So can we put the Harrison Barnes talk to rest now?

[IDreamCeltics]

Seems like a poor man's Jeff Green to me.

[tarheelsxxiii]

Based on what? He played a fine Game 7 and an important role in their championship last year. So where is this coming from?

He just turned 24. He would immediately become our best 2-way player. He's a piece to build a championship around.

Folks seem to be removed from reality here. There is this assumption that we are going to land a franchise-caliber player -- as if it's a foregone conclusion, just a matter of time. Realistically, that is not likely to happen. Even if it does, you need to surround that guy with players like Barnes to compete at the highest level.

If you can't attract that hypothetical superstar in FA, then use that option to collect Barnes-type players that will play important roles in that championship run (if it happens in this decade).

He can defend 4 positions and shoots 40% from 3. He has championship pedigree -- knows what it takes to win and was asked to perform at the highest level for 2 years now, very early in his career.

He can get you a bucket when you need it, too. If you didn't notice, they'd readily go to Barnes on switches (e.g., Irving) and he would execute with a post-up and jumper in the lane. He also finishes in transition.

I can't fathom why we wouldn't overpay for a guy like Barnes right now. Our best option, imo, is to build through drafts (e.g., try to nab Okafor and Dunn/Brown this year), sign Barnes, and make use of AB/Crowder/Smart.

If Smart could return anything in a trade we would be incredibly fortunate, but his value is so much lower than what folks assume here. We are going to need to part with AB and/or Crowder and/or IT, and as much as people dislike the thought and assume our timetable is sooner than later, that's the honest truth. If Ainge doesn't make these moves, I will honestly be surprised.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Careful what you say about former Tarheels apparently.

And to answer your question, OP, I hope so. He's a good player, but I think he and Ezeli are going to be the biggest two contract regrets in a year by whoever signs them.

I like Barnes. I'm just not in like with him. He's a good player, but he's not suited to be the first, second, or probably even the third best player on a championship team.

[tarheelsxxiii]

Careful what you say about former Tarheels apparently.

And to answer your question, OP, I hope so. He's a good player, but I think he and Ezeli are going to be the biggest two contract regrets in a year by whoever signs them.

I like Barnes. I'm just not in like with him. He's a good player, but he's not suited to be the first, second, or probably even the third best player on a championship team.

No one on our current roster is suited to be the third best player on a championship team. He would be an upgrade to literally every one, again, at age 24. On GSW, in terms of impact, would you not place IT behind Curry, Thompson, Green, Iguodala, and probably Barnes? On CLE, he would be back-up PG and largely an afterthought.

So who, realistically, do you believe we can you sign in FA (this year, or the next)? Because unless we are granted a McHale-like miracle/favor, again, no stars are coming to Boston anytime soon.

[myselfonline]

Careful what you say about former Tarheels apparently.

And to answer your question, OP, I hope so. He's a good player, but I think he and Ezeli are going to be the biggest two contract regrets in a year by whoever signs them.

I like Barnes. I'm just not in like with him. He's a good player, but he's not suited to be the first, second, or probably even the third best player on a championship team.

No one on our current roster is suited to be the third best player on a championship team. He would be an upgrade to literally every one, again, at age 24. On GSW, in terms of impact, would you not place IT behind Curry, Thompson, Green, Iguodala, and probably Barnes? On CLE, he would be back-up PG and largely an afterthought.

So who, realistically, do you believe we can you sign in FA (this year, or the next)? Because unless we are granted a McHale-like miracle/favor, again, no stars are coming to Boston anytime soon.

He would definitely be one of the best players on the team, but he is also looking for a max contract, and he is not worth it. Miss me with the whole larger role = larger production argument. There's no guarantee on that.

He had a fine Game 7, if you only watched the first quarter. In the finals he had 3 decent games and 4 games that ranged from bad to really, really, bad.

[Sixth Man]

Harrison Barnes is a TERRIBLE player, and the very thought of offering him even HALF a max contract is enough to make me ill.  'Tis the silly season, evidently.

