Harrison Barnes Preseason Stats.

[DusterBuster]

KInda curious, if the Mavs hadn't given him the max contract, which other teams in the league do you guys think would have given it to him?

Portland
Kings

Yeah, I think Portland would have considered signing him if they would have had some knowledge of which way Durant was leading. Especially if they had known they would have gotten Bogut in the process.

I know it's popular to s*** on Barnes right now, but I actually would have been pretty interested to see Portland with the package that Dallas ended up getting from GS. I think with how Portland is constructed, Barnes would be having a bit more success than he's seeing in Dallas. Portland's arguably plays one of the closest styles of offense and defense to GS in the entire league. Dallas over the last few years (from the ol eye test at least) has been a bit slower paced with a bit less ball movement, which leads to less open looks.

That said, they desperately needed more ball handling which Turner looks primed to help quite a bit in and his defense seems to be helpful.

Then again, I'm not really sure how much of an upgrade Barnes really is over Harkless. Mo's 3pt shooting is coming along and his defense has been pretty impressive. Considering they signed Mo for less than half the price of Barnes, that may tip the scales back to it being a good idea they didn't make that deal, even if they could have also gotten Bogut.

And I've officially talked myself out of that deal lol.

[laika]

Barnes might be the most overrated player in the NBA. He just isn't good and never has been. He's barely even average.

Despite lots of evidence that they shouldn't, the Warriors were going to make the big mistake of wildly overpaying him and destroying team chemistry. Fortunately Durant saved them. Or unfortunately for the rest of the league.

[dc]

Then again, I'm not really sure how much of an upgrade Barnes really is over Harkless. Mo's 3pt shooting is coming along and his defense has been pretty impressive. Considering they signed Mo for less than half the price of Barnes, that may tip the scales back to it being a good idea they didn't make that deal, even if they could have also gotten Bogut.

And I've officially talked myself out of that deal lol.

You're better off with Harkless at his salary, and maybe not even considering his salary. If there was a statistic for the number of "intangibles" that a guy brings to the table, Barnes would be pretty close to the bottom of the league. The guy does little to inspire his teammates. He doesn't make playing the game easier for them. Doesn't take pressure off of anyone.

Here's Harrison Barnes in a nutshell:
He's durable and he'll play in a lot of games. He'll guard 3 positions decently. Some games, he'll make more shots than others. Occasional highlight dunk. Dresses like Carlton Banks off the court. Gives boring, well spoken interviews. Doesn't drink alcoholic beverages.

And that's it. Guy literally brings nothing else to the table. Please correct me if anyone thinks I missed anything.

[HiRez]

really, kevin durant is an upgrade over harrison barnes, very unexpected

Not so fast, we still don't know how it'll affect the Warriors chemistry. This could all blow up in their faces, somehow.

You're right, they look dreadful in preseason.

[dc]

Barnes might be the most overrated player in the NBA. He just isn't good and never has been. He's barely even average.

Despite lots of evidence that they shouldn't, the Warriors were going to make the big mistake of wildly overpaying him and destroying team chemistry. Fortunately Durant saved them. Or unfortunately for the rest of the league.

As much as Barnes gets crapped on, the Warriors would've likely had little choice but to bring the band back (including Barnes) if KD had turned them down. They would've matched a MAX offer. That's a vomit inducing thought for Warrior fans, but that was about to happen.

And really, with only about $12M-$13M in cap space (assuming they would keep Bogut and not give him away for cap space), there wasn't much to choose from on the market, given the ridiculous deals people were given. Most they could've gotten was a guy like Solomon Hill.

I can understand the Mavs' rationale. They needed to turn their cap space into a tangible asset. They figure he's young and if they can get him to average 15/7 or something like that, he'll have value in the coming seasons as the cap further expands. Barnes is basically that guy who you have to sign because there just isn't much of a choice; and that would've applied to the Warriors just the same.

