Harrison Barnes Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Rumors: Carter, Barnes, Rockets

November 16th, 2016 at 9:20am CST by Dana Gauruder

Vince Carter is turning back the clock with his recent performances, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com writes. Carter, 39, the oldest player in the league, has averaged 17 points over the Grizzlies’ last four games and is shooting 47.4% from the field this season. The former perennial All-Star is in the final year of a three-year contract. His $4.264MM salary this season becomes fully guaranteed if Memphis retains him through New Year’s Day. Carter undergoes extensive treatment on his right ankle to stay on the court, MacMahon details, but he might have some options next summer if he continues to perform at this level. “The way he’s still playing, retire for what?” Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph told MacMahon. “Give him a two- or three-year deal! That’s what I’d do.”

In other news around the Southwest Division:

Mavericks forward Harrison Barnes is still adjusting to being a go-to guy, The Vertical’s Michael Lee reports. Barnes is averaging 22.3 points and shooting 49.1% in his first nine games with Dallas after signing a four-year max contract this summer. He never averaged more than 11.7 points in his four seasons with the Warriors. “Coming into this situation, in my four years of being in the NBA, I’ve never been a focal point. So, it’s going to take some time,” Barnes told Lee. “I have to embrace that process.”
No progress has been made between the Rockets and power forward Donatas Motiejunas, the only unsigned restricted free agent in the league, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Houston reportedly offered Motiejunas is a multiyear contract that started at a fully guaranteed $7MM in year one. Motiejunas’ $4.4MM qualifying offer expired last month. He was traded to the Pistons in February, but Detroit rescinded the deal because of long-range concerns over his surgically-repaired back.
Dirk Nowitzki must be fully recovered from his right Achilles tendon injury before he returns to action, Mavs coach Rick Carlisle told Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. Nowitzki has missed four games with soreness in his Achilles. “He wants to get back, that’s for sure,” Carlisle told Sefko. “But he understands and we understand that he’s got to be right before he comes back. We don’t want him coming back for a game or two, then sitting another week. We’ve got to be vigilant about making sure he’s fully recovered before coming back, even if it takes awhile.”

Mavs Notes: Barnes, Nowitzki, Powell, Anderson

November 10th, 2016 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Of all the maximum salary contracts signed in free agency this summer, few – if any – were greeted with more skepticism than the Mavericks’ four-year, $94MM+ pact with Harrison Barnes, who had never averaged more than 11.7 PPG in a season. However, as Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post, Barnes is showing so far that he’s capable of being worth every penny of that deal.

As the Mavs’ No. 1 option – or perhaps No. 2 behind Dirk Nowitzki – Barnes has seen his shot attempts skyrocket (from 9.6 per game to 17.8), but is still shooting a career-best 49.3% from the field so far, good for an average of 22.6 PPG. As Bontemps writes, Barnes certainly has plenty of work to do to live up to his massive contract, but he’s off to a great start.

Here’s more on the Mavericks:

For his part, Barnes sounds like he’s preparing to eventually take on the responsibility of being the franchise player in Dallas if that’s what asked of him. “It’s no secret that Dirk is going to be leaving this team and the Mavs are going to be entering a post-Nowitzki era,” Barnes said, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. “We have to be prepared for that. That’s why I’m working every single day, working with the coaches, so I can do my part and make sure I’m ready. Whether that time is now or that time is whenever, I need to be able to step into that [role] and have it be a seamless transition.”
Andrew Bogut admits that the bar is set much lower for the Mavericks than it was when he was chasing the wins record and a second title with the Warriors last season — Dallas’ goal is to make the playoffs. As Bogut explains, according to MacMahon, the mix of Mavericks’ veterans and younger players means the team is “half rebuilding” this season. “We’re an older team in the starting lineup, but our bench is younger, so it provides a different challenge,” Bogut said.
Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News takes a look at two of those key young players for Dallas, exploring the roles Dwight Powell and Justin Anderson will play for the team this season.

