9 Thoughts After the Spurs Trade for Harrison Barnes
The Spurs acquired Harrison Barnes from the Kings (Photo via Twitter)
After a pair of trades on Saturday, the San Antonio Spurs acquired Harrison Barnes and an unprotected first round pick swap in 2031 from the Sacramento Kings. To open salary cap room, the Spurs sent Devonte’ Graham and a second round pick to the Charlotte Hornets. The biggest name involved in the two deals was DeMar DeRozan going from the Chicago Bulls to the Kings.
1) I really like this trade. Barnes, who recently turned 32, is a good fit on the court for the Spurs. He’s a combo forward who shoots well from three-point range, rarely turns the ball over, doesn’t need a lot of touches and has become a very efficient player in recent years. In his last four seasons, he’s never had a true shooting percentage less than 61%. To compare, the best mark of any Spurs player still active at the end of last season was Cedi Osman at 60.1%.
The Spurs desperately needed a shooter. Preferably a shooter at a forward position. Barnes fills that void. He’ll improve spacing without needing any plays run for him.
2) Off the court, Barnes’ reputation couldn’t be any better. He’s regarded as a great teammate and just a great person in general. He’s the type of player that you want the youngsters to emulate. Barnes sets the example of how to be a professional.
Chris Paul and Barnes will add two experienced leaders who go about leading in different ways. Paul is a perfectionist whose specialty is creating order out of chaos. He’s also known to mentor younger guards and teach the tricks of the trade. Barnes is quieter and leads more by example. He’s drama-free and his teammates have always raved about his work ethic.
Last season, the Spurs were oftentimes a rudderless ship. They didn’t know how to win or even how to handle tight situations. Paul and Barnes will help Victor Wembanyama, Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan and the other young players grow. Their leadership should pay dividends in the short-term and the lessons that will be learned should help set the team’s long-term course.
3) With San Antonio’s remaining cap space, the Spurs basically had three options: trade for a win-now piece, add another veteran in the mold of Paul who can help steer the ship or sell the cap space for more draft capital. The front office managed to hit two of those targets with one stone.
Getting the 2031 unprotected first round pick swap could be a huge deal down the road. Sure, it could amount to nothing — but the Kings aren’t exactly known for their sustained winning ways. Obtaining a lottery pick from Sacramento in Wembanyama’s prime would be the ultimate cherry on top of this trade.
4) I know that a number of Spurs fans are still upset about trading the No. 8 pick but this trade couldn’t have happened without the extra cap room generated by trading that pick.
Add the trades together and the Spurs basically traded the No. 8 pick and a second round pick for Harrison Barnes, a 2031 unprotected first round pick from the Minnesota Timberwolves, a 2030 top 1 protected first round pick swap from the Timberwolves and a 2031 unprotected first round pick swap from the Kings.
I agreed with trading the No. 8 pick before the Barnes trade. Now I like it even better.
5) Back to Barnes, it’s important to note that he has his flaws. Last season, his stats took a dive in a number of categories that suggest he may have lost a step athletically. His defense isn’t as good as it used to be and he’s now mostly just a spot-up shooter on offense. Passing has never been a strength of his and he’s not a playmaker.
The Spurs also owe him approximately $40 million over the next two seasons. By doing this deal, San Antonio lost the rest of their cap space this summer and a good chunk of their projected cap space next summer.
Even factoring in further decline, I still view Barnes as useful. An unselfish 6-foot-8 shooter who hasn’t missed a game in more than two seasons is going to fit like a glove on this team.
I even think Barnes could see his numbers improve this coming season. On the Kings, he was the team’s fifth option in most lineups. On the Spurs, the team will rely more on his shooting and he’ll find himself as the third or fourth option in many situations. Additionally, Barnes’ defense will surely look better with Wembanyama behind him.
6) Does Barnes start in San Antonio? I would think so, yeah. He hasn’t come off the bench in a game since 2016.
Most likely, Barnes and Sochan are the starting forwards to begin next season. Sochan would mostly defend small forwards and Barnes would mostly take the power forwards. Paul, Vassell and Wembanyama would be the other three starters.
In a perfect world where rookie Stephon Castle is playing so well that the Spurs need to move him into the starting five, he could theoretically replace Barnes, Paul or even Sochan.
7) Speaking of Sochan, adding Barnes gives the Spurs options if Sochan fails to take the next step in his development. To put it bluntly, Sochan needs to improve his shooting and be more consistent on both ends to remain a part of the franchise’s future.
I think Sochan can and will succeed — but now the Spurs have a Plan B if he regresses or stagnates. Last season, there was no real competition at the power forward position.
8) Barnes should age relatively well. My guess is he has one more year of starting before he hits the point in his career where he’s more valuable off the bench. Hopefully his transition to a reserve role goes well because his skill set should remain valuable for four or five more seasons.
Barnes’ twilight years could land somewhere between Robert Horry and Rudy Gay. I think Paul spends one season in San Antonio tops before he’s off to try to win his elusive ring. Barnes, on the other hand, could re-sign after his current contract expires if all goes as planned.
9) I can’t give my final assessment of these trades until we see what happens with the rest of the roster. To fit the contracts of Barnes and Paul, the Spurs may end up losing a combination of Julian Champagnie, Sandro Mamukelashvili or Charles Bassey. Alternatively, the Spurs may need to ship off Malaki Branham or Blake Wesley. Cedi Osman and Dominick Barlow are unrestricted free agents who could also be impacted.
Specifically, it’d be unfortunate to lose Champagnie and his team-friendly contract. Mamukelashvili’s chemistry with Wembanyama was intriguing enough to keep him around if possible. I also don’t love the idea of using draft capital to salary dump Branham or Wesley. We’ll see what happens — hopefully the front office comes up with a painless solution.