[DeezRaptors]

It's preseason. I'll judge when the season starts. Some players don't even ball out during preseason cause it means nothing.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[dc]

It's preseason. I'll judge when the season starts. Some players don't even ball out during preseason cause it means nothing.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

There's also the 300+ regular season games he's played in his career to judge him on.

[DeezRaptors]

It's preseason. I'll judge when the season starts. Some players don't even ball out during preseason cause it means nothing.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

There's also the 300+ regular season games he's played in his career to judge him on.

Yeah he had many bad moments but the thread actually is about his preseason stats. Not regular season. I'm sure RC will get him into the system and he will perform fine. I don't think they are expecting him to be a superstar, but just very solid. Mind you, he is overpayed also. The mags wanted Conley, Batum and Whiteside and settled for Barnes and had to pay him max money to get him to come aboard. I'm not saying he will be good, but he definitely isn't trash. Just overpayed

[PCProductions]

As easy as it is to pile on the guy after a dreadful finals and miserable preseason with the Mavs, he's really not as bad as many are saying here. He has a unique skillset of being able to guard several positions, run in transition and hit the three. Those are really valuable skills in today's NBA, and as a result he was featured in many of the Warriors' best lineups last year.

He's not a first option, though. Nor a second option, really. He's a lineup enabler--some call that an "x factor"--and it worked really well for the Warriors despite his underwhelming box scores. He can enable all switching defensive teams, spread floor pick and roll as a PF and can run among the highest paced teams in the league. As we all know, the league is getting faster, and he can keep up. As a previous poster has said, he can play 82 games reliably, which is valuable when you look at what even an injury to MKG did for his team.

I don't like his role in Dallas, though, and I'm afraid there's going to be a rude awakening for those who ever thought that he was waiting to break out.

[bakesale]

My condolences to you Mavericks fans.

Must be great to be Barnes though. Dude had his hand held since coming into the league.

Dude has pride I would think. I don't think he feels great about receiving money and playing so badly.

[picc]

My condolences to you Mavericks fans.

Must be great to be Barnes though. Dude had his hand held since coming into the league.

Dude has pride I would think. I don't think he feels great about receiving money and playing so badly.

Yeah, as fun as it might be to rag on him, I know what its like to feel you're letting someone down, and that wasn't when they were paying me 50 million dollars. He seems like a really good guy who probably desperately wants to make Cuban and the Mavs feel like they didnt' waste their money. Just as a human, I hope he turns around and becomes a productive player for them.

[DusterBuster]

My condolences to you Mavericks fans.

Must be great to be Barnes though. Dude had his hand held since coming into the league.

How do you figure?

[DusterBuster]

My condolences to you Mavericks fans.

Must be great to be Barnes though. Dude had his hand held since coming into the league.

Dude has pride I would think. I don't think he feels great about receiving money and playing so badly.

Yeah, as fun as it might be to rag on him, I know what its like to feel you're letting someone down, and that wasn't when they were paying me 50 million dollars. He seems like a really good guy who probably desperately wants to make Cuban and the Mavs feel like they didnt' waste their money. Just as a human, I hope he turns around and becomes a productive player for them.

Agreed. I think people are being unfairly harsh on him. Yeah, he's sucked, but he's not exactly done anything to deserve the amount of hate he gets outside of just not performing up to his contract. He seemingly has been an upstanding NBA player and does seem to be trying. He lucked into a great situation and an NBA team paid for him assuming he can perform like other players in his situation had in the past (see: Harden). That's not HIS fault. I'm sure if it were up to him and he had the talent, he'd be killing it.

I guess I just don't know why so many people think he's just slumming it.

[BallerTalk]

Agreed. I think people are being unfairly harsh on him. Yeah, he's sucked, but he's not exactly done anything to deserve the amount of hate he gets...
I guess I just don't know why so many people think he's just slumming it.

I don't view it as hate. Hate implies an irrational or unjustifiable criticism.
Most of the derision here is based on his horrible performances going back to last season. The contract he recently signed increases the scrutiny of course, but that comes with signing a max deal.
Given how exceedingly poor he has played so far in a role where many thought he would show breakout potential, I think most of the criticism is fair.

