Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle had some very high praise for Sacramento Kings veteran forward Harrison Barnes. Carlisle had the opportunity to coach Barnes during the latter's two-and-a-half season stint with the Mavs between 2016 and 2019.
During this time, the Mavs coach was able to determine that Barnes is indeed a special player:
“He’s one of the most consistent players I’ve ever been around — just consistent with everything,” Rick Carlisle said, via Dwain Price of Mavs.com. “Routine, work ethic, his dedication to improving.
“The fact that he continued to improve throughout his two and a half years with us, Sacramento’s got a real foundation piece in him.”
Carlisle may hold Barnes in high regard, but this was not enough for him to keep the 6-foot-8 forward on his squad. In the middle of last season, the Mavs offloaded Barnes and his huge contract to the Kings in exchange for Justin Jackson and a retiring Zach Randolph.
Then again, this did not stop Carlisle from sending more praise in Barnes' direction:
“From a coaching standpoint the most important thing to have are guys that you know what they’re going to do and you know what they’re going to produce every single night,” Carlisle said. “Harrison was one of those guys that you can take an indelible marker and you could put in certain stats, but you knew that he was also going to bring a high level effort, he was going to be a great team guy, he was going to be a leader and he really cared about winning.
Harrison Barnes had a bit of a revenge game narrative going on Wednesday, as the Kings faced off against the Mavs. The 27-year-old torched his former team, logging 25 points (on 10-of-18 shooting), along with a couple of triples, eight rebounds, two assists, and a steal. His heroics were not enough, though, as the Mavs still emerged victorious in a tightly fought encounter, 127-123.
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