If the recent report they will pursue Kevin Durant in free agency this summer bears fruit, the Golden State Warriors will have some work to do in order to clear the necessary cap space to make that move. Multiple trades could be on the table, but the easiest move looks likely to be rescinding a qualifying offer to Harrison Barnes. One aspect of doing that is financial, but Barnes also plays the same position as Durant so it goes without saying that keeping both guys is not a great fit from a roster construction standpoint
Barnes missed 16 games earlier this season with an ankle injury, and after coming off the bench for his first seven games, he has moved back into a starting role over the last 10 games. He has been up and down over that stretch, but over the last five games Barnes is averaging 12.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game while making 45 percent of his three-pointers.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are going through another bad season, but the future is bright with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins as cornerstones. One glaring deficiency for Minnesota, both now and going forward, is an archaic offense that has them at the bottom of the league this season in three-pointers made (256) and attempted (800) entering Sunday’s action. Some of that can be chalked up to a lack of capable three-point shooters, so an offseason focus should be put on upgrading that situation.
Barnes has made 37.6 percent of his three-pointers for his career, and he was proficient in terms of volume (52.6 percent of his three-point attempts) and effectiveness (47.8 percent) on corner attempts from beyond the arc during the 2014-15 season. He has followed that up by taking 49 percent of his three-pointers from the corners so far this season, and his overall percentage from beyond the arc (39.4 percent) would lead the Timberwolves substantially among players with at least 40 attempts thus far.
Barnes also adds value defensively, with a total of 5.8 Defensive Win Shares (via Basketball Reference.com) during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. Minnesota needs help on the defensive end, and that should start with wing players and work back toward players like Towns around the basket.
The Timberwolves are using a defense-first veteran (Tayshaun Prince) and an offense-first sixth man (Shabazz Muhammad) for a lot of minutes at small forward right now, which is not an ideal situation. Barnes is a good combination of both skill sets, and at just 23 years old (24 in May) he would fit right in on a young team. Salary cap circumstances need to be considered of course, but if the Warriors are willing to relinquish their right to retain Barnes the Timberwolves should be ready with a significant contract offer this summer.
