Celtics to pursue Harrison Barnes in Free Agency

[GregB]

I wouldn't worry too much.

If he leaves, I would imagine he would probably pick the Lakers. He gets to stay a California and play for his old lead assistant. Also they would be willing to offer the biggest offensive role.

[Parasite]

Harrison Barnes plays on a team where he gets wide open looks constantly! He doesn't have the pressure to be the number one option. Or number two for that matter. He has never proven he can be the man on a team in this league. You don't pay max for that! If we start down this path we will be in the land of mediocrity forever.

[Dave_From_NB]

This is why Free Agency is a fools game. You have to outbid everyone for sub-max players, which results in a Harrison Barnes getting far more than anyone would want to pay, but that is simply the open market at play. It only works when a super-max player (my term, for a guy who would get far more than max if it was possible, e.g. Durant) can be signed. Anyone holding out hope on the slight chance that Durant signs here or that a sub-max player is coming in on a bargain is sure to be disappointed. I think the only chance the C's have is if Ainge can convert assets in a trade circumstance, like KG and RA, or sign and trade circumstance like the Heat with Lebron and Bosh.

[jfs1000d]

Harrison Barnes plays on a team where he gets wide open looks constantly! He doesn't have the pressure to be the number one option. Or number two for that matter. He has never proven he can be the man on a team in this league. You don't pay max for that! If we start down this path we will be in the land of mediocrity forever.

Our guys are always wide open too. We just miss shots.


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[brackdan70]

I am somewhat interested in Barnes. Just turned 24, solid shooter and good athlete that can defend multiple positions. He is a better than average defender.....but 20 million, this scares me.

[chakdaddy]

Reality sets in. Get ready for the Barnes Bender era. 45 win seasons are secured for 10 years.

[Afam]

Probably Chak. Maybe that's why Brad and Danny were extended . Getting us Fans ready for a long rebuild .

[Bohemian]

We haven´t even started the offseason and I already detect some clear pessimism... Seriously?

[Homerclease]

Probably Chak. Maybe that's why Brad and Danny were extended . Getting us Fans ready for a long rebuild .

That makes no sense on about 10 different levels

[lon3lytoaster]

I am somewhat interested in Barnes. Just turned 24, solid shooter and good athlete that can defend multiple positions. He is a better than average defender.....but 20 million, this scares me.

Yeah, if I saw literally any potential to be a high teens, low 20 point guy id be all over it but he's literally been the exact same almost across the board since his rookie year

[bceltic55]

If they do go after Barnes I would think DA would have questioned Scal about him to ensure he is not another Green.

[djFan71]

I don't want to max Barnes by any means. But, signing him without losing assets makes more sense to me than trading anything of value for Love.

[Gomes3PC]

Barnes is a good player, and his talents could make him a borderline great player. But I get the sense it's best if he never comes here - if he signs a megadeal people will heap undue expectations on him and it will be almost impossible to fulfill. Signing FAs away from other teams almost necessitates an overpay, especially in this cap environment. We have more cap space than we know what to do with, so if we miss on a Durant/Love type of move, I could absolutely see Ainge convincing himself to use the space on Barnes vs. nothing. It's not something I would do, but there's only so many <25 year old SFs with Barnes' measurables, athleticism and shooting skills.

[Marley2Hendrix]

Barnes is a good player, and his talents could make him a borderline great player. But I get the sense it's best if he never comes here - if he signs a megadeal people will heap undue expectations on him and it will be almost impossible to fulfill. Signing FAs away from other teams almost necessitates an overpay, especially in this cap environment. We have more cap space than we know what to do with, so if we miss on a Durant/Love type of move, I could absolutely see Ainge convincing himself to use the space on Barnes vs. nothing. It's not something I would do, but there's only so many <25 year old SFs with Barnes' measurables, athleticism and shooting skills.

It just seems so analogous to how much media members speculated Danny would be going after Tobias Harris last off-season, only to see that we had no legitimate interest in him (or Monroe). If Danny wasn't hot after Tobias, I have a similar belief in a lack of interest in Barnes unless there is another step or two I'm not seeing (entirely possible).

[Captain_Caveman]

Most surprising thing in this thread is people thinking Barnes is a good defender.

This would be a terrible signing, btw. Total worst case scenario IMO, even worse than trading for Boogie or signing Monroe last year. Barnes is so soft he makes Jeff Green look like KG.

[Froob]

Let's wait and see before we freak out, who knows if this is even true.

[The_Ghost_of_JB]

Warriors say they are going to match any offer so people can calm down lol.

[MaxwellSmart]

I didn't like Barnes...but he has shown me something this series...a bit tougher than I thought...get his nose dirty in the paint for rebounds,etc....plus he hit a Key shot last game.

[ddb]

Celtics being linked to Barnes is no different then Boston being "linked" to THarris last offseason. Ainge isn't giving Barnes 20+ million. He just wont.

[CollegeToPros]

Warriors fan here. I'm not going to pretend to know your team well, but i do like the way you guys play and you played us tough this year. At any rate... i'd rather have Crowder over Barnes... easily. Like without any hesitation. Could be grass being greener type of thing, but i LOVE Jae Crowder and... well... Barnes he's on my team so i support him. I think most Warriors fans on the GSW board would rather have Crowder over Barnes also.

This isn't to say Barnes doesn't have value... or that he sucks (even though i may scream that quite a bit). Its just that he's a complimentary player. He plays solid D... not great. He's versatile on defense... but not super versatile like Green. He's got great size for a SF... but doesn't seem to be a good perimeter defender (though i thought he did well on Durant). He is a pretty good big man defender in the post. Not very good at help D. Seems to take a lot of bad fouls (reaching in when he's terrible at it). He's not a very good rebounder... but he does have a tendency to get BIG rebounds (or maybe i'm just surprised he did something). He can knockdown wide open 3 pointers. He has a little bit of a mid range game that when he has his confidence going he can make at an acceptable clip. You do not want him dribbling the ball. He's a beast posting up Tony Parker and Kyrie Irving... anyone else might be asking a bit more than he's capable of in the low post. He does seem to have his moments in the postseason... i think he plays well under pressure but not at a star level or anything - just better or at least the same as regular season.

Bottom line, i want the Warriors to retain him, but boy oh boy i hope its not for the max (or really anywhere close to it). I think our offer of 16m/yr was too much this past fall. I do think he's tough and would fit in with your team. And its not like you guys have any bad contracts... everyone needs 1 right?

Nailed it. Pass on Barnes. He isn't the star we need.


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