Western Notes: Deng, Mozgov, Cauley-Stein, Barnes

November 9th, 2016 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers spent $136MM to bring Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov to Los Angeles, but neither is being used to finish games, writes Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Both offseason signees are in the starting lineup, but coach Luke Walton has been closing out games with younger players. “I think they understand that while we’re trying to win right now … that we’re also trying to develop young players,” Walton said. “I haven’t sat down and talked to them about that but I’m pretty sure, the professionals that they are, they understand that.” Deng signed with the Lakers for $72MM over four years, while Mozgov received $64MM over four seasons.

There’s more tonight from the Western Conference:

Effort is the main thing the Kings are expecting from second-year big man Willie Cauley-Stein, relays Matt Kawahara of The Sacramento Bee. Cauley-Stein has seen his minutes cut from 21.4 per game to 14.9, but new coach Dave Joerger just wants to see him play hard while he’s on the court. “The energy that he brought is the biggest deal,” Joerger said after Cauley-Stein scored nine points in 12 minutes Tuesday. “When he … gets to the rim, [it] seems like it gets all those guys going a little bit. But he’s up there fullcourt, shadowing the other team’s point guard. He’s fronting a guy, comes over and gets a blocked shot. He’s running the floor.”
Harrison Barnes looks like a “big-time upgrade” at small forward for the Mavericks, writes Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News. The 24-year-old, who signed as a free agent over the summer, is averaging 22.3 points and 5.9 rebounds through Dallas’ first seven games. The player he replaced, Chandler Parsons, has been dealing with knee problems and recently made his season debut in Memphis.
After trying to be a veteran leader with the Bulls, Pau Gasol has entered a much more relaxed atmosphere with the Spurs, according to Ben Dowsett of Basketball Insiders. Gasol signed a two-year, $30MM deal this summer and came to a franchise filled with veteran leaders. “You don’t need to be too loud in this locker room, because it’s not like a group of young guys that need more leadership or direction,” Gasol said. “There’s not much need for me to be loud and say much.”

Western Notes: Dieng, Bryant, Gobert

November 1st, 2016 at 9:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Wolves center Gorgui Dieng, who agreed to a four-year, $64MM extension on Monday, likely could have landed a larger deal on the open market but wanted to remain in Minnesota, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune relays. “I wanted to be here,” Dieng said. “I rather take the money now or just wait and get a different offer. If I go to another team, am I go to be happy? I don’t know. To me, after over $10 million [a season], you can do whatever you want. The money wasn’t an issue. I just wanted to be happy and make sure I’m comfortable where I am…At the end of the day, it’s not all about the money.”

Coach/executive Tom Thibodeau is thrilled the team and Dieng got a deal done prior to the deadline, Zgoda adds. “I think it’s important for the organization,” Thibodeau said. “Obviously, we feel very good about him signing. That’s important for us to move forward. He embodies all the things we’re looking for. He has had a very good start to his career. He continues to improve. He gets better and better, but it’s also who he is: His character, his intelligence, his drive. I think those things are important.”

Here’s more from out West:

Former Lakers great Kobe Bryant says he’s comfortable in retirement and has no itch to rethink his decision to hang up his sneakers, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com relays. When asked if he regrets his decision, Bryant said, “Not even a little bit. It’s strange to think a couple years ago, to be in this emotional space would be unfathomable. But I mean not even a smidge, which I’m very thankful for, because it’s made my transition seamless and I can really just watch and just enjoy the games.“
Rudy Gobert, who agreed to a four-year, $102MM contract extension with the Jazz on Monday, weighed in on why he eschewed the chance to test his value on the open market, Mike Sorensen of The Deseret News relays. “It’s great,” said Gobert, who indicated that he knew a few days earlier that the deal was coming. “It was important for me and especially for the team, so we can get a plan and know who we want to be. I love the organization, I love the coach, I like to live in Utah and I like the way the team is building. My goal in my career is to get a championship and I think we’re going in the right direction and I want to be part of that.”
In response to a reader question, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News opined that the Mavericks‘ deal with Harrison Barnes is likely to play out differently than most big money pacts. In Sefko’s estimation, Dallas will receive better production from the forward in the later years of the arrangement rather than an immediate value.

