Can Harrison Barnes break out like James Harden if he goes to another team?

[turk3d]

Gay's better offensively, Barnes better defensively and probably a bit more versatile although Gay's made a pretty nice comeback over in Sactown.

[Bruteque]

Not good enough at breaking down triple teams to break out like James Harden.

[tmorgan]

How many guys are worth what they're being paid these days? Maybe Joe Johnson or Dhoward? What about Kobe? Maybe they are, by today's NBA standards. And how is Hayward more versatile than Barnes? How I doubt very seriously he's even matched up with the Tristan Thompson's, ZBos, Lebron's, etc.

Hayward more versatile offensively, as he can effectively initiate an offense and create for himself and others. Perhaps Barnes can do that now, but I doubt it, and the last time he was given a real chance at it (as the lead scorer for the bench unit), he sucked. Barnes is certainly a more versatile defender, as he can switch up to bigs with reasonable effectiveness.

Still take Hayward if no context is given, but there are certain teams (those with two creators already that need bigger players) that would be better off with Barnes.

[turk3d]

How many guys are worth what they're being paid these days? Maybe Joe Johnson or Dhoward? What about Kobe? Maybe they are, by today's NBA standards. And how is Hayward more versatile than Barnes? How I doubt very seriously he's even matched up with the Tristan Thompson's, ZBos, Lebron's, etc.

Hayward more versatile offensively, as he can effectively initiate an offense and create for himself and others. Perhaps Barnes can do that now, but I doubt it, and the last time he was given a real chance at it (as the lead scorer for the bench unit), he sucked. Barnes is certainly a more versatile defender, as he can switch up to bigs with reasonable effectiveness.

Still take Hayward if no context is given, but there are certain teams (those with two creators already that need bigger players) that would be better off with Barnes.

Well I guess that Hayward would be better coming off the bench than Barnes is.

[Duke4life831]

No. He just doesn't have the ball handling. He plays on the most efficient offense with two of the top 3 (maybe the top 2) shooters in the league and the team with the best passing which leads to a ton of open shots or major miss matches. Now he is a really smart player and plays within himself. I think his D gets overrated as well because he is versatile. I don't think he is a stand out guarding anyone, but he can guard 3 positions okay (which is valuable). I think Barnes is a lot like Green, he's in the perfect system with the perfect supporting cast. He's an after thought on most defenses and usually gets the worst perimeter defender on him every game and they sag off of him because of Klay and Curry. He's perfect for their system. I don't see him being successful taking the ball from the top of the arc and creating his own offense with the top defender on him. And that's what you do when you're the guy

[lordjeff05]

I think some of this argument is due to what we define as breakout. I don't think anyone is really expecting him to be a first option. Is he going to be James Harden? No, can he be a legit piece on a championship caliber team? I think yes. His ceiling is prime Josh Howard, who was a very good player on a very good team that won a lot of games.

For him to be a 18-20 a game guy he will have to get more minutes, increase his foul rate and take more shots. If he averages 36 a game, and bumps his free throws to 4 a game (both easily doable) then really it just comes down to taking more shots, probably about 16 a game. Provided he's playing off of a primary scorer that draws double teams or breaks the offense down, I think that's doable.

I'd love to see the Pels offer him the max provided they cleaned house first. He could be our Ryan Anderson with better defense.

[BallerTalk]

You know the more that I see him, the similarities of Sean Elliot become apparent.

He was a very solid player for the Spurs for many years, but it was clear that he was never good enough to be a solid number 2 guy. You want him as a number 3 or 4 like the Warriors have made him at times and it is a role that he is very comfortable with and excels in....I see alot of Boris Diaw/Nic Batum in him, you know the type of guys who have it all, but you never see it night in and night out.

Bingo!
Excellent comparison.

[NikolaPekovic]

He's going to the Lakers.

[Whitey333]

He will be a Ariza/Deng type player. Not the "Guy" though.

[Golabki]

He doesn't have the "alpha" personality or drive to want to be the best.

Way too passive with flashes of excellence.

