First they drafted early lottery pick Stephen Curry; who we all now know and is one of the best PG's and shooters in the NBA. After a mediocre season with Monta Ellis playing together with Curry, they were mid-late lottery and snagged Klay Thompson out of Washington State University. We all know of Klay now, as he is also one of the best shooters in the NBA. We call them the "Splash Brothers".
During that span they traded undersized Shooting Guard Monta Ellis for defensive 7 foot plus Center Andrew Bogut. They also signed 20 point 10 rebound All-Star Power Forward David Lee to a long and big contract. This was all in a 4/5 year span. Not a quick rebuild, but not a drastically long one either after the Baron Davis lead Warriors made the playoffs in 2007 and took out number 1 seed Dallas as the 8 seed (to lose the next round). So from 2008-20013 the Warriors had missed the playoffs.
6 full seasons of poor to mediocre ball. Though Curry came on solid as a 17 point 6 assist per game rookie, he really blossomed over a few years and is now fully healthy, becoming the 23.5 points, 8.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and a solid 46%FG for the NBA's leader in three pointers made this season (at a 42% clip). Klay, boggling from 2nd to 3rd in three pointers made this season as well at a 41% clip. He's become a legit 20 point threat that keeps defenses stretched along with Curry.
I should mention that Don Nelson was also fired by the Warriors, bringing in Mark Jackson to coach them (a huge shift and change for the Warriors after Nelson had "run n' gun" culture ingrained in Warrior culture.) Mark Jackson coached them to a decent record his first season, proving he was a culture changing coach where the team would play defense too.
So with a near perfect roster, they went into the lottery looking for a player that could fill their void at Small Forward. With a solid 20/10 David Lee at PF, a great defensive anchor in Bogut that also offers some offensive skills, and the "Splash Brothers" in the back-court, it seems they needed an all around type of SF... an athletic swing-man that plays solid D, rebounds well, can shoot the ball well and slash to the rim, finishing at the hoop. They got lucky again, snagging a top 5 rookie for the 3rd time in a row. Grabbing Harrison Barnes seemed like he fit exactly what the needed and was a solid player at North Carolina.
So why so much prologue about the Warriors and the process to get Barnes? I just want to have the story straight so it can be viewed objectively. So last season they ended up with 45 wins and they made the playoffs, all part of Harrison Barnes rookie season as a fresh 20 year old rookie and the improvement of the "Splash Brothers" and bench. He had a pretty damn solid rookie season, one in which he was top 5-10 of the rookies regular season, displaying great skill in the Rookie/Sophomore game and Dunk Contest, basically showing what he could become consistently in the future. Having some rookie problems with consistency and adapting to the speed and size didn't seem to really phase Barnes. His job wasn't really to shoot much anyway. He was the glue. He'd oft. But at 6'8'' with that solid NBA ready body and amazing athleticism, we saw him shine at times in the regular season and come on to the scene in the NBA playoffs, showing that he was a legit starter on a Playoff winning team in the West.
2012-13 Season (11.0 PER): 9.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.6 steals, 1.2 TO's, 44%FG, 36%3pt. 25.5 minutes
2013 Playoffs (13.8 PER): 16.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.6 steals, 1.3 TO's, 45%FG, 37%3pt, 38.8 minutes
*(12 games) Upset Nuggets in 6 games 1st round, Lost 2nd round to eventual WCF Champ Spurs in 6 games
2013-14 Season (9.7 PER): 9.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.2 TO's, 40%FG, 36%3pt 28.3 minutes
What happened to the progress? I mean most players reveal themselves in the playoffs, and many players shoot worse in the playoffs. Barnes shot slightly better in the playoffs, and was also used as a good on ball defender and played a lot more minutes obviously, from 25 in the regular season to 38 minutes a night. But he became a better player in the playoffs, as a rookie starting on a solid team growing all season and then becoming a legit starting option that could do a little of everything at SF (and sometimes stretch PF small ball minutes).
This year they obviously signed Iggy, whose defense was needed for this team (as an elite on ball defender) and nice all around game. He is averaging 9/5/5 this season, and 1.7 steals in 30+ minutes. Nothing special at all. But when you have three guys that are near or above 20 points a night from Point-Guard Steph Curry, Shooting-Guard Klay Thompson, and Power Forward David Lee, the Small Forward is asked to do different things like play defense, move the ball around to the shooters and post guys, create for others, make open shots, etc.
