6 Random Thoughts About the NBA Free Agency Period
By Segun Giwa
6. How will Harrison Barnes fare in Dallas?
Harrison Barnes was nothing short of an enigma his four seasons in the Bay Area.
Some games he was the Black Falcon. The high-flying, energetic, versatile forward with a ceiling as high as the sky. Other (most) games however, he was the timid forward who couldn’t dribble past opponents and bricked open 3 after open 3. Barnes will be getting nearly $24 million per year from the Dallas Mavericks, and reports have it that Barnes is expected to become a go-to-guy for Dallas.
Yikes.
It’s quite perplexing to think how the Mavs could have reached this conclusion. Maybe they weren’t watching the Harrison Barnes that had trouble posting up smaller guards such as Damian Lillard in the playoffs. Maybe they weren’t watching the Harrison Barnes that would pump fake out of open 3 point shots because he knew he would miss. Maybe they weren’t watching the Harrison Barnes that shot an artic level16% in the NBA Finals.
Or maybe, just maybe, Barnes needed a bigger role and a change of scenery. Maybe his summer with team USA will take his game to levels seldom seen as a Warrior.
Here’s to the Black Falcon:
Warrior fans as a whole aren’t sad about Barnes leaving, but he was an important component to some of the best basketball teams ever.