NBA Roundup: Barnes Issues Heartfelt Farewell, Bogut Traded, & More

There’s a lot of NBA news flying around, so here’s a quick NBA roundup to get you caught up on all the local basketball news.

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With Kevin Durant’s announcement that he would be joining the Golden State Warriors, it spelled the end of Harrison Barnes’ tenure with the only NBA team whose uniform he’d worn. Late last week, the Dallas Mavericks signed Barnes to an offer sheet, and the Warriors were left waiting, waiting on Durant’s announcement to figure out if Barnes would be back, or if he would be moving on. After Durant’s NBA-shattering news, Barnes move to Dallas became as official as it can be at this point.

Barnes is joining the Mavericks on a four-year, $94 million deal. On Monday night, Barnes took to Twitter to issue a heartfelt farewell to the Warriors, and their incredible fans.

"I just want to thank the entire Warriors organization, my teammates and coaches for the amazing four years I’ve had there. I’ve grown up in Oakland and thank everyone for all the love that was shown there from day one. You guys have been rockin with the team for decades before we got there so it was rewarding to bring a championship to the Bay. The Town, like Ames and Chapel Hill, will always be a special place to me. I’m excited to begin a new chapter in my NBA career in Dallas."

Barnes was drafted by the Warriors seventh overall by the Warriors in the 2012 draft after three season with the North Carolina Tar Heels. Over his four years with Golden State, Barnes averaged 10.1 points and 4.6 rebounds, and was quite durable for the most part. He started 81 games in his rookie year, 78 games in his second year (24 starts), and all 82 games in the Warriors’ championship season in 2014-2015. An ankle injury early in the year limited him to 66 games last season, but he averaged a career-high 11.7 points.

Despite the personal best in scoring, his shooting took a step backwards. After shooting 48.2 percent from the floor and 40.5 percent from three-point range in 2014-2015, those totals fell to 46.6 percent and 38.3 percent, respectively. His tenure ended in disappointing fashion in the NBA Finals.

In the seven-game series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Barnes averaged just 9.3 points and shot only 35.2 percent. The last three games were particularly painful, as he made just five of his 32 shot attempts as the Cavaliers swept those final three contests to erase a 3-1 Finals deficit and win the series and the NBA championship.

Still, Barnes was a key piece to the Warriors’ first championship team in more than four decades, and his contributions can’t be denied. His name will have a special place in team lore as part of the drought-breaking squad. It should be a special moment when Barnes returns to Oracle for the first time.

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Barnes is being joined in Dallas by center Andrew Bogut, who became a cap casualty with Durant’s Golden State deal. He was traded to the Mavericks mere hours after the signing. Bogut, who was scheduled to earn over $11 million next season, spent four seasons with the Warriors, and was sort of the beginning point of the Warriors’ change in philosophy after being traded for Monta Ellis.

The oft-injured Bogut played 236 games with Golden State, averaging 6.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.7 steals. He was clearly the Warriors’ best rim protector, and losing him to a bone bruise in his knee cost them dearly late in the playoffs, and his presence was sorely missed.

In exchange for Bogut, the Warriors are getting a future second-round pick.

Former Warrior, and former Sacramento King Seth Curry is also heading to Dallas, as he signed a free agent contract for two years worth $6 million. Curry, the younger brother of Stephen Curry and son of Dell Curry, never appeared in the regular season for the Warriors, but he signed a deal with them after going undrafted in 2013. He played with the team in the preseason that year, but was waived before the regular season schedule opened. He played with the Santa Cruz Warriors in the D-League in 2013-2014.

Curry played last season with the Kings, and enjoyed his most playing time and his most individual success. He appeared in 44 games with Sacramento, including nine starts, and averaged 6.8 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in just over 15 minutes of action per game. He shot 45.5 percent from the floor, and 45 percent from three-point range. He received a lot of playing time late in the season when injuries nagged the Kings, and played extremely well, averaging 15.2 points and 3.8 assists while his minutes jumped to 29.7 in the last 11 games of the year. He also showed the Curry family trait, a great ability to shoot, making 48.4 percent of his three-point attempts and 90.9 percent of his free throws.

The Kings had an opportunity to keep Curry, as he entered the offseason as a restricted free agent, which would have allowed Sacramento to match any offer he received. Instead, the Kings rescinded his qualifying offer, which in turn allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent.

Ultimately, with the additions of Aaron Afflalo, Garrett Temple, and Matt Barnes in the last couple of days, the field of guards became a bit crowded. Playing time was very difficult to come by last season, and it appeared that would be the case again next year.

Curry became a fan favorite during his time with the Kings, and his name would be mentioned plenty early in the season, when George Karl just about refused to play him in anything less than an absolute blowout. He also earned a fan in Kings’ star DeMarcus Cousins, who stuck up for Curry when Karl had some disparaging remarks for the young guard.

After Karl said the younger Curry has an NBA shelf life of “a couple of years“, Cousins interrupted (in the nice way) a Curry interview a few days later to tell him he’s “gonna be in this league a long time…remember that“.

At the least, Curry has two years on his contract. With another opportunity to prove he belongs, Curry can really open some eyes.

How about that, a Barnes, Bogut, Curry lineup in Dallas?

Because we haven’t talked about the Mavericks enough yet, the Warriors signed former Dallas center Zaza Pachulia to fill the void left in the middle of the court. The 13-year veteran spent last season in Dallas, his lone campaign with the team, and averaged 8.6 points, his highest total sinc the 2006-2007 season. He also set a career-high by grabbing 9.4 rebounds per game. Though his numbers aren’t gaudy (.3 blocks and .7 steals per game over his career), Pachulia is known as a smart player and tough defender.

Next: A Closer Look at Damian Jones' Injury

Also, the Warriors are rescinding center Festus Ezeli’s qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent. As speculated, another Vanderbilt Commodore (rookie Damian Jones) will likely take the place of Ezeli (a former Commodore himself) on the roster.

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