NBA Rumors: Latest Buzz on Harrison Barnes, Possible Jarrett Jack Trade and More
The NBA's free-agency period starts Friday at 12:01 a.m. ET. Naturally, the rumor mill is running like crazy two days before teams can start negotiations with players.
Many squads are working hard to set up meetings with their offseason targets, as well as putting their puzzle pieces together to see how they can add their desired players without breaking any salary-cap rules or losing any important contributors already on the roster.
Let’s take a look at some recent buzz surrounding a few role players, one of which could be involved in a trade.
Harrison Barnes
Even after a poor playoff showing, Harrison Barnes is still getting plenty of attention in free agency. Per Marc Stein and Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com, the Philadelphia 76ers are the next team that plan to pursue the 24-year-old small forward in restricted free agency.
The fit makes very little sense from either side. Philadelphia just drafted a guy at No. 1 overall who will likely play primarily at small forward for the team (Ben Simmons), and the team also has Robert Covington, Nik Stauskas and Hollis Thompson on the wing.
It also spent two other first-round picks on a couple of swingmen in Timothe Luwawu and Furkan Korkmaz. Why would the Sixers want to invest $20 million or more annually in a guy who doesn’t fit well with their roster?
That doesn’t take into account Barnes’ personal preferences. While Philly definitely have the money available to entice him with a maximum contract, the 24-year-old would be going from a 73-win roster to a 10-win group. His offensive efficiency would likely take a dive, as he would no longer have excellent offensive players surrounding him in nearly every lineup to spoon-feed him uncontested looks.
If I’m Barnes, I want to stay in the Bay Area. And if the reports from Stein and Spears are true, the Warriors want him back, too, if they can’t bring in Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant.
Jarrett Jack
The Brooklyn Nets are one of those teams that are just hoping they strike gold in free agency this summer. With arguably the bleakest future in the league, any signings made will be a result of a player wanting a lot of money and a big role, not because the Nets are headed anywhere significant as a franchise.
Per The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski, one way Brooklyn is looking to continue its roster overhaul is by shopping point guard Jarrett Jack.
As Wojnarowski also noted, the Nets also have the option to waive Jack by Thursday June 30, and they would only need to pay him $500,000 of his $6.3 million salary for 2016-17 if that happened.
If they can’t find a trade partner for the veteran point guard, that’s what they will likely do. Of course, they’d like to get some return for Jack and shed his entire salary.
Jack started all 32 games for Brooklyn last season before tearing his ACL in January, but most teams interested in him will likely use him as a backup floor general. As for the Nets, they have very little point guard depth after Jack and will likely pursue one or more of that type of player in free agency or another trade.
Solomon Hill
Solomon Hill is as good as gone from the Indiana Pacers next season. Because of a rule in the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, Indiana’s decision not to pick up Hill’s option next season means the 25-year-old forward is an unrestricted free agent, and the Pacers can’t offer him more than a $2.35 million deal for next season.
Considering other squads could pay him up to four or five times that much, it’s a no-brainer for Hill to select a team that can offer him more money. The Utah Jazz are one team with their eye on Hill, according to the Salt Lake Tribune’s Tony Jones. Jones added that the interest is mutual.
The former Arizona standout lifted his play to another level down the stretch of the 2015-16 regular season, and in the Pacers’ first-round playoff loss to the Toronto Raptors.
Once April started, Hill was on fire—in his final 14 games of the campaign, he averaged 9.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and one steal per game on a 51.1/52.2/82.6 percentage shooting slash, in addition to stellar defense.
Utah has no shortage of solid rotation wings (Gordon Hayward, Rodney Hood, Alec Burks and Joe Ingles), but the beauty of Hill is that he’s versatile enough to play any position from 1 to 4 when needed. If the young forward continues his hot shooting and defensive intensity from his Pacers stint, the Jazz would have a valuable player to help them in the frontcourt and (sometimes) backcourt.