Mavericks Notes: Barnes, Parsons, Curry

October 22nd, 2016 at 3:57pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Mavs owner Mark Cuban recently joined “Jacques & Will” on 103.3 FM ESPN Radio to discuss a number of topics related to the team (h/t Dallas Morning News). Dallas essentially chose Harrison Barnes over Chandler Parsons, who signed with Memphis this summer, and Cuban noted that Barnes wasn’t viewed merely as a fallback option. “No knock on Chandler. Chandler’s skill is skill but we had the uncertainties I’ve talked about,” Cuban said. “There were questions about his knee and I hope he fights through them and there’s never a question again about his knee but we had those questions. If Harrison Barnes would’ve been an unrestricted free agent, he would’ve been first on our list and that’s who we would have gone after right off the bat. We think defensively he gives us a new look, he can guard 1-4 and in some cases with small-ball 1-5, so when you have Deron Williams and Wesley Matthews and Justin Anderson in particular, and him and Andrew Bogut, that gives us a dimension we otherwise haven’t had in a long time. On the other side of the ball, Harrison isn’t as crafty as Chandler but he’s a lot more physical and he can post up and he shoots about the same from three-point [range]; mid-range isn’t as good yet but his post-up game is better. So I think it’s a different dimension but it’s a lot more athletic.”

The owner also weighed in on the perception that Dallas keeps missing out on its top targets. “We got the guy [Harrison Barnes] we wanted this year. Like I said, we couldn’t go after him and make him our first call on July 1st because he was restricted, so certain things had to happen,” Cuban said. “Had he been unrestricted, that would’ve been our first choice and then it would’ve been a different conversation. The whole thing that we don’t get the big name free agents, I think is just nonsense. We think we have a great organization, we have a top three coach and we’ve got a culture you’d like to play in. My job is to put the players in a position to succeed. We give you every resource you need. I spare no expense trying to win and trying to make sure you’re healthy and we can extend your career.”

Here’s more out of Dallas:

Coach Rick Carlisle indicated that the Mavs will carry the regular season maximum of 15 players, which means that four or five players will be fighting over the final slot, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets.
Seth Curry has struggled to find a home in the NBA during his brief career and believes that he has finally found his ideal situation with the Mavericks, Leo Sepkowitz of Slamonline.com relays. “The past few years I’ve been in the League, I’ve really noticed how important that structure and direction is for a team,” Curry says. “Going to a place that’s already established, where I can just come in and get better and keep doing things the right way, it’s gonna make it a lot easier to win. I don’t want to take what I did last year and then take a step back. I want to move forward, grow from it and be a consistent NBA player.”

Mavericks Notes: Gibson, Harris, Barnes

October 1st, 2016 at 6:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

After traveling the world to play basketball, the Mavericks’ Jonathan Gibson may be looking at his best shot at making an NBA roster, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. The 27-year-old point guard is among seven players fighting for the last two spots on the Mavs’ roster. He entered camp with a fully guaranteed rookie salary of $543K and the knowledge that Dallas is looking for a younger guard to help back up Deron Williams. Gibson played last season in China, where he averaged 42 points per game but finished second to Jordan Crawford in the scoring race. Basketball has taken him to five countries, including a 37-day stay in Iran. “The people were nice,” Gibson said. “It wasn’t like it looks on TV. Going over there, I was [worried]. But once I got there, it was OK.”

There’s more news out of Dallas:

Quickness is the main concern for veteran guard Devin Harris after undergoing three offseason surgeries, Sefko writes in a separate piece. Harris began the summer by having his left foot repaired, along with ligaments in his left thumb, then later had another surgery on his foot to straighten his big toe. “I’m in decent shape, but the first couple days out here, I was watching and thought, ‘These guys are moving fast,'” Harris said. “I haven’t gone that fast in a while. So I just have to get back to that speed. It’s different doing sprints as opposed to getting in real game shape.” Harris is confident that he will be fully ready by opening night.
The Mavericks made a huge financial commitment to Harrison Barnes even though he wasn’t their first choice in free agency, notes Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer. Dallas entered July hoping to land Mike Conley, Nicolas Batum and Hassan Whiteside, but when they all made other choices, the Mavericks turned to Barnes and are now hoping he can become the star he was projected to be out of high school.
Despite their additions over the past two seasons, the Mavericks don’t look like a team that can contend after Dirk Nowitzki retires, contends Tim Cowlishaw of The Dallas Morning News.

