How Can The Sacramento Kings Keep Harrison Barnes?
How do the Sacramento Kings convince Harrison Barnes to stay? He’s able to either opt-in to his current deal or test free agency. All signs point to him choosing the latter. This means Vlade Divac will need to put his wheeling and dealing shoes on to keep him in purple.
Barnes, while not shown in the win/loss column, has made a big impact on the Kings. It took some time for him to settle in. Once he did, you could see Sacramento was a better team.
The issue for the team was closing out games. Once the season got away from them, and the playoffs were a distant memory, the Kings played some lethargic basketball. Going into next year, nobody will take Sacramento lightly. Barnes will need to be around to keep this same chemistry.
Assuming the Kings don’t sign Kevin Durant (and they won’t), Barnes is a player Sacramento need to aggressively pursue this off-season. The Kings, despite the poor record after the trade deadline, have chemistry with one another. The issues are at C and backup PG. They can’t afford to make SF a need either. That’s Why signing Barnes is paramount to next year’s success.
To keep Barnes, Divac and the Kings front office need to assure him that this is the best place for him to win. Why wouldn’t it be? The core group of the roster is young, and there are a lot of guys just reaching the prime of their careers. Barnes is 26, so he’ll be looking to go to a team that has a winning mindset as he prepares to enter the prime of his own career.
It makes the most sense for Barnes to stay in Sacramento. He’s not going to be the focal point of the offense anywhere he goes. The Kings offer him the chance to be the starting SF and a trusted option in close games. He’ll be playing with one of the highest-paced offenses in the NBA. One that’ll just get better next year.
The Kings are a playoff contender for the 2019-20 season and a threat in the West for years to come. If Barnes wants to be a part of the hottest up and coming team in the NBA, he’ll continue to play with the Sacramento Kings. Signing him is of utmost importance.
Image Source: MSN Sports
Daniel is a guru of baseball and basketball prospects. He’s a very experienced Amusement Park traveler as well. Follow him and his hot takes on Insta @dgentleman9288
