The Boston Celtics, who have been linked to Kevin Love for at least two years, may not have abandoned their pursuit of him. Danny Ainge attend a workout with Excel Sports Management clients in New York City recently and met with prominent agent Jeff Schwartz, a league source told RealGM’s Andrew Perna. Schwartz represents Love, as well as Harrison Barnes, who will be a restricted free agent this summer.
More on Harrison Barnes Free Agency
Several teams with significant cap space this summer — the Celtics, Lakers, Suns, Mavericks among them — have the intention of pursuing Barnes, especially as a fallback option for Durant.
The one possible scenario in which Barnes leaves, the source said, would be if he approached the Warriors front office with a request to be elsewhere. If Barnes determines he would like to have a chance to be a more featured part of an offense, the Warriors would likely honor that — especially if a sign-and-trade deal could be worked out. A deal involving fellow free agent Nicolas Batum of the Hornets (Barnes played college basketball at North Carolina) has been rumored, but of course nothing along those lines has actually been discussed.
Barnes is expected to receive and offer of at least $20 million per year or perhaps as much as a max offer starting at about $23 million
The Warriors have the right to match any offer, though, because Barnes is a restricted free agent. One source within the organization pointed out that Lacob and the Warriors owners have, indeed, said all along that he will pay to keep a winning team together, and that has not changed. As an outsider NBA general manager told Sporting News, “I think that all along that they were not going to let him go unless they fell down and didn’t win it all. It might just be that they’re trying to push down offers, but that’s the message.”
Eric Bledsoe's Twitter response regarding "future Sun" Harrison Barnes (was quickly deleted): Eric Bledsoe: We have number 40 for him ready. - RT: Steve Benko: Future Sun Harrison Barnes.
Keenan Mumma: @stevekylerNBA not saying it's going to happen, but could the Lakers financially get Barnes, Conley, and P.Gasol? Ranking in the West? Steve Kyler: Depends on what Gasol wants in a contract, but I can tell you neither is looking for a reunion.
It should be an interesting summer for Barnes, who as a restricted free agent will be free to field offers from other clubs, including the Celtics. The Warriors have the right to match any other, but the question is whether Golden State wants to potentially invest a maximum contract on Barnes, their fourth-best player behind Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. It could allow a team seeking a dependable scorer entering his prime to steal Barnes with a lucrative contract.
Harrison Barnes, for example. He will be a restricted free agent on July 1 and plays the same position as Durant, small forward. Barnes would love to stay. But asked if he thinks he is staying, he told NBA.com: "Assuming no one else chooses to sign here?" He smiled. "It's out of my control," Barnes said. "People say, 'Do you want to be here in Golden State?' A lot of it is, look, I love Golden State. I'd love to be here. But there's also some other factors that factor into that, you know what I'm saying?"
So did the Wizards make the right call in opting for Beal over Barnes? Despite his injury history, which included a concussion, broken nose, bruised pelvis and shoulder contusion this season alone, that appears to be the case. If Barnes hits the market and is allowed to leave (he rejected a $64 million extension before the 2015-16 season began), he'll get similar money to Beal. Based on what CSNmidatlantic.com has been told, however, the Wizards won't be one of those teams in the running at that pricetag.
“We’re winning. A lot of guys are sacrificing numbers and minutes and roles on this team and that’s why we’re a great team,” Bogut said. “Harrison has had great games, has had bad games just like anybody else on this roster. So I don’t anticipate it affecting his contract situation. “Someone is going to give him that max, let’s be honest. There’s always a small-market team that would love a guy like Harrison as their No. 1 or No. 2 option. I don’t think it’s going to have any bearing on his financial future and I think people on this team are more valuable than their contract says, just from the basis of what they’ve given up.”
When it was brought up that Walton might look to install a Warriors-like system and look for a Warriors-like player on the open market to bring with him, Barnes said while laughing Monday on 95.7 The Game, “See, that’s tampering at that point. That’s just tampering.”
The Lakers will have money to spend on the free agent market, and Lakers analyst Mychal Thompson — father of Warriors guard Klay Thompson — said Monday on the ESPN LA radio show he co-hosts that Barnes “wants $20 (million per year)…Somebody might give it to him.”
Barnes averaged 11.7 points and 4.9 rebounds this season in 66 games this season. the elder Thompson feels Barnes could do more with the Lakers. “I think he’s capable of averaging 18 a game here if the Lakers sign him and brought him here.” Thompson said. “I think he could be more of a featured scorer, maybe a No. 2 option, maybe even a No. 1 on certain nights. He’s capable of putting up in the high-20s. He’s a very good shooter, can get to the basket, very athletic. He just hasn’t been asked to do very much in Golden State, but coming here, he’d be asked to do more, and I think he could.”
So we started this episode talking about the usual good Warriors things–I asked Barnes about his recent shooting slump, about his season, about his pending restricted free agency and yes, about the speculation (by me, among others) that the Warriors want to replace him with Kevin Durant, if possible, this summer.
“We’re winning,” Bogut said Tuesday when asked about Barnes. “A lot of guys are sacrificing numbers and minutes and roles on this team, and that’s why we’re a great team. Harrison’s had great games, he’s had bad games just like everybody else on this roster. So I don’t anticipate it affecting his contract situation and all that. I mean, someone’s going to be giving him the max. Let’s be honest. Someone’s going to give him close to the max. There’s always a small-market team that would love a guy like Harrison as their No. 1, No. 2 option. So I don’t think it’s going to have any bearing on his financial future.”
