Can Leandro Barbosa Be Revitalized Through Steve Kerr And The Nash-Like Stephen Curry?

Can Leandro Barbosa Be Revitalized Through Steve Kerr And The Nash-Like Stephen Curry? (Photo: @letsgowarriors via @canuimaginethis Instagram account)

According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, as of August 28, 2014, the Golden State Warriors have signed scorer Leandro Barbosa to a one-year deal at the NBA veteran’s minimum, which is about $1.4 million.

The “Brazilian Blur” was known for his scoring punch off the bench, averaging double-digits for a good chunk of his eleven-year career. However, after the 2009-10 season, here are his averages:

2010-11 13.3 Toronto
2011-12 11.1 Between Toronto & Indiana
2012-13 5.2 Boston
2013-14 7.5 Phoenix

While the downward trend is pretty obvious, recall that his strongest outputs were when Steve Nash was his point guard, from the 2003-04 to the 2009-10 seasons (7 years).

The great news for #DubNation is that they have the best point guard since Nash was in his prime. Stephen Curry gives spacing for his teammates and is just one of possibly many Warriors that will help revitalize Barbosa’s career.

In fact, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was the general manager of Barbosa and Nash’s Phoenix Suns from 2007 to 2010, and actually had been an adviser to owner Robert Sarver since 2004.

It remains to be seen how often Barbosa will be on the floor with Curry, as Barbosa will be coming off the bench.

Barbosa’s best asset as a player is the ability to break a defender down one-on-one, as well as finish with either hand:

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