Kings need to move on from Barnes.

Who cares about the beard Barnes, just give us a consistent 15pts a night. He rarely ever scored single digits for us last year and this year it's like every other game we get a turd out of him.
 
Sad thing is, there have been at least 6 games that the KINGS should have won but didn’t. If they had, HB would be eligible to appear on the cover of GQ or JET magazine with a clean-cut look right about now.
 
You have to look at some of the changes around the player as well. It's not a coincidence when you see a difference in effect depending on how the player is used or the position they play. Some players get hot, go on long cold spells. But Walton to his credit has tried a variety of things out but it shouldn't have taken him this long to see the things that were working for most of that time. Let alone let injuries dictate the necessity to do those things.
The Kings sucked this bad with Barnes under Joerger without injuries.
 
Am I wrong, or is the love picking up a bit for Barnes?
Should never have dropped off. Kings fans have been unreasonably fickle lately for some reason. I personally think it's because of the customers the Kings are targeting: new fans who don't get the game. There is a noticeable drop off in the sophistication of Kingsfans recently. Leave it to these Kings fans to shun the one veteran guy who's a team player, does the the little things, is a two way player, a great teammate, doesn't go for stats, and has championship experience. Yeah let's toss that guy to the curb if he has the tiniest of slumps and doesn't make the ESPN highlight reel.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
Barnes is not the problem, has never been the problem, and will not be the problem. D Fox has to shoot FTs and the 3 better, Buddy needs to figure out how to contribute to winning as a starter or be OK with being a flamethrower off the bench, and Bagley needs to get healthy and come back moving the ball and playing D. Then we can get an idea of where this team can go.
I truly believe Buddy is warming up to the 6th man spot, especially since he's generally out there at the END of the game. I just don't get the feeling he's anywhere near as distraught about coming off the bench as some want us to believe.
 
Barnes has really cut down on his isolation offensive game and as a result with his defense capabilities has become a solid part of this team for the last few weeks.

I hope not only Barnes but the rest of the team keeps playing the way we have been.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
I truly believe Buddy is warming up to the 6th man spot, especially since he's generally out there at the END of the game. I just don't get the feeling he's anywhere near as distraught about coming off the bench as some want us to believe.
I would love to re-visit the summer thread we had about Buddy: 1) Is he a 6th man or a starter? 2) Does he deserve starter money? :)
From where I'm sitting, he's about 25% overpaid. He should be overjoyed at his good fortune. He got major starter's money for bench work. I call that hitting the jackpot.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
I would love to re-visit the summer thread we had about Buddy: 1) Is he a 6th man or a starter? 2) Does he deserve starter money? :)
From where I'm sitting, he's about 25% overpaid. He should be overjoyed at his good fortune. He got major starter's money for bench work. I call that hitting the jackpot.
Isn't part of his contract tied to performance? As long as he can step up and put them in the hoop when it matters the most, I'm good.
 
Am I wrong, or is the love picking up a bit for Barnes?
I never understood the dislike or apathy toward him. Is he a superstar? No. But he‘s a damn good all-around player. Well above average. He’s the type of two-way player all good teams have and need. He can do a bit of everything. And he‘s a player they can go to in the post when they need a basket late in a game or to end a drought.

Like Corey Joseph, he’s also a player they can expect consistent defensive effort from and that can be trusted to stick to his man in late game situations when a stop is needed.

IDC if he‘s overpaid or not. Really good players, especially 2-way players, are valuable and typically cost a lot.
 
I guess all Barnes needed to get his play into gear was look unkempt
being unkempt takes focus and effort. that is he is mindfully staying that way until Kings make the playoffs (someone said). my point being that it took focus and effort and intent and attention to detail to play that well.. and not just him, the team as a whole
 
Barnes has played a lot of minutes the last two years including last summer. He was a disappointment when he had to try and do isolation ball (ala Rudy) . Working hard on defense and playing a lot of minutes also will affect the players offensive output in most cases.

Fortunately we have more help lately that allows the load to be spread around and has helped open up Barnes game which has showed as of late.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
Isn't part of his contract tied to performance? As long as he can step up and put them in the hoop when it matters the most, I'm good.
Yep. I'm just talking about the $80 mill that is not related to performance. If he's a sub, you look at the $15 mill/year area, a 25% reduction.

With these stories of Buddy's unhappiness starting to surface, I'm really wondering if some of it has to do with the incentives that you mentioned. It could be hard to reach some of these incentives if he's not a starter. So maybe the retort that Grant is saying on the radio - he's got his money, he should just focus on winning - isn't exactly correct.

IMO, Buddy is in his "rightful" position on this team as the potent 6th man. I continue to be skeptical that we've got the 2G starter of the future in Bogs. Lastly, Bazemore is a perfect stop-gap at the 2G. If he's not a legit starter at the 2G, then he's at least a part of one. I sure hope they sign him up for two to three years.
 
Yep. I'm just talking about the $80 mill that is not related to performance. If he's a sub, you look at the $15 mill/year area, a 25% reduction.

With these stories of Buddy's unhappiness starting to surface, I'm really wondering if some of it has to do with the incentives that you mentioned. It could be hard to reach some of these incentives if he's not a starter. So maybe the retort that Grant is saying on the radio - he's got his money, he should just focus on winning - isn't exactly correct.

IMO, Buddy is in his "rightful" position on this team as the potent 6th man. I continue to be skeptical that we've got the 2G starter of the future in Bogs. Lastly, Bazemore is a perfect stop-gap at the 2G. If he's not a legit starter at the 2G, then he's at least a part of one. I sure hope they sign him up for two to three years.
He is scoring more points and at a higher clip; so I think it should help him reach his incentives.
If it is a minute reduction, I get some of it. But his D was so bad and he kept making dumb turnovers he should start by being critical towards himself before he starts blaming others (if that is the case).
 
I'm a Barnes detractor and will gladly eatcrow if he keeps this play up. He is hitting the three a lot more consistently (with a lot less hesitation, even when his defender is close) after the break, which speaks to what others are saying about fresher legs. I hope he can keep it up!
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
He is scoring more points and at a higher clip; so I think it should help him reach his incentives.
If it is a minute reduction, I get some of it. But his D was so bad and he kept making dumb turnovers he should start by being critical towards himself before he starts blaming others (if that is the case).
I agree. He looks to me that he's playing as a good team player, so I'm not too concerned about the stories.

If All Star is one of the incentives, coming off the bench isn't going to help him in that regard.