tsherkin wrote:og15 wrote:I don't think Carlisle is a moron at all, but are we sure that's not what Dallas' plan was? Not necessarily that he will come in and be a star right away, but that they had a desire to mold and develop him into more than a 4th option and versatile role player.
I have faith in Rick Carlisle. For a decade and a half or so, he's been a guy who does more with less. He's a sharp coach. I don't think he's enough of a tool to think that Barnes can anchor his offense. When Dirk retires and Deron is gone and if no one else is around, he may have no choice, but he can't be enough of a muppet to try that BEFORE those things happen.
Based on what we heard them pitching to DeAndre Jordan in summer 2015 where he would move up the totem pole as an offensive player, a guy who at that time had a career high 11.5 ppg, and based on the contract they offered to Barnes, it's hard to conclude that they signed Barnes just for him to be a good role player.
I dunno, I think that was a line for a free agent, and maybe with a view to trying to see if he had more to him than he's shown so far more than anything else.
“You know, footwork is really important,” Carlisle explained during a recent interview with 103.3 FM ESPN. “I think the situation that he’s coming into, you know, we’re going to need more from him than he’s been doing in Golden State, just in terms of production. He’s no longer playing with those two guys that are both All-Stars. And let’s face it, they’re both perennial MVP-type guys, too. So, you know, he’s going to be one of the better players on our team. We’re going to need him to get in more of an aggressive mindset, so to equip him to do that we’ve got to get him headed in the right direction of the right footwork that can help him be a little bit more of a creator and less of a full-time role player. Now, you know, that’s not to say that he hasn’t been a (heck) of a player. I mean, he’s been a great system player on a championship team. But at age 24, you know, it’s time for him to take the next step, and I think he’s looking forward to doing that.”
That's kind of vague, and what they could be doing there is looking for a little skill development. He doesn't say anything about major responsibility, just talking about making him a little more dynamic a threat though, so I'm not sure that really plays here. And it doesnt' say anything about whether Carlisle will stick with him if he doesn't show signs of adapting to those kinds of responsibilities, either.
I'm not sure it is necessarily a bad idea to push Barnes to the limit of his abilities before those things happen. It might actually be a good idea to be doing it right now so that you can get a good gauge on Barnes and it can inform you more on the future as opposed to waiting until those guys leave and you essentially have no option but to use Barnes more than he might be capable of contributing.
I don't think even with as much development as they hope to get from him they are thinking of him as a first option or offensive anchor, but everything suggests that they are certainly thinking of him as more than a catch and shoot guy who just plays off others. Maybe a decent 2nd option or solid 3rd option at the least.
At the least they have directly said they want him to be more of a creator, to be more of a decision maker, more of a playmaker. Carlisle has said they want to ease him into doing that, but they certainly want it. Really, how else can we really interpret "it's time for him to take the next step". Now, again, whether or not he can actually do it, and how long Carlisle will keep at it if it doesn't work out so well, those are different questions, but I think we should all be able to agree that the Mavericks did not sign Harrison Barnes to play the role of GS Harrison Barnes for them and therefore his numbers in a different role could end up looking different when it comes to efficiency.
It is very possible that in his adjustment to being more of a decision maker and playmaker and getting out of being just a catch and shoot guy that is percentages and his efficiency drops this season. It's also possible that they find him a comfort zone in the offense, and it doesn't, and it is possible that the experiment fails and they revert him to the role player. I do doubt that last one, I don't think they are likely to quit so quickly. Carlisle is a great coach, but sometimes there's a greater goal than just current production, and sometimes you have to work with what you have, which means sometimes you have to let Monta Ellis be a primary intiator on your team or try and get more our of OJ Mayo than Memphis had been able to, etc, etc...so we'll see...
