Harrison Barnes (Photo : Pool | Getty Images Sport)
After the LA Lakers have successfully recruited Luke Walton as their head coach next season, they may not be done with raiding the ranks of the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors have two key restricted free agents and the Lakers have interest in at least one of them. It is also a happy coincidence that those two players, Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli play small forward and center respectively-the two positions of need that the Lakers need to fill out.
Barnes is a player filled with vast potential. He was the top recruit of his high school class (he and Kyrie Irving were supposed to come to Duke together but Barnes pulled the rug and chose rival North Carolina instead). He skipped the 2011 NBA draft (where he was projected as a dark horse for the top pick) during the lockout but his draft stock fell after an underwhelming sophomore season with the Tar Heels.
When Barnes came out in the 2012 draft, he fell to 7th to the Golden State Warriors. Even though he did not get major playing time, observers still took note of his talent. Now with free agency looming, his breakout could be inevitable with the Warriors or another team. Mychal Thompson, father of Warriors' guard Klay Thompson and a member of the Lakers' Showtime championship teams said on his ESPN radio show (h/t Diamond Leung of Inside the Warriors) that he could be the Lakers' top scorer.
"I think he's capable of averaging 18 a game here if the Lakers sign him and brought him here (LA)." Thompson said. "I think he could be more of a featured scorer, maybe a No. 2 option, maybe even a No. 1 on certain nights. He's capable of putting up in the high-20s. He's a very good shooter, can get to the basket, very athletic. He just hasn't been asked to do very much in Golden State, but coming here, he'd be asked to do more, and I think he could."
This potential will have suitors offering him the max contract and with the Lakers needing a small forward while having the most cap space, that's almost a given.
Zach Lowe of ESPN wrote a Grantland piece anticipating the curious case of Harrison Barnes. Before the season started, the Warriors offered Barnes a 4-year, 64 million dollar extension (16/year) but he turned it down. Lowe offered that Barnes could get the max of almost $ 23 million a year in the offseason.
The Golden State Warriors can match that but that will make him the highest paid player on the Warriors when he's not even their third best player. Klay Thompson and Draymond Green only receive $16 and 15 million and they've been carrying the team in Steph Curry's absence. Curry's own contract is due at the end of next season so the Warriors need to spend wisely.
These factors can make even the Warriors' ownership think twice on keeping Barnes, even if they win the championship again. Barnes to the Lakers is a real possibility.
