The Dallas Mavericks may have missed out on Hassan Whiteside and Mike Conley, but taking a chance on Harrison Barnes would be a good gamble.
It would be far from the popular route, but the Dallas Mavericks should take the risk on signing Harrison Barnes to a max offer sheet.
All his life, Barnes has fell short of expectations. At North Carolina, he was supposed to be the star freshman to lead the team back to the promise land. He didn’t do that.
Through his first few season in the NBA, too, expectations were high for Barnes, especially considering how solid he looked as a rookie. He started every game he played in his first year with the Warriors while averaging nine points on 44 percent shooting from the field and 36 percent from three-point range.
After all, he has all the tools and has the look of a future star. It just never happened in Golden State.
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Now, as he hits the restricted free agent market, he has another opportunity to finally break through. With potentially the Dallas Mavericks.
According to ESPN, the Mavs – no matter what Kevin Durant decides to do – intend on signing Barnes to a max offer sheet.
"[via ESPN]Sources told ESPN that the Mavericks have committed a four-year max contract to Barnes worth an estimated $95 million, which can be finalized July 7, when a leaguewide moratorium is lifted on signings and trades.The Golden State Warriors would have three days to match any offer sheet Barnes signs. Golden State officials have been adamant that they will match any offer on Barnes unless they win the Kevin Durant sweepstakes."
Of course, whether the Warriors end up matching or not will depend on whether Kevin Durant decides to switch jerseys or remain with the Thunder. If Durant does elect to join forces with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, then the Warriors will not retain Barnes.
Though, the growing belief is that if Durant returns to OKC the Warriors will match anything that Barnes signs – including the max.
Either way, this would be a good roll of the dice for the Dallas Mavericks.
On potential alone, taking a risk on Barnes is worth it. He just turned 24 years old and has all the talent in the world. Forget about his struggles in the last three games of the NBA Finals. Forget about the fact that he’s only shown marginal improvements in his counting stats in his first four years in the NBA.
If it – whatever “its” happens to be in the NBA – ever clicks for Barnes, teams will be criticized years from now for now even tanking a shot at signing Barnes.
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But not the Dallas Mavericks.