4 forwards the New Orleans Pelicans should target in NBA free agency

Harrison Barnes, Sacramento Kings, Unrestricted Free Agent

The former 2015 NBA champion enjoyed a good season between the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings with a statline of 16/4/1 on 42% shooting from the field and 39.5% from beyond the three-point line. Harrison Barnes has had a very solid career that he is looking to cash in on for a second time this coming summer.

After the Golden State Warriors lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals, it became known that the Warriors would pursue Kevin Durant in free agency, which left Barnes as the odd man out with veteran Andre Iguodala as he looked to cash in for a bigger payday. The Dallas Mavericks signed Barnes to a 4 year, $94 million dollar contract where he did emerge as a young star on the rise, including posting a career-high in points in the 2016-17 season with 19.2.

Barnes continued a productive stint with Dallas, but the Mavericks decided to move off of Barnes in a salary dump that sent him to the Sacramento Kings in February of 2019. Barnes did well in his 28 games with the Kings, giving them 14/5/1 over that period. On June 18th, Barnes declined his player option in looking for a better long term deal.

Now, Barnes is only 26 years old with a NBA championship and was a part of the 73 regular season win Golden State Warriors, so he knows how to win. Alvin Gentry is very familiar with him, and he could definitely give a jolt of energy to the New Orleans Pelicans.

The question will ultimately come down to if the New Orleans Pelicans want to spend that level of money on Barnes knowing they have Brandon Ingram ready to roll. Barnes would be a fantastic addition to the New Orleans Pelicans and could give the team a chance to show the young core what it is like to win at a consistent level.