Obviously, Barnes was asked to go from being the starting forward on a good western team that made the 2nd round of the playoffs, as him almost doubling his point output in the playoffs was huge. Now I know he started at Small-Forward last year but often finished at the Power-Forward spot, as the NBA has gone small in general and most matchups play out that way. I hear people say he is a just a Power-Forward and David Lee will obviously start over him. But I disagree, as I've watched over 30 of his rookie games, and even this year 82games.com has him playing 56% of the Warriors Small-Foward minutes and only 11% of the Power-Forward minutes. An interesting note is that his opponents PER is at it's lowest when he's at SF, while his opponent has a much better PER when he's at PF. All this to me points that he's a Small Forward that is struggling with his shot and confidence in his teammates and coach and franchise.
"Am I in the future of this team? I was a top rookie last season and broke out in the playoffs, but now I'm a backup? I could be starting at Small Forward (or Power Forward) for 15 other teams." You know he's asking and telling himself all these things in thoughts.
Barnes has really struggled all year as a backup, and now starting in place of injured Igoudala he looks passive and has no confidence. To me, it's a result of management signing Iggy to what I call a "stupid contract that's too long and too much per year", and it has made them about 5 or so games better (Bogut has had a much bigger impact this year as have both guards improving), with Barnes regular season becoming only 2.8 win shares, much worse than last year, with his PER and TS%.
There is a question many have suggested to me relating to whether Barnes is a Small Forward or Power Forward. In the playoffs David Lee got hurt in the first game, pushing Barnes to start at the PF position. His numbers as a rookie in the playoffs show you a young player that can average 16 points, 8 rebounds and hit three's with solid defense against good teams like the Nuggets and Spurs may have some merit to things after all. I know the league plays small ball with second units or the final 2-5 minutes of a close game, but is the NBA really becoming this small? Barnes may be a solid body and 6'8'' tall, but he has ball handles, speed, good perimeter defense (not so much at PF), and was picking up the game really quick surrounded by the right players as a starter. I believe him to be a SF still, and while he can play PF effectively for spells, he's best utilized as a SF.
Personal Opinion: To me, even though they became a better team with Iggy, it was a very, very stupid signing. Iggy isn't a consistent scorer (while Barnes was towards the end of last season and in the playoffs), and he wouldn't have had to take such a confidence hit that's so obvious in his eyes and shot this year, and probably would of become a slightly to much better starting Small-Forward that got them to the playoffs. They should of spent their money on Jack coming back, as well as better bench pieces (as they had to make trades the bench was so bad, led by Barnes).
You would still be a playoff team, and you would be improving your young core. Draymond Green has basically become that backup power forward for them, with Steve Blake and Jordan Crawford sharing 6th man guard duties. Barnes has gotten minutes, but you can tell he doesn't like his situation; coming off the bench and knowing he's not helping the team.
I'd currently argue starting him now at Small-Forward this season, bringing Iggy off the bench to be a creator as well as more well rounded veteran I that can do everything I think he would flourish in that role, posting the same or better numbers than he is now, all while Barnes would be back in his starting unit that he fits so well and
When Barnes is a Free Agent in 1.5 years, how much do you pay him when you are paying a Small-Forward in Iggy 12 million a year, Curry around 11 million, and Klay Thompson is due for a 10+million yearly deal after this summer (I think Bogut and Lee expire in 1-2 seasons as they also make about 15 million a year each. Not sure the Warriors will want to spend money on Barnes as a backup, and I believe Barnes has the same mindset, wanting to go to a team that he can play a starting role.
My theory is that some players are just made to start, especially in certain situations, while other players are meant to come off the bench. Look at Jamal Crawford for example; from a joke 20ppg starter on the Knicks to a 6th Man of the Year for the Hawks and again this year with the Clippers, averaging 18ppg efficiently off the bench. But he's a combo guard score first player, so he fits the profile. He'd also started on many teams and not been effective in helping them win. Now I'm not saying Barnes is better than Crawford whatsoever, but I think it's obvious he flourishes as a starter.
They aren't going to win an NBA Championship this year, and they will be paying the ever declining Andre Iguodala (9.4 points, 5.1 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 1.7 steals this season) 11 million bucks in 2016-2017 at the age of 34. Barnes would of flourished coming back to the Warriors as a starter with the same starting 5, the improved confidence he would of kept, with a stronger bench attained in Free Agency; for 11-12 million a year you could of gotten 3 really solid backups to complete your sqaud, especially Jarret Jack who they should of brought back.
I think sometimes teams get sporadic in Free Agency and when they have an off-season where they have this cap-space and think this solid player for his career is the answer to your team and end up with an awful contract and a player on the decline who not only barely changed your team but basically took away Harrison's starting position and spot in the franchise. How they must of viewed him after such a rookie year and playoffs is beyond me, thinking you need to overpay an aging player that might be better than Barnes for this season, yet but next year Barnes will be the better player, and you have yourself a mess.
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