The Sacramento Kings are on the rise, and were incredibly active at the trade deadline. This included acquiring power forward Harrison Barnes from the Dallas Mavericks.
Barnes excited to be joining the Kings. As he told Jason Jones of The Athletic:
Prior to the game, Barnes was already impressed with this version of the Kings after getting to meet his new teammates, coaches and the support staff, saying “it’s totally different” in Sacramento on and off the court.
“You just see that everything they do is first class,” Barnes said. “Definitely have a lot of resources available to the players, big on player development and culture and just playing fast. Looking at it from where it was to where it is now, in the seven years I’ve been in the league it’s kind of daylight and darkness.”
During his time with the Golden State Warriors from 2012-2016, Barnes often faced a struggling Kings franchise. Over that four-season span, the team went 118-210, a .360 winning percentage. They missed the playoffs all four seasons.
But this season, everything has been different. At 29-26, the team is only half a game back of the Los Angeles Clippers for a playoff spot. Over the stretch they will be fighting to make their first playoff appearance since 2005-06.
They were very active at the deadline, acquiring Barnes in exchange for Zach Randolph and Justin Jackson. They also swung deals for Caleb Swanigan and Alec Burks, giving up Skal Labissiere and Iman Shumpert respectively.
The three acquisitions should bolster an already-talented roster that includes breakout stars Buddy Hield and De'Aaron Fox. ESPN's BPI Playoff Odds give the young team only a 9.4% chance of making the playoffs, but even a .500 finish would be seen as a win for Sacramento.
On the season, Barnes has averaged 17.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists.
He has a 2019 player option for north of $25 million, according to Spotrac.
Follow Us
Subscribe