Free Agency Rumor Mill Kicks Into Gear

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

We’re in the midst of the NBA’s free agency moratorium period, the time of year when transactional talks between teams and players are forbidden in order for the league to get all of its accounting in order. However, though we are still days away from July 1, when teams can begin contacting free agents, the rumor mill never ceases in today’s 24-hour media cycle. Tuesday afternoon, Sixers fans were hit with a couple bombshells from Marc Stein (SteinShells?) about Bryan Colangelo’s intentions in the free agent market.

The Sixers plan to be serious suitors for Golden State restricted free agent Harrison Barnes at the start of free agency, league sources say

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 28, 2016

The Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Kings have interest in Oklahoma City Thunder restricted free agent Dion Waiters, per league sources.

— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) June 28, 2016

I’ll start with the latter because when it comes to Dion Waiters, I hope the Sixers make like an early-90’s anti-drug ad campaign and “Just Say No.” Waiters’ 4-year career was on a downward death spiral until a recent stretch in these past playoffs where he shot 37.5% from three (a mark that would be a career-best for him in a season) and suddenly looked like he cared about playing serviceable defense.

Still, I’d be concerned that without established superstars like Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook around, Waiters would quickly revert to his gunner tendencies from the dark days in the Cleveland era. The kind of ball-stopping he exhibited for much of his career is the furthest thing from helping along the development of Ben Simmons and the remaining big men. The Philly native has always seemed like a good guy and a fun personality, but I want no part of him soaking up minutes and possessions for this young Sixers team.

Now, the Harrison Barnes situation is a little trickier because there’s no denying he’s a useful two-way NBA player. At 6’8″, Barnes can seamlessly shift between the two forward positions, both staying with smaller players on the perimeter and bodying up larger brutes on the block. That versatility made him an integral component of Golden State’s vaunted “Death Lineup”. Barnes also functioned well as a spot-up shooter around the whirling motion of the Splash Brothers and Draymond Green, knocking down 37.6% of his career to date.

The flip side is that despite a horrific Finals performance against the Cavs, Barnes is still going to net himself a max contract from someone at 4 years, $94 million. The positive attributes I just laid out, the huge increase in the salary cap, the thin free agent market, and the fact that Barnes just turned 24 years old all combine into that valuation.

So if Barnes were to come to Philadelphia, he would be by far the highest-paid player on the team, with all the expectations that come along with that fact. The situation could grow burdensome for a guy who’s never been more than a fourth or fifth option; Barnes can ask his current teammate Andre Iguodala about fan reaction in Philadelphia when they (wrongly) perceive you to not be living up to your contract. There’s also the reality that with their glut of big men, the Sixers don’t have a lot of power forward minutes to be handing out, which is where Barnes brings the most value in small-ball lineups.

Still, even though whoever maxing out Barnes will surely be overpaying, I don’t think Philadelphia grabbing the 2016 Olympian and 2015 World Champion would be a crippling move. The salary cap is expected to jump again to $108M in 2017-18, at which point Barnes’ contract would drop from being 25% of the cap to slightly under 22%.

Moreover, the Sixers (hopefully) have their superstar-caliber talents in Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. Once a team has its stars, it becomes time to surround them with role players. As his time in Golden State has shown, if nothing else, Barnes is an outstanding role player. Is it ideal to pay a role player over 20% of your salary cap? No. But for a young guy who has defined skills on both ends of the floor with potentially room to grow into more, and as a move to help ease the burden on the first and second-year players on the roster? It’s a move I could eventually get behind. Just no Dion Waiters, please.