A moment of appreciation for Harrison Barnes

Harrison Barnes is good. Barnes went from valuable fourth man for the championship Golden State Warriors to a miscast lead option for the Dallas Mavericks. He was overpaid and asked to do too much. But now, since arriving in Sacramento, Barnes is back in a more natural role. He’s generally the third or fourth option in the Kings offense. You can argue about whether or not he’s overpaid at this point (if he is overpaid, I don’t think it’s dramatically so), but it’s worth taking a moment to acknowledge that Harrison Barnes has been steady and good for a Kings team that’s struggled to be either.

Barnes is averaging 15.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game this year. He’s doing so while shooting 49% overall and over 37% from 3. He’s not a lock down defender but he’s a solid team defender who isn’t a liability by any means. He’s drama free, and never seems rattled by the moment.

And, of course, we know the Kings would have one less win if it wasn’t for Barnes’ game-winning putback over the Utah Jazz.

Harrison Barnes has been solid. Despite whatever qualms some may have about his contract, the Kings are a better team with HB in the mix.