With Kobe Bryant retiring at the end of this season, the Lakers will need to find a replacement. In this upcoming free agency, there are limited options at the small forward position as there is a drop off in talent after Durant. With the possibility of Parsons opting out of his contract with the Mavericks, Harrison Barnes (restricted free agent) and Nicolas Batum are two names the Lakers are expected to pursue as well.
On the ability to retain both Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli: Lacob: “Our goal is to win. That’s the absolute No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 goals — to win. We’re obviously doing that now. We have a really good core. Both those guys are a part of the core. Hopefully we’ll have this team for a number of years to come. If it costs a lot of money it’s going to cost a lot of money. It probably will. A lot of our players have come up in free agency the last year or two and if they continue to perform we’re going to continue to pay them. We’re 34-2, we’re trying to get a second championship here. There’s a lot of room for improvement of course, but there’s a lot of power to continuity.
Andrew Bogut: “Within our group, it hasn’t been a huge distraction. Obviously you want every player to get their max worth. A career is very short, and obviously you want to make it while you can. Harrison is going to be a very rich man regardless of what direction that all goes. These situations (with this kind of collective group) don’t come up very often, so when they’re available you want to milk them for as long as you can. I think our owners and our GM understand that, that if you can keep this team together for another four or five years you try everything in your power to do that, rather than trying to all of a sudden put on an ‘I’m smarter than everyone and we’re going to make this big move,’ when it’s really not needed… I don’t think Harrison is going to go anywhere. I think he’s just obviously going to lift his value a little bit more with the new (salary) cap and all that going in (the NBA’s salary cap is set to spike from $67 million to $89 million next season because the nine-year, $24 billion television deal with ESPN and Turner kicks in).”
But with the 2016-17 salary cap expected to land somewhere in the $90 million range, a maximum contract for Barnes could begin with a first year salary in the range of $22 million. There are a fair amount of scouts and general managers across the league that do not believe that Barnes would be “worth” that type of investment, however, there are many people who said the same thing about Reggie Jackson of the Detroit Pistons. After being acquired from the Oklahoma City Thunder, Stan Van Gundy re-signed Jackson to a five-year, $80 million maximum contract.
Iguodala on Barnes, via CSN Bay Area: "He’s always been a focused player. And coming from where he’s come from, it’s a difficult adjustment – being the man, then kind of taking a step back then they want you take a step forward. He’s handled it like a professional. He’s always kept himself ready. Contract year, so we’re going to continue to help him get as much as possible. He’s a hard-worker, so it’s going to happen for hard workers."
Taking a page from his mom, Harrison Barnes is betting on himself once again, turning down a lucrative extension offer from the Warriors in hopes of landing a bigger deal next summer as a restricted free agent. “At a young age she was like, ‘Do you want to do this basketball thing seriously?’ I was like, ‘Yes,’ ” Barnes told Yahoo Sports after the Warriors’ 119-69 rout of the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night. “We put all of our resources into basketball, AAU tournaments and doing all this stuff. My sister and mom didn’t have any summers off. It was all predicated on me trying to make sure I had the best opportunities in basketball and to get exposure to go to college.
Q: How do you feel about the process? Harrison Barnes: The process was great. There wasn’t any awkward tension, anything like that. I think the precedent that he set up front, early, the fact that look, this is between the agent and him and had nothing to do with me. I think that was great. There was never any bad blood.
Q: This team always seems to be involved pursuing big name players and your name has been involved as a trade chip and next year there might be more of that, with your name involved. How much of this is that you have more control of your future as a restricted free agent? Harrison Barnes: It’s been a roller coaster in terms of that since I got here–you know, Dwight Howard, Kevin Love… So now we’ve won a championship. The Warriors, it’s a desirable destination. So it would be nothing new, come to this next season with more big names and the Warriors are potentially trying to sign those guys.
Q: When’s the last time you had substantial talks? Bob Myers: We spoke yesterday. Spoke to his agent and representative yesterday. I don’t want to get into the specifics of dollars, but we had some good healthy dialogue. I’ve been where he is, as an agent. Respect his position. And the way the CBA’s set up, we have a great opportunity to sign him in the off-season, in July.
Q: Would you say you were very far apart? Bob Myers: I wouldn’t say that. I would just say… we had a lot of good dialogue and we end the discussions on very, very good terms. Very amicable. And again look forward to speaking again in July.
Harrison Barnes and the Warriors concluded discussions about a contract extension and will not reach an agreement by the Nov. 2 deadline, making him a restricted free agent next summer. General manager Bob Myers said Tuesday that negotiations with Barnes' agent ended the previous day on "very amicable" terms as the player wanted to focus on the start of the regular season. Owner Joe Lacob had said of a report that Barnes, 23, turned down an initial four-year, $64 million offer from the team, "Let's just say it's in the ballpark."
"It doesn't change our position with him," Myers said. "We're still very intent on revisiting it in July when we have an opportunity to do it. We still view him as a core member of the team in the long term."
"I let my agent worry about all that kind of stuff," Barnes said. "The goal was to try to get something done, but now that the season's here, it's solely about basketball. The contract stuff, put that all aside. There's a lot riding on this season, just in terms of the possibility of going back-to-back. After this season, hopefully after another parade, we can do this again."
Sam Amick: Warriors GM Bob Myers says talks w/Harrison Barnes are broken off until July, per Barnes' preference. Extension deadline was Nov. 2.
