And all of Barnes best years were playing on the best team with the best shooters. Morey had a chance to give Barnes the max too but he didn't.
What does that prove? Morey had a chance to sign Lin on a minimum deal, and instead paid him when it required dolling out guaranteed years for multiple million each. Morey did sign Brewer when he had the chance.....not to? lol. Barnes turned 24 this summer. You can call what he did in GS his "best years." I'm going to assume that by the time he's 28, like Ryno, those won't be viewed as his "best years." Everyone wishes they had do-overs. You're citing Morey not offering Barnes w/out having any idea if he would sincerely take a mulligan there. Not to mention, we really don't know if Morey ever expressed interest and/or if it was reciprocated. But, ok.
It was merely a counterpoint. It doesn't prove anything since both Anderson and Barnes haven't played more than a quarter of a season for their new respective teams.
Fair enough, and I'll grant you that if Morey looked, analyzed, and passed - that's infinitely more meaningful than any drivel I'll spout here. Doesn't change that for me, whether naively or otherwise, Barnes > Anderson.
So, what you're saying is Barnes benefited greatly by playing with Curry and Thompson. You can't make your argument both ways. Defensive win shares for Barnes past 2 years = 4.9 total Defensive win shares for Harden past 2 years = 6.8 total Don't act like Barnes is some good defensive player. My argument was exactly this. Barnes received a small reputation for being a good defensive player, but he isn't. Anderson is horrible at defense. Barnes is average to below average on defense. 1) If you look at "historical precedent", Anderson had Win Shares/48 min of 0.216 and 0.219 in his best seasons. Barnes was 0.139 and 0.116. 2) Who was so great at passing to Anderson last year? Why does he not get a pass and Barnes does? Barnes is a 37.3% career 3 point shooter who played with the best offensive scheme. Anderson is a 37.8% career 3 point shooter that has played with horrible point guards his whole career. You're telling me that Barnes is a better 3 point shooter and it wasn't close? 3) It doesn't make sense for either team to trade. My own conclusion was that Anderson was a better fit for OUR team.
Barnes last two years in GS were a result of him playing off 3 superior teammates. One can argue that is an anomoly because he will never be on that kind of roster again. When the Mavs season reaches the point of no return and all games become meaningless, I expect Barnes' stats to improve because the pressure will be off. He will thrive in that situation. Might even hit some game-winners. People will resurrect this thread and say the Mavs got what they paid for. I have no illusions about the Rockets. They are mediocre when healthy and I don't expect the trio of Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon and Nene to all last the entire season.
No, what I'm saying is that you conveniently ignored the offensive system and personnel (Harden) upgrade Anderson is benefiting from while simultaneously ignoring the equivalent downgrade for Barnes. What argument both ways? I said the data I cited is indicative, primarily, of what playing with superstar creators can do for a player. Which you felt the need to repeat? I mean, what? In the same point you're stating explicitly that Barnes has a rep as a good defender and you're telling ME not to act like he is some good defensive player. I'd like to think that I'm thoughtful and that I try hard....I'm not sure that's enough to influence an NBA players global reputation among hundreds of millions of fans. And, if it's all the same to you, I'll go on "act"ing like he's an above avg defensive player. Not sure where to help you start convincing the other 100 million either... LOL! What was that about argument both ways? C'mon! This one's too easy! So he played on a team with 3 All-NBA players. And you want to cite why his personal win shares/48 is below Anderson's? And you're citing Anderson's win shares/48 from 6 seasons ago. SIX! His rebounding% is now 10%/11% (4 yrs in a row) vs 14% when he was age 22/23 and his TS% is now low 50's vs borderline-elite 58-60% from when he was 22/23 (the season(s) you cited) Yeah, I'll tell you what, I'd take the 22 year old Ryan Anderson you cited over Harrison Barnes.....but I'd take him over THIS Ryan Anderson first. Every team in the league would give 22 yr old Ryan Anderson 4/80. Let me know when you find him so we can swap him out w/ our version. You don't have to just make crap up. Those Orlando teams had terrific creators in Turkoglu, etc and an uber-dominant double-team commanding Dwight Howard in the paint. In N.O. he had Jrue Holliday and, when healthy, Anthony Davis. Breh, you're trying too hard - what I'm telling you is what I told you. The last 2 years, Barnes was 4% better from 3-pt range. You ignored that. You ignored how close their career percentages are. You cited "Barnes is a 30% 3pt shooter". Re-read your original post and then think about the accuracy of that characterization - completely absolving itself of all other history and context. That's your conclusion. I respect that. I disagree. And I will tell you that if DMO is on the verge of signing, my personal opinion is that it does make sense for the Rockets to trade. Unless Anderson discovers a fountain of youth the negative value of his contract will only increase over time.
So not only does Morey need to draft the best available player at his pick every year, he has to get the best available free agent not already a superstar every year also? You mean he can't draft a role player at 14 to 32 range and he can't miss out on a SF that can only play part-time PF that went to another team on a max contract?
Not sure who this is directed at but, unofficially, on behalf of those directly comparing Barnes with Anderson - You're reaching a bit characterizing 'us' as demanding Morey draft perfectly and show Nostradamian foresight when it comes to the evolution of 2nd and 3rd tier FA's. This is simply, for me, about Barnes vs Ryan Anderson. And, as a derivative of that, it's about whether Barnes deserves 4/94 in this new-era NBA cap. The FA references to Lin and Brewer I personally made in a preceding post were only in response to someone saying "..Morey could have given him that deal and he passed...", and using that to conclude that Barnes isn't worth the money. What I highlighted was that everyone, every GM, every owner, every team makes mistakes. We have no idea if DM would want a second shot at Barnes v Anderson. And without that definitive input from DM, we can't use his ex-ante decision making as the gospel. Some of you guys see A, B, C, and somehow interpret it as X, Y, Z. I mean, I guess it promotes more posts on the board....yay?
Wasn't directed at you specifically. just reading through this and many threads, it just seems Morey needs to make 100% the right move all the time for people to he satisfied. We have no ideas whether Barnes wanted to come to the Rockets, or even wanted to play with Harden (or wanted to try to be the man after being 4th fiddle for so long). The issue I have is posters tend to think that if a free agent changed teams, it mean Morey should have had a chance to get him.
I formerly apologize to Barnes! This guy is a great player! That Cuban is a smart guy. He replaced that Stiff, Parson, with a clutch player like Barnes.