Southwest Notes: Barnes, Spurs, Grizzlies, Rockets

September 29th, 2016 at 1:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks don’t expect small forward Harrison Barnes to emerge as a superstar to replace Dirk Nowitzki but he’ll have a much bigger role with them than he did with the Warriors, Tim MacMahon of the Dallas Morning News reports. Barnes received a max four-year, $94MM contract this summer and will be featured much more offensively in Dallas, particularly with the free agent departure of Chandler Parsons. Coach Rick Carlisle told MacMahon that he met with Barnes about the outside expectations that come with signing a huge contract. “I talked to him this summer a lot about that,” Carlisle said. “The bottom line is it’s a challenge that he’s got to love taking on. The important thing is an elevation in responsibility comes at the right rate. You don’t just get a guy like this and throw him out there and tell him he’s got to score 20 a night. … We’ll get it to him in what I feel will be the correct doses and we’ll go from there.”

In other news around the Southwest Division:

The Spurs have waived big man Ryan Richards, according to the team’s website. They signed the 2010 second-round draft choice to a training camp contract earlier this month. He played with teams in Iran, Lebanon and Bahrain last season.
The Rockets have high expectations for center Clint Capela as Dwight Howard‘s replacement, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com writes. The team signed Nene Hilario to back up and mentor Capela, who is expected to move into the starting lineup, Watkins continues. GM Daryl Morey told Watkins that Capela must become an impact player. “Clint is someone for us, to have the season we want to have — to get home court in the Western Conference and to make a deep playoff run and hopefully to go deeper than we’ve ever been in my career — Clint is going to have to take a big step forward,” Morey said. “It’s not an easy step, from playing 15 to 20 minutes against … often, but not always, the starting center to playing 25-plus minutes against front-line guys.”
New Grizzlies coach David Fizdale has big plans for small forward James Ennis, Ron Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal writes. Ennis was re-signed by the club this offseason on a two-year, $6MM contract and Fizdale sees him as a valuable rotation piece, Tillery continues. “He’s what today’s NBA is. He’s a Swiss Army knife,” Fizdale told Tillery. “He can guard a lot of different people. I’ve got him in a good place and he’s taking advantage of that.”

Western Notes: Rockets, Bogut, Barnes

September 26th, 2016 at 10:12pm CST by Eddie Scarito

There is a more positive feeling in the Rockets locker room this year, something that team owner Leslie Alexander chalks up to the teams new additions, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com relays. When asked if he sensed a different vibe as the team begins training camp, Alexander told Watkins, “100% — they seem happier. James Harden especially seems happier, and I think they’re all together this year. They’re all in it to win, and the guys we brought over, Nene, Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon, they didn’t win last year, and they have this tense desire to win.”

When asked what prompted him to make significant changes after Houston’s disappointing 2015/16 campaign, Alexander said, “I wanted to play a different style. I thought defensively we lacked a lot of focus, and I think we brought in a real good defensive guy [assistant coach Jeff Bzdelik], and we brought in three strong players. One of our weaknesses last year was we couldn’t shoot the ball, and we brought two good shooters in, and we changed the team dramatically.”

