The Sacramento Kings have been reluctant in recent NBA seasons to part with key players in trades. After yet another directionless start to a campaign that featured the firing of former coach Luke Walton, could the team finally look to be sellers at the trade deadline?
One key players that could land the Kings an intriguing return in addition to franchise-cornerstone De’Aaron Fox is veteran wing Harrison Barnes. He’s in the midst of an impressive season with averages of 16.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.4 assists while converting at a 41.9% clip from beyond the arc.
According to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, there is ‘optimism’ from teams around the NBA that Harrison Barnes will be moved at the trade deadline after previous reluctance from the Sacramento Kings to move him.
Sacramento fielded strong offers for Barnes at last season’s deadline, but there’s optimism among rival front offices the Kings will move him this go around.
For a team that needs to add a stretch-four that converts with strong efficient from the perimeter along with having plenty of helpful layers to his skill-set to add to a half-court offense, Barnes would be a compelling trade target.
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While he hasn’t been as effective as usual in isolation situations, he’s been thriving out of DHOs and running ball screens. He can be deployed in off-ball screen actions and can thrive attacking off the catch beyond just the regular catch-and-shoot attempt.
There’s more than just the X’s and O’s elements to take into consideration when acquiring a player. Barnes is the type of leader any team would want to have in the locker room. A prime example of this has been the effort he has made to take Kings rookie Davion Mitchell under his wing.
“We have team dinners,” Mitchell said, Taylor Wirth of NBC Sports Bay Area. “I remember a moment one time after my first road game, Harrison [Barnes] took all the rookies and second-year guys out to eat. I kind of always remember that moment because we were all just picking Harrison’s brain about his NBA life, his college life and things like that. I just remember that moment because he took the rookies and the two-year guys out.”
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The Sacramento Kings surely would like to be winning and have Harrison Barnes be a key part in those efforts. However, the reality remains, the team struggles to win at a high enough level and legitimate title contenders would be best suited to trade for him.