I think it has a lot more to do with his lack of ball handling than his personality

[SF_Warriors]

Would love to keep HB, but at this rate, he should go for a larger role and $$.

Like someone mentioned, he already has a ring as a nba starter.

He also needs to keep his next contract in mind. Play 4-5 years with GS in the shadow of the big 3, or play elsewhere and potentially earn a bigger contract when it is time for an extension at age 29-30.

I am actually pretty curious as to how he would fare as a clear-cut number 2-3 option somewhere.

[jayu70]

The Hawks will take him, he can be our new Joe Johnson.

[HomoSapien]

Tough question, but I don't think anyone thought James Harden was capable of breaking out like James Harden before he was traded.

[JB2]

Barnes can be the next Luol Deng prime or pre-injury DeMarre Carroll. He could be an All-Star, but he has to break out first. There's still a question about that, but his floor is high enough. The question is what is his ceiling? Hard to see him as a 30 ppg player like Harden, but he could average 20/8/4. If he continues to get stronger and his defense and rebounding keeps going up, then he could be an All-Star. He can be a stretch-4 and guard PFs so that is attractive.

20/8/4 seems a little ambitious but I guess I can see that though I don't see it being an effective average nor do I see it helping a team win games.

To breakout like Harden implies he's going to go from 3rd guy to MVP. He's the 4th/5th guy depending on the day and he has nowhere near the level of Harden to create scoring opportunities or make players for others or get wherever he wants.

Barnes on a team like let's say the Lakers gets you 18/6/4 at best IMO. I see no all star in him.

And I read someone compare him to PG13 or Kwahi. Not even close.

[Tave]

Barnes hasn't been a good number one option since high school. Even in college he didn't show the type of takeover ability at UNC that Harden displayed in Zona. That trend has continued in the NBA, whereas Barnes has had some good moments but has never looked ready to lead a team, while Harden was scoring the rock every time his hands touched it at the end of his run in OKC.

[Prokorov]

I think he has the potential be a 25 ppg with great defense type player on another team. He will never be great with the Warriors with Curry and Thompson.

I dont see it. it is alot easier to post really good shooting percentages when you have the greatest floor spacing in league history to work with, play next to the league mvp, thomspon, etc... have 0 pressure on you, etc...

Being the man on a team with role guys around you instead of stars... less open shots, more help, more doubles, more wear and tear having to carry that load.

only 5 guys score 25 ppg now. only 3 did it last year. barnes averages 12 now.

i see him as a good 3rd option maybe. to me if he is scoring 20 points as your best player you are probably a 40ish win team without a very good offense

[Prokorov]

To be an MVP level player? God no. He's a corner 3pt shooter who can take an off-balance or slower defender off the dribble from time to time. Not a great playmaker (but good at making the smart pass), and really not elite at anything other than the corner three. Terrific role player, but no, he's not a breakout waiting to happen. Harden had skills on skills on skills. Barnes is rigid.

Harden is not an mvp level player either.

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he was second in MVP voting last year. id say thats MVP level

[Gil]

Tough question, but I don't think anyone thought James Harden was capable of breaking out like James Harden before he was traded.

You would be wrong then.

A lot of people knew he would be an MVP caliber player because of his absurd efficiency (67% TS), the fact that he got better when Durant/WB sat, ability to draw fouls, shoot the draw, elite ball handling & playmaking abilities.

I mean his ORtg coming off the bench that year was 125 which is exactly the same as Curry's this year.

[Italian Job]

Harden was consistently finishing games... and what he did to the Spurs in 2012 WCF really cemented the possibility he could be "the man" somewhere else.

I also thought he would be just another Joe Johnson (forced to be a bigger star than he really was) but Harden has been a monster last season. Clearly above prime Iso Joe as a player, who never was an MVP candidate caliber of player.

He's having a down year because of his attitude and off court distractions, not because of BB ability.

[Warriorfan]

I don't think Barnes will ever be a number one scorer but 20 8 2 is possible. Has James Harden ever shown the defensive potential of Barnes.
I'M Barnes versatility to guard 4 positions is 2nd to Green for the viability of the small ball death squad.
It is a small pool of players who can provide that.