NBA Draft 2011: Could Harrison Barnes Be the Face of the Cleveland Cavaliers?

The 2011 NBA draft is only three months away, but for Cavaliers fans Jun. 23 can't come soon enough.

With a number of intriguing prospects, perhaps none have made as much noise lately as North Carolina's stud freshman Harrison Barnes.

Barnes scored an ACC tournament freshman-record 40 points in a win over Clemson, silencing doubters about his shaky first year with the Tar Heels.

The Cavaliers desperately need a scoring wing and a new face of the franchise.

Could Barnes be that guy?

The Positives

Position-wise, Barnes is a great fit for the Cavs.  He's a 6'8'', 210-pound small forward who possesses the skills to also play shooting guard in the NBA. 

The Cavs have seen Jamario Moon, Joey Graham, Anthony Parker, Christian Eyenga, Jawad Williams and Alonzo Gee all start at small forward this year, with Parker's measly 11.1 player efficiency rating the best of the bunch.

If drafted, Barnes could start at the 3 for Byron Scott from day one.  That's right folks, no more relying on Joey Graham for instant offense!

Barnes is an above average defender and can create his own shot.  He can knock down threes (1.58 per game) or drive to the hole.  He struggled at the beginning of the season but in North Carolina's last nine games, all wins, Barnes has averaged just less than 20 points per game, raising his season average to 14.2.

You know he's been well coached and played against some of the best possible competition while in college, which should only accelerate his development.  He also appears to have an ideal wing frame, with some room for added muscle.

Barnes also has superstar potential, which is something you can't say about many players in this year's draft.

The Negatives

In a weak draft class to begin with, Barnes plummeted in mock drafts throughout the basketball season as he looked nothing like the one-and-done superstar he was pegged to be.  Forwards such as Perry Jones, Derrick Williams and Terrence Jones all made their way ahead of Barnes, putting up better statistics and showing off more polished games.

All of this may not be a big deal now, but it does raise some questions.  If Barnes struggled to adapt to a successful college team, how would he do being asked to be the face of a struggling NBA franchise?

To this point, Barnes can't be counted on to do a whole lot more than score.  He only averaged 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game this season.  Being outmuscled in the pros, those rebound numbers could drop even more until Barnes adds more muscle to his frame.

Final Result

At one time Harrison Barnes looked like he could fall to the Cavaliers' second first-round pick received in the Baron Davis deal.  With his recent ACC tournament play however, Barnes will most likely be a top three pick come draft time, forcing the Cavs to take him with their first pick, or not at all.

I like Barnes as a prospect to build a franchise around, although it could take a few years before he becomes a scoring force in the league.  I would still take Duke's Kyrie Irving before Barnes, but if Irving is taken already, or decides to not declare for the draft, Barnes would be a very good pick.