Here’s more from out West:

Nuggets executive Josh Kroenke told members of the media that Denver intends to establish a D-League affiliate in the near future, Harrison Wind of BSNDenver.com tweets. “Yes, there has been a lot of dialogue about that,” Kroenke said.
Mavericks center Andrew Bogut said that he would have asked for a buyout if he was traded to a team other than Dallas this summer, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com relays. The Warriors reportedly gave Bogut the choice of being traded to the Mavs and the Rockets, with the big man ultimately deciding to go to Dallas. The Sixers had also reportedly expressed interest, but Golden State wanted to deal the veteran big man to a team with more realistic playoff hopes than Philly.
The expectations for Harrison Barnes have increased since he inked a maximum salary deal with the Mavs this offseason and its a challenge the young forward will have to embrace, coach Rick Carlisle told MacMahon in a separate piece. “I talked to him [Barnes] this summer a lot about that. Bottom line is that it’s a challenge that he’s got to love to take on. The important thing is that an elevation in responsibility comes at the right rate,” Carlisle said.

Southwest Notes: Matthews, Williams, Barnes

September 17th, 2016 at 6:43pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Mavericks feel like they have an all-new starting backcourt this season, even though Wesley Matthews and Deron Williams are both returning, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. The Mavs signed both players during the summer of 2015, but they were dealing with injuries that limited their effectiveness. Matthews was coming off surgery for a ruptured left Achilles tendon and was noticeably slower throughout the year. Williams, who received medical clearance this week to participate in the start of training camp, underwent surgery for a sports hernia after Dallas was eliminated from the playoffs.

“I hope D-Will can stay healthy,” said Dirk Nowitzki. “I think when he was healthy last year, he was a key player for us, at times even our best player, so hopefully he can stay healthy. And I’ve heard Wes was a beast in the gym basically since we lost [in the playoffs]. I hear he’s in unbelievable shape and ready to go. It should be another fun, hopefully exciting and competitive year.”

There’s more news out of the Southwest Division:

Harrison Barnes hasn’t been a featured scorer since high school, but Dallas is counting on him to be one this season, writes Shaun Powell of NBA.com. After Barnes became expendable when Kevin Durant committed to the Warriors, the Mavericks gave him a four-year, $94MM contract and projected an expanded role for him in their offense. Barnes averaged 10 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in four years with Golden State.
Monty Williams, who joined the Spurs Friday as vice president of basketball operations, hasn’t ruled out a return to coaching someday, tweets Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. In the meantime, the Spurs will groom Williams for a front office role.
The Rockets swapped out one frequently injured player for three, write Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders in the site’s season preview of Houston. Dwight Howard may have taken his back problems to Atlanta, but Rockets signed three free agents in Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon and Nene who have long injury histories of their own.

Nowitzki Could Play Beyond Two-Year Deal

September 15th, 2016 at 8:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Dirk Nowitzki has not ruled out playing beyond the two-year contract he signed with the Mavericks this summer, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com tweets. Nowitzki will see how his body responds this season before making any decisions on his future, he told MacMahon and other media members. Nowitzki will receive $25MM this season, with a $25MM team option on the second year, including a $5MM guarantee. “Obviously, I would love to play the next two years and then just see how it goes,” he said. Nowitzki averaged a team-high 18.3 points last season in 75 games.

In other highlights of the interview:

Team owner Mark Cuban actually gave Nowitzki a bigger raise than he was expecting. Nowitzki waited until the Mavs finished their off-season business before signing his deal to give them cap flexibility, according to Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. “We had settled on a number,” Nowitzki said. “And then Mark actually said, ‘OK, everybody’s signed, and we actually have this much money to give you.’ So, he actually gave me another raise, which was obviously nice for him, and he’s been incredibly loyal to me. And I’ve shown, obviously, that I’ve wanted to be here the last couple years. I think he wanted to reward me in a way.”
Nowitzki was impressed by the additions of small forward Harrison Barnes and center Andrew Bogut from the Warriors, MacMahon relays: “They’re champions,” he said. “They’re great players.”
Nowitzki has noted Barnes’ desire to become a better all-around player in the wake of his huge payday, as MacMahon reports. Barnes received a four-year, $94MM contract. “A lot of guys come here, sign here or get traded here and they’re telling me they’re gym rats, but I haven’t really seen many in my 18 years, but he’s the one guy that walks the walk,” Nowitzki said. “He’s there in the morning, we’re working out with the guys, he goes back at night and he wants to get better.”