Harrison Barnes' Future In Sacramento Uncertain With Free Agency Looming
The Sacramento Kings have a chance to make history on Monday night.
With the Minnesota Timberwolves coming to Sacramento, the Kings will have a chance to clinch a spot in the playoffs in front of their home faithful at Golden 1 Center for the first time since 2006, ending a 16-season playoff drought!
This has been a very magical season for the Kings as a whole and they will have plenty of accolades coming their way as a result. De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis have already both been named All-Stars and could both be named All-NBA performers as well, Fox may earn the league’s inaugural Jerry West Clutch Player of the Year award, Mike Brown will likely earn the league’s Coach of the Year honors and Monte McNair could very well win the Executive of the Year award as well.
Watching this team in the postseason will surely be a sight to see, but the offseason will result in the Kings having to make some big decisions, one of which revolves around veteran forward Harrison Barnes, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer.
For years, rival teams have contacted the Kings about potential trades involving Barnes, yet Sacramento has been hesitant to let Barnes go.
Ahead of this season, there were discussions centered on a trade not only involving Harrison Barnes, but Atlanta Hawks forward John Collins as well, sources told Fastbreak on FanNation. Ultimately, the Kings decided against trading Barnes, as they view him as a key leader both on the floor and in the locker room for their organization.
Monte McNair and this front-office took a gamble on keeping Barnes and it seems to be one that has paid off, as the veteran continues to prove his worth to this franchise.
On a recent episode of The Fast Break Podcast, Locked on Kings podcast host Matt George discussed Barnes’ future in Sacramento and why it makes sense for both sides to reach a new agreement.
“I know for a fact that Harrison has been frustrated with the way things have gone in Sacramento through the years, but this year has obviously been different,” George said. “Some thought that the team should’ve moved Barnes to get something for him, but the reality of this situation is that replacing Harrison Barnes is extremely difficult for this organization to do. The Kings have always had a hard time filling that wing position and free agency has never been a friend of the Kings in regards to luring players to Sacramento. I really don’t know if there will be a replacement out there for Barnes this offseason, which is why keeping him around makes sense.”
This season, Barnes is making $18.35 million in the final year of what was a four-year, $85 million contract. He had initially signed this deal in 2019 with the Kings after being traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Sacramento Kings during the 2018-19 season.
While he likely won’t see that high of a price tag on a new contract this upcoming offseason, the 30-year-old forward will still be pursued by several other franchises in free agency, which is why the Kings may have to pay more to keep him.
“If Harrison wants to leave, that would be his decision to make in free agency, but the money is here for him if he wants it,” George went on to say. “It could even be a little increase with what we like to call ‘The Sacramento Tax’ as incentive for keeping players around. I would have no problem with the organization giving him a reasonable, long-term deal to stay.”
De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Kevin Huerter, Keegan Murray and Malik Monk are all under contract for next season, allowing the Kings to solely focus on Harrison Barnes and his free agency this summer.
They could really offer him any deal they want and with the organization finally turning a new leaf, Barnes may not really have any reasons to leave Sacramento.
In the midst of his 11th NBA season, fifth with the Kings, Harrison Barnes is averaging 15.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 37.7 percent from three-point range.
Be sure to catch up on the newest episode of The Fast Break Podcast hosted by Fastbreak's own Brett Siegel!
Streaming on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, The Fast Break Podcast takes you inside the league with the latest news, intel, rumors and interviews from those close to the action for all 30 teams. Be on the lookout for a new episodes every Friday.