[alldaboston]

A fine game 7? Cmon now. If by "fine" you mean better than his other games then sure, fine. And no he wouldn't be our best 2 way player. I'd take Jae over Barnes any day of the week.

[CelticsBR]

Harrison Barnes is a TERRIBLE player, and the very thought of offering him even HALF a max contract is enough to make me ill.  'Tis the silly season, evidently.

I was surprise by his inability of driving straight to the basket. Was he afraid of contact?

Eye test: He would often receive the ball wide open and set for a not very efficient floater trying to prevent contact.

His defense seemed ok though even against Lebron.

[Sixth Man]

Harrison Barnes is a TERRIBLE player, and the very thought of offering him even HALF a max contract is enough to make me ill.  'Tis the silly season, evidently.

I was surprise by his inability of driving straight to the basket. Was he afraid of contact?

Eye test: He would often receive the ball wide open and set for a not very efficient floater trying to prevent contact.

His defense seemed ok though even against Lebron.

Agreed, as he seemed to me to be afraid of driving to the basket, as well as taking some open threes in rhythm.  Crowder is a better player and is signed for 35 for 5 years, surely one of the best contracts in the NBA right now.  Maxing out Barnes to pay him upwards of THREE times what Crowder (and IT and Bradley) make would create problems that CBS doesn't need. 

If we want a productive player in free agency who fits our system of play, we're looking at Butler and Horford, IMHO. 

[mr. dee]

I wouldn't even trade #16 and #23 for Barnes right now. He wasn't really much of an impact the whole season. His numbers is declining too every season. I can't even remember when was the last time he take over a a game. At least Jeff Green was putting up 25+ PPG games on some occasions this season.

People value Barnes over Smart right now? That must be a joke.

[IDreamCeltics]

Based on what? He played a fine Game 7 and an important role in their championship last year. So where is this coming from?

He just turned 24. He would immediately become our best 2-way player. He's a piece to build a championship around.

Folks seem to be removed from reality here. There is this assumption that we are going to land a franchise-caliber player -- as if it's a foregone conclusion, just a matter of time. Realistically, that is not likely to happen. Even if it does, you need to surround that guy with players like Barnes to compete at the highest level.

If you can't attract that hypothetical superstar in FA, then use that option to collect Barnes-type players that will play important roles in that championship run (if it happens in this decade).

He can defend 4 positions and shoots 40% from 3. He has championship pedigree -- knows what it takes to win and was asked to perform at the highest level for 2 years now, very early in his career.

He can get you a bucket when you need it, too. If you didn't notice, they'd readily go to Barnes on switches (e.g., Irving) and he would execute with a post-up and jumper in the lane. He also finishes in transition.

I can't fathom why we wouldn't overpay for a guy like Barnes right now. Our best option, imo, is to build through drafts (e.g., try to nab Okafor and Dunn/Brown this year), sign Barnes, and make use of AB/Crowder/Smart.

If Smart could return anything in a trade we would be incredibly fortunate, but his value is so much lower than what folks assume here. We are going to need to part with AB and/or Crowder and/or IT, and as much as people dislike the thought and assume our timetable is sooner than later, that's the honest truth. If Ainge doesn't make these moves, I will honestly be surprised.

You know we're talking about HARRISON BARNES right?  The guy just averaged 9 ppg and .385 FG% this post season...

I agree with you that he'd immediately be the Celtics 4th or 5th best player but is that really a guy you want to be paying the max to in any situation?

 

 

[LilRip]

Not interested in Harrison Barnes. We already have a team full of Harrison Barneses - productive role players.

[Beat LA]

Based on what? He played a fine Game 7 and an important role in their championship last year. So where is this coming from?

He just turned 24. He would immediately become our best 2-way player. He's a piece to build a championship around.

Folks seem to be removed from reality here. There is this assumption that we are going to land a franchise-caliber player -- as if it's a foregone conclusion, just a matter of time. Realistically, that is not likely to happen. Even if it does, you need to surround that guy with players like Barnes to compete at the highest level.

