The Golden State Warriors in a trade? The defending champions may have to take a slight rebuild than lose an asset for nothing.
Harrison Barnes is slated to be a prime free agent, and while the Warriors brass continue to claim that they will keep Barnes at all cost, they will need to weigh which players they need to keep.
Festus Ezeli will also be on the block and they might need to choose between the two. The presence of Andre Iguodala and Andrew Bogut's injuries will place Ezeli in higher relative value-not to mention that Barnes will be overpaid, as much as $ 20 million according to Zach Lowe of Grantland.
The Boston Celtics need a high scoring wing player and Harrison Barnes fits the bill. A proposal on the Celtics Blog has Barnes being transferred.
In the proposal, "Golden State sends Harrison Barnes and Ian Clark (immediately waived) To Boston; Boston sends Jerebko and Mavericks 1st rounder to Golden State."
However, the Warriors would want significant value in return for Barnes. He is an athletic forward who has proven to be capable of playing both the "three" and "four" positions. The Warriors have used him in their "Small Ball" combinations as a power forward and he has held his own on defense and made a mismatch on offense.
The former North Carolina Tar Heel can become a vital cog for the Celtics and the Warriors know that the Celtics treasure chest is deep, and one of the coveted treasures is the Brooklyn Nets' first round pick in 2016 which is almost assured of being in the lottery.
The pick is also unprotected, and there are some treasures on the 2016 NBA Draft including Ben Simmons, Skal Labissiere or Jaylen Brown.
The big question is will the Celtics value Barnes that much? The Bean town fans are becoming impatient, while the Warriors may be more forgiving. This may force the hand of Danny Ainge to make a trade.