The biggest misconception about losing Harrison Barnes

On Monday, the great NBA University Twitter (I refuse to call it "X") posted a tweet asking their followers what they think about the Sacramento Kings' roster and their prospects for the upcoming season.

Of all the comments that were made under the tweet, there was one in particular that caught my eye.

What the author of that tweet is referring to is the sign-and-trade the Kings orchestrated last month to acquire DeMar DeRozan. In order to complete the deal, the team had to part ways with Harrison Barnes (and Chris Duarte and some draft capital) – sending him to the San Antonio Spurs.

Harrison Barnes Is Not A Three-and-D Player

In general, the individual who crafted that tweet is correct. Normally, when you already have on-ball creators, it is a bad idea to trade a quality "three-and-D" role player for a flawed scorer. The reason for this pertains to the principles of roster construction and lineup balance and is largely outside the scope of this article (although it is within the scope of this one).

However, in this specific case, the rule does not apply. That's because, at this point in his career, Barnes is not much of a "three-and-D" player.

Yes, Barnes did hit 38.7% (72nd percentile, per Dunks & Threes) of the 5.8 threes he took per 75 possessions (61st percentile). But he isn't that strong of a defender anymore (remember, he's 32 now). Last season, Barnes placed in the 49th percentile in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus (DEF EPM). He was also only in the 24th percentile in steal rate and 7th percentile in block rate (the latter statistic is a big reason the Kings need an upgrade at power forward). On a team-wide level, the Kings' defense was three points better per 100 when Barnes was off the floor than when he was on it (25th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass).

This isn't to say that Barnes is/was a bad NBA player or that he can't help contribute to winning anymore (in fact, I think he'll slot well next to Victor Wembanyama next year). It's just to showcase the fact that the Kings aren't losing the kind of player some people think they are.

Barnes isn't the kind of role player who can remedy the Kings' roster flaws. So, why not swap him out for a player in DeRozan who amplifies their strengths while also giving them the flexibility to make another move? To me, that kind of move sounds like a no-brainer, one that makes the Kings a better team on paper than they were last season.