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Sacramento Kings: 3 reasons why Harrison Barnes opting-out is a good thing

By Justin Fried

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 11: Harrison Barnes #40 of the Sacramento Kings passes the ball against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on March 11, 2019 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 11: Harrison Barnes #40 of the Sacramento Kings passes the ball against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on March 11, 2019 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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Sacramento Kings
PHILADELPHIA, PA – MAY 09: Tobias Harris #33 of the Philadelphia 76ers reacts against the Toronto Raptors in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at the Wells Fargo Center on May 9, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 76ers defeated the Raptors 112-101. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Sacramento Kings Harrison Barnes (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

2. Kings could explore bigger, better options

That said, if a team were to potentially overpay in pursuit of Barnes’ services, it’s likely that he wouldn’t hesitate to jump at the offer. Even in a crowded free agent market, some team could get antsy and fall in love with the skillset Barnes brings to the table and offer him upwards to $80+ million.

And if that’s the case, the Kings would be left with a hole at the position. However, they’d also be left with a good chunk of extra cap space. Cap space that they could use to both fill the void left by Barnes’ departure and sign a potential superstar player to a max deal.

Philadelphia 76ers small forward Tobias Harris would seem like a logical fit.

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Harris is a prototypical “three-and-D” player who has been an excellent player throughout his eight-year career despite never making an All-Star game. The soon-to-be 27-year-old would be an instant improvement over Barnes and give the team a legitimate star player to go along with their existing core.

The Kings currently have around $60 million in available cap space with Barnes’ $25.1 million now off the books. That number doesn’t account for a $6.3 qualifying offer for center Willie Cauley-Stein, $1.6 million in non-guaranteed money for backup point guard Frank Mason, or a team option for Yogi Ferrell worth $3.1 million.

With the Kings unlikely to pay any of those figures, that would give them more than enough to sign Harris and address the center and backup point guard positions. If Barnes doesn’t come back, the Kings would still have options.

Not just any options, bigger and better options.

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