UNC Alumni in the NBA: Looking at a few Tar Heel free agents

Harrison Barnes 

2018-19 Stats (77 GP): 16.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.5 apg on .420/.395/.824 

Unlike his fellow UNC alumnus in Ed Davis, Harrison Barnes may have everything figured out already, with all of the chatter being but a formality until the 6:00 start time rolls around.

According to Carmichael Dave, the host of Sacramento’s 1140 The Drive radio show, and Marc Stein of the New York Times, Harrison Barnes is reportedly in line to receive a four-year, $88-90 million contract offer from the Kings once the free agency period begins on Sunday, an offer that he is likely to accept immediately.

It’s good to know that Barnes, who was memorably traded mid-game by the Dallas Mavericks over to Sacramento in exchange for Zach Randolph and fellow Tar Heel Justin Jackson, has a team that wants to keep him and pay up to do so. In 28 games for the Kings, the seven-year vet posted respectable averages of 14.3 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 40.8 percent from downtown. He was a positive impact on the team, with Sacramento being 2.1 points better when Barnes was on-court compared to when he was on the bench. He was good for them.

But was he $90 million good?

Probably not? It’s undeniably a hefty price to pay for Barnes, whose production in Dallas was generally underwhelming given his tendency to isolate and hijack possessions. His defense isn’t that effective, either, although he’s not disastrous on that end. It seems like a contract in the $15 million range would’ve better suited his resumé and what a team could potentially get out of the 27-year-old, but the Kings had different ideas.

This isn’t to say that it’s an awful deal. With how fast the NBA salary cap is increasing, it will probably look fine in a couple years, and it’s not like the Kings (of all franchises) had anything better to spend the money on. They traded for a big wing at the trade deadline because they had their eyes set on Barnes, and they’re dead-set on keeping him in town for four more years at essentially the same deal that he signed whenever he left the Golden State Warriors for Dallas back in 2016 (four years, $94 million). It also seems like Barnes, after transitioning from large role with the Mavs (23.7 usage rate), is better off manning a much smaller role (16.3 usage rate) with the Kings, which bodes well for his future impact with the franchise.

Plenty of people on social media laughed at the fact that Barnes opted out of his $25.1 million player option in order to pursue a new contract in free agency. Had the same people known that he was expecting a similar offer at the onset of free agency, well, it’s unlikely that they’d still be laughing. If anything, Harrison Barnes will be the one laughing. Good for him!

For more coverage on Harrison Barnes, Ed Davis, and other UNC Basketball alumni, stick with Keeping It Heel.