5 free agency destinations for Harrison Barnes
By John Buhler
Pacific. Los Angeles Clippers. 2. player. 77. . West
The last piece to the puzzle to make the Los Angeles Clippers a serious threat to win an NBA Championship with their strong corps is to find a long term solution at small forward. Matt Barnes didn’t work out, Jamal Crawford is better suited to play shooting guard off the bench, and who knows if Jeff Green will ever stop doing Jeff Green things?
It sounds a little crazy, but what if Clippers head coach/general manager Doc Rivers decides to poach a key player from one of Los Angeles’ biggest rivals in signing soon-to-be free agent small forward Harrison Barnes of the Golden State Warriors.
Barnes would take on a similar role to what he has in Golden State as being the team’s fifth best player. A starting five in Los Angeles with Chris Paul at point guard, J.J. Redick as shooting guard, Barnes at small forward, Blake Griffin at power forward, and DeAndre Jordan at center feels like a championship caliber starting five.
Interestingly, this is essentially what the Clippers had last year, only the are upgrading their Barneses, from Matt to Harrison. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is the richest owner in the league and a basketball junkie at that. He’d be willing to shell out of lucrative contract to Barnes to not only make his Clippers better, but simultaneously making Golden State Warriors.
That sounds pretty swell for the Clippers, just as long as Oklahoma City’s superstar swingman Kevin Durant doesn’t leave the Sooner State for the City by the Bay. If Durant goes to the Warriors, how does that team lose five games during the regular season?
Next: 1. Golden State Warriors