NBA Rumors: Los Angeles Clippers To Sign Harrison Barnes In NBA Free Agency

Harrison Barnes is quite possibly the most intriguing name to hit open free agency this offseason. There are a lot of talented players in the NBA free agency market, but not many that are restricted like Barnes. He will have to sign an offer sheet with any team that he chooses, and the Golden State Warriors will have the chance to match that offer.

There will be a lot of teams interested in signing Barnes when free agency opens up. He still has a lot of potential to work his way into, which will only help his value.

John Buhler of FanSided opined that the Los Angeles Clippers could be one of the teams interested in signing Barnes this offseason to an offer sheet.

Throughout the course of the 2015-16 NBA regular season with the Warriors, Barnes ended up averaging 11.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. He shot 46.6 percent from the field overall and knocked down 38.3 percent of his attempts from behind the three-point arc. Those numbers show some of the potential that Barnes has, although he could put up much bigger stats with a bigger role.

At just 24-years-old, Barnes is far from reaching his full potential. Golden State has not been able to give him the role of being a legitimate top scorer. That has held him back a bit, although he hasn’t seemed to mind it to this point in time.

If the Clippers were able to sign Barnes, the biggest weakness of finding a legitimate No. 3 scorer would be completely fixed.

Chris Paul is obviously the leader of the team, while Blake Griffin when healthy has been a consistent scorer as well. Outside of those two players, the Clippers have had some issues. DeAndre Jordan has had consistency throughout his entire career, and J.J. Redick isn’t capable of creating his own shot at any given moment.

Barnes would immediately be asked to step in and take a much larger load of the scoring than he has during his entire career with the Warriors. Los Angeles would view him as their third scoring option and would ask him to shoot a lot of shots each and every night.

Los Angeles always seems to have a lot of talent on their roster, but they haven’t been able to make the NBA Finals due to the Warriors’ presence in the Western Conference. Adding Barnes would kill two birds with one stone. He would make them a much better team, and stealing him from the Warriors would weaken them at the same time.

Golden State knows how important Barnes has been to their success over the past few seasons. They are going to do everything in their power to bring him back. Barnes has been very comfortable with the Warriors, but it will all come down to whether or not he wants to break out of his support role.

It is very likely that the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers will be interested in Barnes when free agency opens as well. There are other teams that haven’t been mentioned who will place a call and gauge Barnes’ interest.

Expect to hear plenty of rumors surrounding Barnes this coming offseason. He is one of the most intriguing free agents available, and the Warriors will have a tough decision if he signs an offer sheet. Don’t be surprised if the Clippers show interest in signing Barnes and to see Doc Rivers make an aggressive push to bring in a new starting small forward.

Do you think the Los Angeles Clippers should try to sign Harrison Barnes this offseason? Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below!

[AP Photo/R Brent Smith]