On the flip side of Kevin Durant‘s move to Golden State is Harrison Barnes going to Dallas with a max contract in hand. And the question is whether Barnes is ready for a much larger role with the Mavs than he had with the Warriors. The Dallas Morning News‘ Eddie Sefko talked to Barnes about the move:
The question of whether he’s going to be a next-step player this season is one that nobody can answer yet, not even Barnes. His arrow is pointing upward. But how far upward?
“Whether I’m ready or not, I guess we’ll find out starting with the first game,” Barnes said. “But I’m willing to put in the work. And that’s the biggest thing I’ve learned from coach [Rick] Carlisle.
“He said: ‘It’s going to be a process. We believe you’re ready. We think you can be that player. But there’s going to be some growing pains just because you’re going to be adjusting to some different things.’”
Among the things Barnes will have to adjust to is having the ball in his hands a lot more than he did when playing alongside Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and [Draymond] Green.
And it’s not just about getting more shots. It’s about making decisions with the ball and determining the flow of the Mavericks’ offense.
Meanwhile, Barnes’ new point guard sees unfinished business in Dallas. Sefko spoke with Deron Williams about signing another one-year contract with the Mavs and his thoughts on his new teammates…
He had surgery to correct a sports hernia after last season, which ended with him not being able to contribute for
much of the stretch run and in the playoffs.
“I’d have liked to be here for a little longer,” Williams said of the one-year deal. “We’ll see how it goes. It is what it is. For sure, I wanted to be back. I felt like I had some unfinished business at the end of last year the way things ended and I wasn’t able to be on the court. Hopefully I’ll stay healthy because I’m excited about this team.”
Williams said the changes in the offseason, bringing aboard Barnes and Andrew Bogut in particular, should help offset the loss of Chandler Parsons and Zaza Pachulia.
“We’re definitely going to miss Chandler, but Harrison stepping in, that’s not a downgrade,” Williams said. “It’s going to be great to see how he handles being a go-to guy. He’s kind of been in the shadows (at Golden State). We’ll see what he can do now with the ball in his hands. And I’m looking forward to playing with big Bogut. I’ve been a fan of his for awhile. He’s definitely a player point guards like to play with.”
