May 19, 2013

NBA Draft Rumors: Cavs Targeting Harrison Barnes With 4th Pick

June 6, 2012 by 31 Comments

A report from Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated on Wednesday morning indicates that the Cavaliers’ front office is targeting North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes in the this month’s NBA Draft. Amick states that it’s unlikely Chris Grant will let Barnes go past No. 4, if he’s available there. Chad Ford wrote last week that Cavs were hoping to get either Michael Kidd-Gilchrist or Brad Beal, but it’s also likely those two follow Anthony Davis to round out the three picks ahead of Cleveland. But according to Amick, Barnes is certainly in the running as well, perhaps even if either MKG or Beal are still out there. From Amick at SI:

The Cavaliers are very high on the 20-year-old small forward and appear unlikely to let him slip past them at the No. 4 slot in the June 28 draft, according to sources. While this week’s predraft combine in Chicago and subsequent team workouts could always change things, rival executives are planning for Barnes to be off the board by the time the fifth pick (Sacramento) rolls around.

“He’s a pretty big deal to them,” one such executive said.

Grant would certainly have a tough decision to make, but it seems like they’ve been high on Barnes for two full years of scouting now. Of course, it also helps that he has a very close friendship and shares an agent with 2011 pick and Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving. Both Barnes and Irving were considered the top two prospects of their high school class.

[Related: What Should The Cavs Do At #4]

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  • mgbode

    or could be posturing if Davis/Robinson/MKG go in the top3.  Kings already have a glut at SG and really want a guy like Barnes to help change the culture on that team.  

    I wouldn’t mind taking Barnes if Davis/MKG are off the board and moreso if Beal is gone as well. 

  • CleFanVA

    I am starting to come around on Barnes. I think I would almost take him over MKG now, he’s more of a stretch, and that’s what we need. I would love to see us get Doron Lamb at 24. I think he could be every bit as good as Beal. 

  • zonk

    Whether it is Beal, Barnes or MKG at #4, the more I look at this, the more I think it makes sense to move Varejao, as the Cavs are not going to be contenders until Andy is out of gas.

    What value does he have after his recent injuries? Are we best off keeping him one more season and trying to move him at the trade deadline next year? I have to believe a team like Boston would move a 1st round pick at #21 for Andy to try and milk one more year out of their current group, especially if they make it to the finals this year.

  • BenRM

    I’m liking Beal less and less…6’3″ is really short for a 2. 

  • mgbode

    did you see our frontcourt without Andy last season?

    honestly, I have gone back and forth on the issue.  if we get enough value, then, yes we should move him.  but, it is going to be nearly impossible to get enough value for him (lottery pick – if we can get Zeller, then I’d let Andy go as Tyler will be cheap and with the team longer). 

    at #21, you are getting maybe Fab Melo and hoping he turns into Andy someday knowing he probably won’t.

  • mgbode

    if you think he can become like Wade (who is 6’4″), then it’s fine.  if not, then you need to not draft him that high.

    his full stat profile bodes well.

  • NamedMyKidPrice

    Can he get it done at the Defensive end?  Watching conference finals im realizing that if you can lock a team down and run good offensive sets for open looks you can go a long way.  I would def take MKG over Barnes and im kind of saying Waiters at this point too.

  • The_Matt_Of_Akron

     If he can infect all the young guys with his hustle and energy, then he’s worth keeping.

  • Jack

    go get him

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=623181281 Alex Mathews

    Barnes is a physical talent…but I’m weary about him. Not only about his dedication to the game, but he’s a guy who talks about his “brand”. His media relations skills need a lot of work.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=623181281 Alex Mathews

    Davis is going #1, no doubts there.

  • https://twitter.com/jimkanicki jimkanicki

    full trust in chris grant.

  • Harv 21

    Pssst - Chris Grant, maybe you shouldn’t confess to “rival executives” who you’re targeting. Especially before the the combines and workouts, cuz Sam Amick might be listening and you don’t want to ruin your credibility.

    Another draft, another silly season.

  • http://twitter.com/PEngle39 Phil Smith

    Unbelievable kid. None of those things you’ve said are remotely true. High character individual and very intelligent.

    Scouts have said the only person to stop Paul Pierce from averaging 30 points a game was Roy Williams; same is being said about Barnes.

  • TobaccoRoad

    Jeremy Lamb

  • BrownsFanSF

    Teams have been trying to find “their Andy” since he burst on to the scene 3-4 years ago.  It’s funny that a player as controversial as Andy (the apparent flop master) has become an NBA archetype.  Not one of them matches the original.

    How hard do you think it would be to find a borderline 7-footer that cuts without the basketball and tries really hard?  And yet, with all the imitators (Birdman, Noah, Lopez, Faried) there is still only one Andy. 

  • BenRM

    the “brand” part is true. 

  • Steve

    But you shouldn’t be building a roster that will win as many games as possible next year. You have to build the next Cavs contender. If Varejao isn’t going to be on that (and he almost certainly won’t) because it will take a few years to acquire and develop the pieces necessary, then you have to move him for something that will be on the next Cavaliers contender. It’s just like the Sessions trade. Yes, Sessions is a better player than who we will likely get at 24, but there’s too little value to just hold on to Sessions until his contract runs out.

    Maybe you can get 21 and 22, and package up some combination of your 5 picks and move up to get a guy like Zeller

  • Steve

     His full state profile does not bode well. 44% from the floor and 34% from 3 for a supposed shooter is not great. And the Wade comparisons need to stop, asap.

