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Almost every summer, the Dallas Mavericks find themselves in conversations as a potential destination of one or two big name free agents. However, they seem to consistently miss out in the end.
This year’s free agency period is no different, with names such as Al Horford and Mike Conley, among others, being thrown out in their direction, the Mavericks yet again find themselves settling for leftovers.
However, one particular “leftover” that found its way to Dallas is former champion and the still on-the-rise Harrison Barnes. The athletic swingman was signed to a lucrative deal amounting to $94 million for four years.
In the eyes of some, the Mavericks are once again settlers. But in Marc Cuban and Rick Carlisle’s point of view, they got themselves a future franchise player, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
“You're going to see a lot more to his game than you've seen in the past,” Mavs owner Mark Cuban said. “I think he can do a lot more than he's been asked to do, and that's what we expect to see. … Maybe not first year, but I think he's going to grow into [the role of go-to guy]. Just because a guy hasn't done things doesn't mean he can't do it.”
“He's been a championship-level system player for Golden State for several years, and he's coming into a situation where we're going to need him to be more of a primary guy,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “It's going to take time to develop the mentality, make sure we're getting him in the right situations to do it, but he has the ability and he's a worker. I'm confident that he'll get there.”
Last season, Harrison Barnes averaged a decent line of 13.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.1 assists. These are certainly numbers that do not appear to be worth that much money. But Dallas’ head honchos believe that he is a superstar in the making.
While playing alongside Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, Barnes was able to fit within a successful system. His usage rate last year was only 15.9, yet he managed to pile up decent stats.
One thing’s for sure, in year one, Harrison Barnes will be taken under the wings of former Most Valuable Player Dirk Nowitzki. If he becomes a sponge under Nowitzki’s tutelage, Marc Cuban and Rick Carlisle may be hailed as sages for their decision to sign him.
[button width=”full” button size=”bigger” color=”custom” align=”center” textcolor=”#ffffff” texthcolor=”#ffffff” bgcolor=”#8b0000″ link=”https://clutchpoints.com/harrison-barnes-will-develop-level-play-leading-mavericks/”]NEXT: Harrison Barnes will develop his level of play leading the Mavericks[/button]
