Harrison Barnes came into the NBA in 2012 with one of the best draft classes of the past decade.
He had the good fortune of being selected by Golden State, which would win a championship in Barnes’ third season.
That was the highlight of a stay with the Warriors that ended when Barnes became a Maverick in the summer of 2016.
Barnes, who returns for the first time to American Airlines Center as a Sacramento King on Tuesday night, remembers now that it took a fair share of perseverance to get through his first couple of seasons in the league.
While the Warriors were becoming a monster team virtually overnight, Barnes’ rise to success was a bit less meteoric. He came into the league with Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal and Andre Drummond – all of whom have been all-stars.
“I remember in my first year when I got drafted seeing guys taking different steps,” Barnes told mavs.com Tuesday after the Kings’ shootaround at AAC. “Whether it was AD, Lillard, Bradley Beal – seeing them take off and leading their teams as all-stars, making the playoffs. All that type of stuff.
“And I remember thinking: I’m just not making those same progressions as quickly as them. You continue to work and continue to work and then you realize, everyone’s journey is different. The biggest thing I try to do is try to get better and as long as I continue to improve – I may not have the takeoff velocity of some other people – but I know I’ll continue to rise.”
That attitude has served Barnes well throughout his career. He was a respected and well-liked member of the Mavericks for two and a half seasons. He got traded last month to the Kings as the Mavericks needed to shed salary for the upcoming free-agent frenzy this summer.
During his time with the Mavericks, Barnes ingratiated himself with the community, particularly with projects in Oak Cliff and other south Dallas areas.
He also went from being a solid role player with the Warriors to a consistent 19-point scorer with the Mavericks.
Then came the trade that landed him with a Kings team that is hanging on to playoff hopes, although they would need a minor miracle and, as Barnes said. “We need to win out, basically,” he said.
Barnes is the kind of person who rolls with the punches very well. He makes the best of situations, even if they aren’t always ideal. For that reason, he knows that even though the Mavericks dealt him away to hopefully sweeten their future, that doesn’t mean the door is permanently closed on Barnes perhaps someday returning to Dallas.
“In this business, you just never know what’s going to happen,” Barnes said. “If you’d have told me in my first year that things would happen this way seven years in, I wouldn’t have believed you. But this is where we’re at. And you kind of have to embrace the moment, enjoy every moment.
“When I was with the Warriors, I was fully invested there. When I was here, I was fully invested here. Now that I’m with the Kings, I’m fully invested there. And whatever the future holds, you have to invest it.
“Anything’s possible. We’ve seen big trades happen a lot. And I enjoyed my time here.”
Barnes’ reception at Tuesday’s game was indicative of how the fans feel about him. And the Mavericks, who produced a minute-long video as a tribute to Barnes’ time with the organization. It featured moments of Barnes on and off the court.
“There was a lot of love,” Barnes said. “Getting that tribute video, the fans – we had some long seasons here – but they came out every night and made it super special. It was good to come back and get a win.”
Which, of course, matters the most to him. He’s happy that the Kings still have a remote shot at the playoffs and pulled to .500 with their 125-121 comeback win on Tuesday. Barnes hit three of his five 3-pointers on his way to 18 points.
“The potential is crazy here,” Barnes said. “We’ve had some tough bumps, but we’re getting some good chemistry.”
Said Rick Carlisle of Barnes: “He had the kind of game you come to expect from him – a workmanlike, consistent game in all areas. He had some timely buckets. He’s in a good situation and I’m happy for him. I wish we still had him here because he’s a hell of a player. But business is business. And he’ll do great there. And we’ll do well with whatever happens this summer with the space it opened up.”
Barnes was averaging 17.7 points when he was traded in early February. In 19 games with the Kings, he’s averaged 14.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. The rebounding would represent a career high for him. He’s also shot 38.9 percent from 3-point range, which is exactly what his accuracy was in his 49 games with the Mavericks this season.
Barnes’ trade to the Kings, which fetched fellow North Carolina Tar Heel Justin Jackson (along with the quickly waived Zach Randolph), came about a week after the Mavericks acquired Kristaps Porzingis from New York.
Despite that deal, Barnes said he wasn’t sure that a trade involving him was coming down the tracks at him.
“There’s a lot of things you can look back in retrospect and say, I see this, I see that,” he said. “But the biggest thing is focusing on moving forward. Both franchises are in a good position and obviously I’m excited to be where I’m at.”
Barnes values his time in Dallas and particularly getting to know teammates like Dirk Nowitzki, for whom Barnes has a profound respect. Barnes has always had a good work ethic, but it grew even more by hanging around Nowitzki.
“His legacy has been cemented for a long time,” Barnes said. “His ability to change the game with the stretch-four position – look at all the guys coming into the league who imitate Dirk or he was their idol coming up.”
And Nowitzki’s sense of humor left a mark on Barnes, too.
“We were joking before the season about how long it would take for him to pass Wilt (Chamberlain for sixth on the scoring list),” Barnes said. “But it was great to see. He got bumped down to seven and then got back up to six. It was great to see.”
Twitter: @ESefko
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