Small forward Harrison Barnes leaving the Sacramento Kings for the Indiana Pacers is picking up a lot of steam ahead of his impending NBA free agency.
NBA insider Tim MacMahon of ESPN said on Brian Windhorst’s podcast that Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, who coached Barnes on the Dallas Mavericks, loves the UNC product. Barnes becomes an unrestricted free agent on June 30.
“I can tell you that Rick Carlisle loves Harrison Barnes,” MacMahon said. “Matter of fact, I’ll sit here and tell you because Bob Vulgaris told me this. On the record, one reason that Bob Vulgaris, who you know, was the Maverick’s director of quantitative analysis, but basically Cuban’s personnel voice that Cuban listened to the most — one reason Bob Vulgaris was lobbying to move Barnes is because Rick wouldn’t stop calling plays for him even when he had Luka.”
“Everything’s got to revolve around Luka, but Rick loves him to the point where they just didn’t think that Barnes could transition into being a role player under Rick. Now, Barnes has already transitioned into that. Obviously, he was in Sacramento, what their, their third or fourth offensive option? But I think he could fit pretty well with that group that they have in Indiana if the Pacers decide that he’s a guy that they want to make a pretty significant offer.”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Harrison Barnes, Sacramento Kings & Indiana Pacers Updates
Barnes averaged 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists this past season for the Kings while shooting 47.3% from the field, 37.4% from beyond the arc and 84.7% from the free-throw line. He played with Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton and shooting guard Buddy Hield in Sacramento.
The 31-year-old Barnes has career averages of 14.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists with the Golden State Warriors, Mavericks and Kings. He won the 2015 championship with the Warriors over the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games. Barnes also played in the 2016 Finals.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Harrison Barnes, Sacramento Kings & Indiana Pacers Updates
The Pacers won only 35 games this past season. They finished in 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings, one spot behind a potential play-in berth. Indiana hasn’t made the playoffs since 2020.
“League sources say that the Pacers have interest in Kings free agent-to-be Harrison Barnes, thanks at least in part to two rather prominent Barnes fans in the organization: All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton (who played with Barnes in Sacramento) and Pacers coach Rick Carlisle (who coached Barnes in Dallas),” NBA reporter Marc Stein wrote.
“Although a return to Sacramento has not been completely ruled out, according to one source close to the process, Barnes is indeed a strong candidate to switch teams this offseason.”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Harrison Barnes, Sacramento Kings & Indiana Pacers Updates
Once the Pacers sign Haliburton to a rookie-scale extension this summer, expect the front office to be aggressive in his attempts to improve the wing position. It will certainly be interesting to see if Barnes leaves the Kings, who made the playoffs this past season, for the Pacers, who play in a small market, Indiana.
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