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A closer look at Harrison Barnes

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But Mdog, do you think MKG or Beal will be much more than good players? My pick is Beal, but if we land Barnes that's not that bad.

Personally I wouldn't bet against MKG being a great player. He seems to have a work ethic unlike any other prospects, and it is fairly telling to me that on a team full of NBA prospects he was the leader. As for Beal I think he has a chance to be a great player, but he is far from a guarantee. With Barnes I just don't see elite potential and that is why with #4 in a supposedly deep draft (I keep saying supposedly because outside of Davis this draft looks routine to me) I would like to see us shoot for the fences and not take a safe pick.
 
Draft express does not mention his defense as a "strength" nor SwishScout in the things he "does well".

So all his defensive ability and "pontial" is based on his size and length both of which Gee has as well. Which doesn't make him an elite defender.

All were getting his here is a Gee with an awesome shot who albeit can't slash as well.

Again IMO with the #4 pick, I want someone who can handle the ball effectively and create for others.

I want someone who fits the bill from this article.
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FWIW, draftexpress said this last year:

His play on the defensive end has been nothing short of stellar, though.

Barnes possesses ideal physical tools on this end of the floor, with his excellent size, frame and wingspan. He plays with great intensity but is also very fundamentally sound, getting low in his stance and moving his feet extremely well, usually leaving himself just enough cushion to contest his opponent's shot while still being ready to slide in any direction. Although he doesn't collect a great deal of blocks, steals, or rebounds, he's an extremely effective defender who likely be capable of guarding either wing position at the NBA level, which gives the team that picks him nice versatility to work with.

They followed that up this year with:

On the defensive end, Barnes still shows the same promise that we noted last year, thanks to his solid physical tools and fundamentals. His size, length, and strength should serve him well defending small forwards at the NBA level, and he does a nice job moving laterally, understanding positioning, and challenging shots.
 
So he has the lateral movement to be a great help defender, can stay in front of his man, and has the length to contest.

I don't understand how this makes him a great defender. Most players(with the length) in the NBA can do this. So far all I can gather is that he is average defensively and is NOT a liability on that end.

A great defender coming in is someone like Shumpert who does all the aforementioned and also plays the passing lanes while collecting steals.
 
I don't want to draft Sefalosha as the 4th pick in this draft.
 
this time of year really brings out bad posts
 
So he has the lateral movement to be a great help defender, can stay in front of his man, and has the length to contest.

I don't understand how this makes him a great defender. Most players(with the length) in the NBA can do this. So far all I can gather is that he is average defensively and is NOT a liability on that end.

A great defender coming in is someone like Shumpert who does all the aforementioned and also plays the passing lanes while collecting steals.

....Not really. First of all, you twisted the shit out of the article's words. Try again:

His play on the defensive end has been nothing short of stellar, though.

Barnes possesses ideal physical tools on this end of the floor, with his excellent size, frame and wingspan. He plays with great intensity but is also very fundamentally sound, getting low in his stance and moving his feet extremely well, usually leaving himself just enough cushion to contest his opponent's shot while still being ready to slide in any direction. Although he doesn't collect a great deal of blocks, steals, or rebounds, he's an extremely effective defender who likely be capable of guarding either wing position at the NBA level, which gives the team that picks him nice versatility to work with.

Second, defense is not all about steals. Some of the best defenders don't get a lot of steals. Steals could just mean you gamble a lot.

Luol Deng, who many people compare Barnes to, averages one steal per game over his career. Deng is a great defender. Bruce Bowen? Career 0.8 steals per game. Afflalo, about 0.6 since he's been a starter. Sefalosha ~1.2 on the Thunder.
 
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Let's be honest here. There does not appear to be a single guy in this draft who can challenge for a scoring title, I struggle to find a guy who has the potential to be a 23+ ppg scorer. To me it looks this draft is littered with potential 14-20 ppg scorers, so now it just becomes who fits the best with what your team wants to do. I think the consensus top 4 wing players are MKG, Beal, Barnes and J Lamb. If you look at the NBA the top scorers are guys like Durant, Lebron, Carmelo, all guys 6'7+ who play the SF position. That says to me that you absolutely need to have somebody who can defend that type player. When you think about it like that the most desirable wings then become MKG, Barnes and J Lamb. Now I like Beal a lot and I think he will be a good perimeter defender in the league, but he will be better served guarding 1's and 2's, not 3's. Looking at the league right now there are a number of very good PG's, but not many very good SG's. I think we would be better off waiting for a SG later in the draft then to take Beal that high, given our needs.

So that puts us at MKG, Barnes and JLamb. I would probably take MKG over those other 2 but the way things look now it does not appear he will be available when we pick. So it really comes down to Barnes or Lamb, who is the better fit for this team? I would say that these 2 guys are very close to each other, but I think I would give Barnes the edge just because he has a bigger frame and seems like he will be more capable of matching up with NBA 3's.

So I would probably go with Barnes, he might be the safest pick we can make. If not Barnes or Lamb then your likely looking at TRob who I don't think is as good a fit, Drummond who we all know would be a pick that comes with a lot of risk or PJ3 who again is somewhat risky.
 
i dont agree with your top 4 outside of davis, and also think a big frontcourt would add a lot of layers and depth to a kyrie irving team.
 
I listed what I thought were the consensus top 4 wing players.
 
Barnes is not my first choice but you need to think about this. He can defend and he can shoot he needs to be more aggressive and handle the ball better to really realize his full potential.

Dont you think that could be developed much easier than a jumpshot like MKG needs to do?

I believe the opposite, actually.

Barnes' difficulty on dribble drives really has little to do with a lack of aggressiveness and more to do with him not having much of a first step, a stiff drive with a lot of wasted movement (not fluid/smooth at all) and an overall lack of natural athleticism. Unfortunately for whomever drafts Barnes (hopefully it won't be us), those generally aren't things that you can fix. A guy either possesses those natural, innate skills or they don't. Barnes often resorted to spin moves to get away from perimeter defenders in college with occasional success. It isn't a bad thing to use the spin occasionally to throw off a defense, but relying on it too much on the professional level is a recipe for disaster and a sure sign that a guy doesn't have the kind of athleticism it takes to be a good slasher on the highest level.

MKG is worlds better than Barnes and it will show in the NBA. I just hope this is all a smokescreen.
 
I would be very happy with Barnes.


A strong perimeter defender is a must. Not to mention he can score and would really stretch the defense with his long range ability.


Sign me up. I think he compares to Paul Pierce.
 
I would be very happy with Barnes.


A strong perimeter defender is a must. Not to mention he can score and would really stretch the defense with his long range ability.


Sign me up. I think he compares to Paul Pierce.

I thought that he is Paul Pierce too until I saw him play and struggle. Paul Pierce is a scorer while Barnes is a spot up shooter.
 

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