If you can't attract that hypothetical superstar in FA, then use that option to collect Barnes-type players that will play important roles in that championship run (if it happens in this decade).

He can defend 4 positions and shoots 40% from 3. He has championship pedigree -- knows what it takes to win and was asked to perform at the highest level for 2 years now, very early in his career.

He can get you a bucket when you need it, too. If you didn't notice, they'd readily go to Barnes on switches (e.g., Irving) and he would execute with a post-up and jumper in the lane. He also finishes in transition.

I can't fathom why we wouldn't overpay for a guy like Barnes right now. Our best option, imo, is to build through drafts (e.g., try to nab Okafor and Dunn/Brown this year), sign Barnes, and make use of AB/Crowder/Smart.

If Smart could return anything in a trade we would be incredibly fortunate, but his value is so much lower than what folks assume here. We are going to need to part with AB and/or Crowder and/or IT, and as much as people dislike the thought and assume our timetable is sooner than later, that's the honest truth. If Ainge doesn't make these moves, I will honestly be surprised.

I disagree on him being able to guard 4 positions, but I do like his post game.  One of the major differences between last and this year's finals, imo, was that the Warriors rarely looked for Barnes when he was being guarded by Irving or Smith, opting to settle for 3s, and tough ones, at that.  One of the things that makes them so tough, imo, is when they're including Barnes in their attack.  Say that Curry and Thompson are red hot early, forcing Lebron on one of them.  Well, once that happens, all you have to do is take advantage of Barnes being guarded by Kyrie, etc., in the post and play through him until the Cavs make an adjustment.  At that point for Cleveland it's really pick your poison, and the Warriors are very difficult to beat when they're hitting on all cylinders.  For some reason, though, they got away from that in the finals, which, coupled with injuries to Steph and Klay *cough* Mozgov *cough*, made them much easier to defend, imo.

Having said all of that, I wouldn't even make him an offer.  There's a much more well rounded version of Barnes (he can pass, lol) in next year's draft, imo, that we can get in the mid-to-late first round (hopefully).  Barnes can't even dribble, although neither can Thompson, either, really, haha .

[Csfan1984]

I think he is Jeff Green. So in today's market 11 million per?

[DarkAzcura]

Careful what you say about former Tarheels apparently.

And to answer your question, OP, I hope so. He's a good player, but I think he and Ezeli are going to be the biggest two contract regrets in a year by whoever signs them.

I like Barnes. I'm just not in like with him. He's a good player, but he's not suited to be the first, second, or probably even the third best player on a championship team.

No one on our current roster is suited to be the third best player on a championship team. He would be an upgrade to literally every one, again, at age 24. On GSW, in terms of impact, would you not place IT behind Curry, Thompson, Green, Iguodala, and probably Barnes? On CLE, he would be back-up PG and largely an afterthought.

So who, realistically, do you believe we can you sign in FA (this year, or the next)? Because unless we are granted a McHale-like miracle/favor, again, no stars are coming to Boston anytime soon.

That IT reasoning isn't very good. Obviously IT would be an 'afterthought.' Both teams have point guards who are top 5 in the league (top 7 for Irving) at their position. They can and will play minutes up to 36 MPG in the post season. That doesn't mean anything about how good Barnes is relative to our players at all. IT is a good enough scorer to be a second or third option on a contender. Barnes is not anywhere CLOSE to that level. Barnes generates some of the most wide open looks for any role player in the league, and he can barely muster above 54-56% TS. That is not a good thing. If Crowder were on that team, he would probably shoot 37-39% from 3 also. We shouldn't take Barnes' shooting numbers very seriously considering he is playing next to two of the best shooters ever and is generating a disproportionate amount of wide open looks as a result. On any other team, he is likely to drop to the 35% realm from 3 with more attention focused on him with tighter looks. He may be able to translate and handle the extra pressure and deal with tighter looks, but there is no evidence of it..at least to the point where I would be okay with signing him for the money he would demand (20 million or more).