. I've been in favor of trading him because he has value to most teams and "he doesn't fit in the Nuggets offense" - that was last year's offense where ISO specialists like Barton just didn't fit. This year's offense appears to be beyond anyone's ability to identify. One recent article says the Nuggets offense is sputtering without Millsap (but he's been here less than 1/4 of a season). Apparently the Nuggets let Gallinari walk because he cost too much and/or he is basically an ISO player.

With the current Nuggets' roster, we desperately need Barton and his ISO ability because while Harris can hit open jumpers and can drive pretty good, who else on this team has demonstrated any sort of offensive consistency?

[Powder Blue]

Is Barton consistent? He's like a poor man's JR to me. He can win you or game or two and I appreciate that but you don't want him taking over night after night, he's not consistent enough for that.

[skywalker33]

Is Barton consistent? He's like a poor man's JR to me. He can win you or game or two and I appreciate that but you don't want him taking over night after night, he's not consistent enough for that.

Well, if you'd ask me to choose between JR and Barton, I'll take Barton every time. And if Barton can take over a game, let him do it....however if he THINKS he can take a game over every night, that's another issue. He has that shooters mentality and I think it works well off the bench but he does need to become more consistent in that role and perhaps play a bit more defense.

[NuggetsWY]

Is Barton consistent? He's like a poor man's JR to me. He can win you or game or two and I appreciate that but you don't want him taking over night after night, he's not consistent enough for that.

Well, if you'd ask me to choose between JR and Barton, I'll take Barton every time. And if Barton can take over a game, let him do it....however if he THINKS he can take a game over every night, that's another issue. He has that shooters mentality and I think it works well off the bench but he does need to become more consistent in that role and perhaps play a bit more defense.

I'd say Barton is better than the current JR and much better than JR at the same experience level (as in "In Denver"). On the other hand, the current JR is not asked to do as much and he has certainly improved his defense well above Barton's defense.

Sky is correct that he probably can't take over a game every night, even the greatest shooters have off-nights. Great shooters run hot-and-cold. Barton probably isn't in that discussion of greatness yet, but he seems like he might someday. Like you say, he needs to become more consistent but in my mind, this kind of shooter is best off the bench, at least until they reach greatness. And of course I want Barton to play more defense, but defense is not something Denver is good at and clearly our coaches don't know how to teach it (even if some understand - teaching is different than understanding).

[Alatan]

I think Bartons value is around 10 million a year. If we could get him below that value it would be great wheter we want to keep him or trade him. If we sign him for more than 10 milion a year we wont be able to trade him for a positive return. I like Barton and he is fun to watch but we are not in a good place with our salaries. Currently id love to blow it up and trade all the veterans except Millsap and Barton but i guess no one wants them.

[Mickey8]

I think he's a chucker, I saw him so many times last season , including this season as well , costing Denver games with dumb plays, you can't pay him big bucks just because he had once in blue moon unreal game .

[NuggetsWY]

I think he's a chucker, I saw him so many times last season , including this season as well , costing Denver games with dumb plays, you can't pay him big bucks just because he had once in blue moon unreal game .

"Chucker"? Yup, bad game once in a while. - - - 48% FG - 43% 3pt - 69% FT - - - Hardly a "chucker" - - - then add 5 reb 3 ast 1.8 TO - - - seems like he's worth some pretty nice change in the modern NBA.

[skywalker33]

Yeah, Barton is presenting a good case to be 6th moty as well as to get paid. Every championship team needs a spark scorer off the bench, unless we get a real good offer for him I’d bet we’ll resign him

[HoopsMalone]

Barton is about as bad as it gets defensively. He has the ability to explode offensively and he's definitely solid on that end, but he's not good enough offensively to offset his poor defense.

He'll get a deal worth ~$6-$7m/yr as an off the bench scorer IMO. Something similar to Jonathan Simmons deal. Personally, I would avoid signing guys like this as there's really no value. The value is in finding cheap unheralded 3&D wings who have positive value and contribute more towards winning.

He was a nice flyer on his 3/$10.5m deal but he's turning 27 this season so there's just not enough upside to justify re-signing him when we need to put players around Jokic.

[MidMountain]

Barton can go off when the opposing team doesn't make a serious attempt to stop him. When he plays against starters and a stout defense his weaknesses shine through. He works great in the second unit, not so well with the starters. Right now, he's the only good scorer on our bench. Maybe Juancho or Beasley can get there, but they're certainly not there yet. I'm worried he'll see some big offers this summer. Quality bench players are nice to have, but not if they limit your ability to pay for starting-caliber players.

[NuggetsWY]

Barton is a true SG that can slide over and play some SF especially against some teams. As I've said before, he's a shooter and they are all streaky. That's why the best teams have 2 or 3 shooters on their bench and just ride the hot one. Starters that are shooters have to contribute in other ways and that's been Barton's weakness in the past. While he's great in the open court, on Malone's Nuggets, that occurs far less often than in years past. In fairness, even great running teams (Show Time Lakers) have always been able to play half-court offense because in the playoffs, running teams are easier to slow down. So I'm not totally opposed to the slower pace.