  • mgbode

    if he can’t become 75% of what Wade is, then he has no business in the top5 of this draft.  obviously, you feel he does not.

    by “full stat profile” I was referring to that he averaged 6.7rbs, 2.2asts, 1.4stls, 0.8blks to go along with his scoring.  He’s an overall stat-stuffer.   That is a good thing.

    I agree he shot too many 3′s and some bad ones at that, he also took too many awkward 2′s, but he did get to the FT line pretty well.  

  • mgbode

    if Sessions in the last year of his contract gets you #24 + ability to swap in ’13, then what would it take for Grant to trade Andy?

    also, if we did obtain 21/22, then I’d worry about a team calling our bluff on a possible trade.   we’d be sitting with 4 1st round picks and 2 2nd round picks.   even a team needing as much talent as the Cavs is not bringing in 6 rookies.

    we’d have to have the 3team trade worked out all at once to make that deal I think.    if we trade Andy and get back Zeller, then sure we make that deal IMO.

  • Vindictive_Pat

    What’s funny is that Amick’s info seems to come more from what other GMs have said about the Cavs.  Because, you know, Chris Grant and his team would definitely want to make sure that if anyone knows who they want, it’s the other GMs.

  • Vindictive_Pat

    He’s all those things… just can’t create his own shot… even Roy Williams has no power over that… it’s his handle.  It needs to get better and so does his footwork.  Pierce’s dribbling skills and footwork are what allow him to get his shot off… not the absence of Roy Williams.

  • mgbode

    I have a feeling over the next month it’ll be leaked that we want Davis, MKG, Beal, Barnes, J.Lamb, Drummond, T.Robinson, PJIII, and we might even mix in a Lillard rumor just to keep everyone on their toes.

  • http://twitter.com/PEngle39 Phil Smith

    Barnes at UNC vs. Pierce at KU is incredibly striking. Similar skill-sets, athleticism, on-court demeanor, and Roy Williams used both in same fashion. Hell, even their jump shot looks similar.

    I don’t think Pierce is a strong ball-handler, but he understands the importance of spacing so by using his advanced footwork he creates space for himself. I’ve seen roughly a dozen UNC games this season and Barnes has an idea how to do it but he’s just inconsistent with it. Barnes is a better shooter though, in my opinion.

    Obviously, Pierce improved over the course of his long NBA career but i don’t think it’s out of the question to think Barnes couldn’t carve out a similar career. All experts agree Barnes will be a better pro than college player because of the vast spacing in the NBA compared to college.

  • floydrubino

    What great ownership and gm work if this is what they really want to do. We will have to go through miami for the next 5 years or so and at #4 last year and this year we will get no one to guard Lebron james on defense with one of those picks. Could of taken Leonard or Klay Thompson last year and then taken T-Rob this year and had 2 players to take him. Harrison Barnes is one of the worst defenders in the draft for the top 20 picks. Plus he has no edge to him like a Kevin Garnett or T-Rob does where he gets excited about winning and pushes other players to play harder. Hate this pick and we actually had a chance to do some great things but Gilbert and Grant missed big time if this is what they are going to do. Would you rather have T-Rob and Klay Thompson and then move up to get a guy like Moe Harkless rather than Barnes and TT and whatever whiff they will take at ##24. The front office is terrible at drafting. They are decent at acquiring picks but if you don’t use them effectively who cares.

  • Fenstemakeram08

    Watching the full game stuff on youtube I like Barnes and Lamb over MKG and Beal. MKG is the better athlete but he has no jump shot and that limits his ceiling. Beal is to short, and has bad form on his jumper, he would have it blocked I think in the NBA. Barnes is a shooter and has some moves, reminds me of a Antwan Jamison type as far as potential. Lamb has long arms and good size and can shoot the lights out, he has also occasionally shown some moves. He needs to work on his ball handling and getting to the basket more specifically. Defensively he has length, he can shoot the 3 and the medium range jumper, he ocassionally has flashed the ability to cut and dunk…I like Lamb a lot better then Beal. That said I would take Barnes over MKG in a heart-beat because of MKG’s shooting issues.

  • porckchopexpress

    If you watched last nights game you know that the road to championships over the next 5 years goes straight through Oklahoma.  In 5 years Wade is going to be 36  and that team will have been broken up for 3 years.  I wish I could live for a day in the hallucinatory universe that you dwell in where Klay Thompson is the defensive stopper for guys like Lebron.  Then again if you don’t understand basketball enough to think T Robinson is going to step out on the wing I see how you be able view Klay the way you do. 

  • mgbode

    I don’t know how to even begin to debate with someone who believes Klay+T-Rob = Defensive LeBron Stoppers

  • floydrubino

    I know nothing about basketball but when I say they have to go through Miami you couldn’t figure out to get to the finals. I was talking about getting out of the east and if you couldn’t put that together than that’s pretty funny. Then on top of it I never said these were defensive stoppers I just said they could guard them. And there is no doubt in my mind that you need guys with T-Rob’s quickness for his height to cover pick and rolls with Lebron because that’s all teams run in the playoffs. But I understand that you really can’t think past this simplistic approach that you have that teams guard lebron just with one guy straight up. And if you know anything about basketball big men have to step out because the guy they are taking is setting a pick on lebron’s defender and you will have to switch. But your mindset is so simplistic that you can’t understand this. Your views sound like they represent your name well which is simple thinking that’s lazy and never going past what easily appears on the surface. And if you read a little further I want to get Moe Harkless as well which is a long fast defender as well. I’m sure you will agree with everything gilbert does and that has given us this talent loaded roster.

  • floydrubino

    I never said stopper. And I already know what you and pork chop are all about. You have an average level of knowledge about basketball.