Speaking of Nesmith and a 1st as the principle of a deal. Would it make more sense to offer that to ATL and see if they bite on a Collins trade? I guess it really depends if they intend on matching any contract offer in RFA, but doing that would actually allow the Cs to keep the entire TPE for this offseason.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have Barnes here, but it would pretty much require shedding Thompson in order to do stay under the tax (a pre-requisite as far as I'm concerned). I also consider Collins the best player reasonably available with potential to grow into an All-Star.
I think Boston is going to have to give up Smart as a base for a Collins trade.
But just for fun, why not both Barnes and Collins (no TPE required)
Boston - Barnes, Collins
Atlanta - Smart, Langford, Edwards, Whiteside, BOS 21 1st, BOS 23 1st (lotto)
Sacramento - Snell, Nesmith, Huerter
Boston post-trade with 2 open roster spots (need a bench SG at least in buy out market or using TPE)
Starters - Walker, Brown, Tatum, Barnes, Collins
Main Rotation - Teague/Pritchard, G. Williams/Ojeleye, R. Williams, Theis, Thompson
Deep Bench - Green, Waters, Fall
Now that is a team that I think could do some real damage in the post-season and it adds only 4.3 million in salary so avoiding the tax while keeping the entire TPE in tact.
SAC says no.
That's a great move for SAC. They get younger, and Huerter is a really good replacement for Barnes.
Barnes is a much better player than Huerter and he's only 28.
https://stathead.com/tiny/uvg5u
TS% of 64% vs 53%, PER 17.2 vs 12.1.
Barnes makes 60 million or so over the next 3 years and will be 31 when his contract ends. The Kings aren't very good and getting 2 young players still on their rookie contracts and an expiring contract from a decent veteran is in fact a good trade for them. Saves them a ton of money and they could still use Snell in a trade if they wanted to help a team do a salary dump for other assets.
Except they haven't got a payroll problem at all, and if they want to shed salary, Parker and Bjelica cost just under $14M and are in their final contract year. Cory Joseph makes $12.6M through next year and they don't need him either. Get rid of them and the money is in all the right places.
Harrison Barnes is a mature guy who isn't a bargain, but mostly earns his money. If they had a young star behind him, I could see it but they've got no one who qualifies as a larger wing and until they can convince someone better to play there it makes no sense to go backwards just to have the lowest payroll in the league. They need a considerably better reason than just salary.
The real issue is whether they want to keep Buddy Hield, who makes $2M more than Barnes. Halliburton is going to be a better player. Neither guy is strong enough to be a full time small forward. They would be better off getting rid of Hield.
Trading expiring contracts doesn't do anything for long term flexibility or financial situations. Barnes and Hield are big drains on their future cap and flexibility and also just aren't good enough to be kept. They don't have to move either now and can wait till the summer, but I'm not sure the value increases for either in the summer so if the right trade comes along, I think they'd do it. And I do believe Huerter and Nesmith would be a good package for Barnes and one they would do.
Barnes isn't overpaid, but he just doesn't move the needle for a an average, at the absolute best, team.
Atlanta is the team I'm not sure does the trade, but getting Smart, Langford, and two 1st's for Collins and Huerter seems like solid value, so I think they'd at least consider it