[Capn'O]

KInda curious, if the Mavs hadn't given him the max contract, which other teams in the league do you guys think would have given it to him?

Portland
Kings

Yeah, I think Portland would have considered signing him if they would have had some knowledge of which way Durant was leading. Especially if they had known they would have gotten Bogut in the process.

I know it's popular to s*** on Barnes right now, but I actually would have been pretty interested to see Portland with the package that Dallas ended up getting from GS. I think with how Portland is constructed, Barnes would be having a bit more success than he's seeing in Dallas. Portland's arguably plays one of the closest styles of offense and defense to GS in the entire league. Dallas over the last few years (from the ol eye test at least) has been a bit slower paced with a bit less ball movement, which leads to less open looks.

That said, they desperately needed more ball handling which Turner looks primed to help quite a bit in and his defense seems to be helpful.

Then again, I'm not really sure how much of an upgrade Barnes really is over Harkless. Mo's 3pt shooting is coming along and his defense has been pretty impressive. Considering they signed Mo for less than half the price of Barnes, that may tip the scales back to it being a good idea they didn't make that deal, even if they could have also gotten Bogut.

And I've officially talked myself out of that deal lol.

Good man. I'm not a huge fan of the Turner deal but I do think he has shown more than Barnes to deserve his deal. Turner's worst case (and perhaps his best case) is that he is a bit overpaid for what he does whereas the Barnes deal could be a complete flop.

[dc]

My condolences to you Mavericks fans.

Must be great to be Barnes though. Dude had his hand held since coming into the league.

How do you figure?

Has drawn the weakest defender from the opposing team on an almost nightly basis. Went to the bench when they signed Igoudala and was tasked with anchoring the 2nd unit. Was terrible at it, so Kerr put him back in the starting lineup specifically to get him going. Everything was geared for him to succeed.

Some people are saying that all Barnes needs is to do is get together with Holger Geschwinder, Dirk's personal coach. Well, the Warriors already happened to get Barnes personal one on one mentoring from a guy named Jerry West. And in fact, the only other player West ever mentored as closely as Barnes was Kobe Bryant. Barnes got the type of personal mentorship that basically every basketball player on the planet can only dream of.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/playoffs/2015/05/21/harrison-barnes-jerry-west-warriors-steve-kerr/27721953/

Whatever you want to think of Barnes time with the Warriors, just don't say that the Warriors just kind of pushed him aside and neglected him. They did everything they could to put him in a situation to succeed.

[DreamTeam09]

Well isn't this a thread to look back on later on in the season.

[sims]

HB's career is best described by the saying "80% of success is just showing up."

[bran muffin]

Barnes might be the most overrated player in the NBA. He just isn't good and never has been. He's barely even average.

Despite lots of evidence that they shouldn't, the Warriors were going to make the big mistake of wildly overpaying him and destroying team chemistry.

So... re-signing a player who started much of the past 4 years with the Warriors would've "destroyed" team chemistry?

Please do explain.

[bran muffin]

Most people in this thread appear to have a complete lack of perspective, when it comes to Barnes & the Mavs.

The Mavs had enough cap room to acquire TWO max players this summer. But as usual, they couldn't get anybody good to sign the dotted line. In the end they ended up blowing one of their two max slots on Dirk... using $25M of cap space to re-sign him. They didn't even have to do that. They already owned his bird exception, and could've gone over the cap to pay him. Instead, they spent actual cap space on Dirk as though he was an outside free agent. They couldn't find anybody else to spend that money on.

For those criticizing the Mavs decision to get Barnes --- I ask them: Who else could they have realistically signed? Barnes may not have been the best free agent out there. But he was the best free agent willing to come to Dallas.

The only other REALISTIC option the Mavs had was giving Chandler Parsons the max he wanted. He's more talented than Barnes... but suffers from a degenerative knee condition. Parsons ended both his seasons in Dallas on the injury list, and they've had enough of that. And so the Mavs chose Barnes over him.

Parsons and his gimpy knee got a max contract too, BTW.