What If The Atlanta Hawks Had Signed Harrison Barnes?
Big Money
Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations Mike Budenholzer likes Bazemore too. There have to be times when he could scale back on Kent’s minutes, especially when he goes scoreless in the first half and can’t make a shot. For a guy making $15 million, that may be a rude awakening, but a necessary adjustment to make.
The opponent last night, has a different small forward that the Hawks could have pursued in free agency. Mavericks leading scorer Harrison Barnes, was available at the time of the Bazemore signing and could have been a better fit.
Harrison Barnes would’ve been a little more costly than Bazemore, but he likely provides more bang for the buck. The Mavericks signed Barnes to the max deal that he was eligible for, a four year, $94 million contract on July 3rd, 2016. He came from the Golden State Warriors, and was a starter on both of their NBA Finals teams, winning a title in 2015.
He is also much younger than Bazemore, as he is 24 years old and Kent is 27. This season, Barnes may win the most improved player award. He is averaging 20.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He shoots 47.8 percent from the field, and 33.9 percent from 3. That is a significant improvement in comparison to his production from last year, when he posted 11.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.
The dramatic increase in statistics can largely be attributed to the additional opportunities that come from playing on a bad team, instead of a conference champion. The Mavericks are not severely lacking in quality players, though, when you really look at them. They still have Dirk Nowitzki, who could still score 18 points per game if he were restricted to only step- back, one legged, fade away shots.
They also have a very talented shooting guard in Wesley Matthews. They received former high draft pick Nerlens Noel from the 76ers prior to the trade deadline. They also have Seth Curry (not to be confused with his older brother Stephen Curry), who is averaging 12.3 points per game on 47.8 shooting and 43.0 percent from deep in what could turn out as a breakout year for him. It gets particularly murky beyond that, but their cupboard isn’t close to being totally bare.