Raptors: 2 trades Toronto could make for Harrison Barnes
By Mike Luciano
The Toronto Raptors will need to look at every potential bend in order to find reinforcements that can help them in the postseason push, and Sacramento Kings wing Harrison Barnes might be the ideal player to give the Raptors some extra pop on the offensive end.
While the core of Tyrese Haliburton and De’Aaron Fox could help Sacramento break their playoff curse, the early returns under head coach Luke Walton have been extremely disheartening. The Kings’ loss against the Brooklyn Nets ruined their 12-11 start, as they have lost eight straight games.
With Fox signed long-term and Haliburton showing he will be an exceptional player in the future, everyone with a pulse should be mentioned in trade talks, as it could help the Kings jump-start their rebuild.
The Raptors might have a tough time getting a crack at Barnes, as the Boston Celtics have been snooping around with the hopes of trading for the former Tar Heel.
What will Harrison Barnes bring to the Raptors?
Barnes, a much-hyped recruit at North Carolina that was seventh overall in 2012 by the Golden State Warriors, saw his scoring productivity clipped down due to the fact he had to play a subservient role after the emergence of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
After he proved he can be a quality secondary scorer by averaging 18.7 points per game with the Dallas Mavericks, Barnes ended up in Sacramento, where he is quietly playing some of the most efficient basketball of his career.
Barnes is scoring 15.9 points per game while making 39.5% of his threes this season. Barnes is setting new career-highs in shooting percentage (48.5%), rebounds per game (6.1), and assists per game (3.3).
While he isn’t the greatest defender, Barnes is a scorer in his prime that can play the 3 and 4 on both sides of the floor, finish close to the rim, and catch fire from deep. Toronto’s offense could be kicked into high gear if they trade for Barnes.
Sacramento won’t just give him up for nothing, however, meaning that Masai Ujiri and the front office will need to concoct an enticing offer in order to get the Kings interested. Both of these two proposals could get Barnes in Toronto.