Harrison Barnes – Sacramento Kings
While his name has come up a few times over the weeks, Harrison Barnes is a very underrated wing in the league. This season with Sacramento, Barnes is averaging 16.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and is shooting 39.2% from three-point range.
Not many teams have expressed interest in the 28-year-old forward, but the Celtics have been rumored to be heavily interested in the former NBA champion. This would be the ultimate “win-now” move by the Celtics because of what Barnes brings to the table for them.
Acquiring him would definitely cost this organization a decent amount and he is under contract through the 2022-23 season, but they do have their $28.5 million trade exception stemming from the Gordon Hayward sign-and-trade with the Charlotte Hornets that they could use to absorb most of Barnes’ contract this season.
With the Celtics having three great scorers in Walker, Brown, and Tatum, adding Barnes to the mix not only gives them a fourth high-level scoring option, but it takes a lot of stress off of Smart when he returns.
Not only is he one of the best defensive players in the league, but Smart has had to step up into a bigger role at times offensively to pick up some of the scoring slack. While he could still be a perimeter shooting threat and solid role player offensively, acquiring Harrison Barnes allows Smart to do what he does best defensively and not focus as much on the offensive end of the court.
This could be a great move for the Celtics because they not only get another experienced veteran player on their roster, but they get a guy in Barnes who can still contribute at a very high level. Unlike other trade options for the Celtics, Barnes can easily step up into a huge role for them if someone was to get hurt or have foul trouble.
Not too long ago, Barnes was one of the “go-to” scoring options on a Golden State Warriors team that won the NBA Finals. He can be that same player with the Celtics and knows how to play off of All-Star caliber talents, which is why trading for Barnes could end up being the best move the Boston Celtics could make to better their chances of raising yet another banner.