Barton's making serious effort on defense this year. That's not saying he's become a great defender, but if you watch the games, he does try. On the other hand, as I've said before, top offensive players tend to slack off on defense just because of the energy expended.

As the team is currently being used, Barton just might be the MVP of the Nuggets. Certainly no one else is as focused on scoring points. He's virtually tied with Jokic & Millsap with Harris close behind - and he's closed the gap on Jokic & Millsap rather quickly.

[Powder Blue]

Where’s the MVP and Sixth man of the year tonight against the Lakers?

[NuggetsWY]

Where’s the MVP and Sixth man of the year tonight against the Lakers?

Shooters are streaky - it's been said. Barton can drive and he should do more of that especially when his shot isn't falling. Who are our other shooters? Harris, Murray, Hernangomez, Lyles, Mudiay and Beasley: somebody ought to be hotter than tonight.

[TunaFish]

Barton is a bench player who is inconsistent but sometimes great. Other Nuggets also fall into the "inconsistency trap" (Millsap, Harris and Jokic being the exceptions). Barton should be entering his prime about now so more is expected.

My issue is what will be his value when his contract is up at the end of the season?

[NuggetsWY]

Barton is a bench player who is inconsistent but sometimes great. Other Nuggets also fall into the "inconsistency trap" (Millsap, Harris and Jokic being the exceptions). Barton should be entering his prime about now so more is expected.

My issue is what will be his value when his contract is up at the end of the season?

Agreed - but what will his value be? I think the closest comparison might be JR Smith and he's making somewhere around $15m. Is that what he's going to get? If his defense picks up this year, I think he's over $15m - without defense, probably right at $15? It's a good question. If the Nuggets wanted to keep him, they should have signed him this past off-season. Now they'll have to wait and see how high the bidding goes and hope they get to make the last offer. But it'll be open-season for all the teams.

[skywalker33]

Barton is a bench player who is inconsistent but sometimes great. Other Nuggets also fall into the "inconsistency trap" (Millsap, Harris and Jokic being the exceptions). Barton should be entering his prime about now so more is expected.

My issue is what will be his value when his contract is up at the end of the season?

Agreed - but what will his value be? I think the closest comparison might be JR Smith and he's making somewhere around $15m. Is that what he's going to get? If his defense picks up this year, I think he's over $15m - without defense, probably right at $15? It's a good question. If the Nuggets wanted to keep him, they should have signed him this past off-season. Now they'll have to wait and see how high the bidding goes and hope they get to make the last offer. But it'll be open-season for all the teams.

From what I recall, the Nugs did try to resign him but Barton wanted to hold out for free agency who can blame him.

[TunaFish]

There will also be a few other interesting free agents available this off-season. Cap space is tightening. As usual, it will be all about the money. Denver will have a max slot and a probable opening at small forward.

Will Barton will be in demand but he is also competing for some of the same money that teams set aside for pricer free agent targets who also will be available. He may be looking for a Plumlee deal and continue on the bench due to both this competition and shortage of cap space.

One thing that stands out, the Nugget's are nearly always salary slotting (Nurkic is proof of that). To me, a top sixth man is valued at about a starter's salary so the comparison to JR Smith seems applicable. My best guess is that the Nuggets will make a play for Paul George, just as they tried before. The chance to play with Millsap and Jokic might seem interesting to a good free agent small forward. You would then easily wish Barton and Chandler well in the future somewhere else.

[SoCalNuggsFan]

There will also be a few other interesting free agents available this off-season. Cap space is tightening. As usual, it will be all about the money. Denver will have a max slot and a probable opening at small forward.

Will Barton will be in demand but he is also competing for some of the same money that teams set aside for pricer free agent targets who also will be available. He may be looking for a Plumlee deal and continue on the bench due to both this competition and shortage of cap space.

One thing that stands out, the Nugget's are nearly always salary slotting (Nurkic is proof of that). To me, a top sixth man is valued at about a starter's salary so the comparison to JR Smith seems applicable. My best guess is that the Nuggets will make a play for Paul George, just as they tried before. The chance to play with Millsap and Jokic might seem interesting to a good free agent small forward. You would then easily wish Barton and Chandler well in the future somewhere else.

It would cost major assets to get max room with the plumlee deal and chandler and DA probably opting in. Now, summer 2019 faried, chandler and DA come off the books and plumlee will be more moveable on an expiring deal. You could also decline millsaps option with an agreement to resign him to a cheaper multi year deal later in free agency.

Kawhi (who obviously probably isn’t going anywhere) jimmy butler, klay and Middleton will be FAs that year. All good fits that will help the defense.

[skywalker33]

Was looking at what team would have cap space to sign him next year and other than lottery teams, the only real options look like SA and UTH. SA requires defense so I'm not too worried there but the Jazz have a lot of cap space next year if they aren't looking to resign their own. Can see then resigning Hood which might make Barton redundant so other than the likes of NYK, LAL CHI (big market teams) we could probably get him at a decent rate of $9-10M if we don't outbid ourselves. Would really help if Chandler opts out, we could slot him into Chandlers salary.

[_Joker]

Binning Chandler and re-signing Barton would be a great move.