Harrison Barnes would make a great addition to the Denver Nuggets’ roster.
The Sacramento Kings’ forward Harrison Barnes has a player option this summer could be an excellent addition to the Denver Nuggets.
Barnes is one of the best scoring forwards in the NBA, and last season on the Kings he shot 40.8% from three-point range. For his career, he has shot 41.9% from the three-point line in the playoffs and has attempted roughly four three-pointers per game during the playoffs.
Before arriving to play for the Kings and Dallas Mavericks, Barnes was a started in the death-lineup for Golden State Warriors. As some fans might remember, the death-lineup was one of the best starting lineups in NBA history and was critical to the Warriors winning 73 games in the 2015-16 NBA season.
For the Golden State Warriors, Barnes started for 246 of the 307 games he played for the Dubs. He played roughly on average of 28 minutes per game in the four years he played for the Warriors.
For the Mavericks and Kings, Barnes started in significantly more games and has played more minutes.
This season, the Nuggets’ bench only averaged 27 PPG in the playoffs and 37.7 PPG during the regular season. The Nuggets’ bench also ranked 13th in the NBA in three-point attempts for the regular season. Even worst, the Nuggets’ bench ranked 15th in the NBA in three-point shooting percentage.
Barnes would be the perfect sixth-man to add to the Nuggets next season. He could provide scoring off the bench and a championship pedigree to the Nuggets. Also, He is only 27 and could give the Nuggets with nearly six years of substantial playing time.
If KD is injured next season or leaves the Warriors, the Nuggets have an opportunity to make a run in the 2020 playoffs.
Barnes currently is set to make $25,102,512 for the 2019-20 NBA season if he stays with the Kings. However, he also has a player option that he can exercise.
For the 2019-2020 season, Paul Millsap has a team option that the Nuggets can exercise. The team option gives the Denver Nuggets the rights to keep Millsap for another year at $30,500,000.
Millsap has been a great power forward for the Denver Nuggets. However, at the price tag of roughly $30 million a year, it may be time to let him go.
By not bring back Millsap, the Nuggets would have enough cap space. The Nuggets could offer Barnes a more lucrative long-term contract this offseason to lure him away from the Kings.
The Nuggets outperformed the Kings this season and playing with the Nuggets would give Barnes the best opportunity to win.
Barnes is a potentially a worthwhile target this offseason.