There was a rumor that David Lee would be coming to Utah. Many of us wondered why would Utah take on his contract. I wondered out loud if Barnes would be a part of that deal.
Well, I read this tonight from Zach Lowe:
"But their cap sheet is structured so that every time someone is due a raise, another big deal comes off the books. The Dubs can max out Green this summer, re-sign Stephen Curry to a $30 million mega-max deal in two years, and — if they play their cards right — still have enough money to nab a big free agent at some point during that process. It may cost them Harrison Barnes, but that’s a trade-off the Warriors will make if they have to."
https://grantland.com/the-triangle/winners-and-losers-in-the-nba-playoffs/
Boom. There you go. If GS wants to clear cap room, this is a way to do sign Green, and clear room right now:
Utah trades Burke and their pick to GS for David Lee and Harrison Barnes. Why does GS do this? Two reasons:
1 - They are going to lose Barnes this year or next year. They can't keep him. He will be too expensive, and Lowe illustrates this above.
2 - This move can get them down to 60 million, 7 million under the cap. They can then add some vets to help them win another title. Plus they add a draft pick. Plus Livingston has been terrible for them. Burke may be an upgrade for GS.
Why does Utah do this? They do take on Lee for a year, but they clear 15 million the summer of 2016. They get a year or two trial run on Barnes, who is a valuable player. Better than anyone they can get on the market. This also doesn't affect Exum's development. Utah would still need another vet PG, but would have added a big and a potential very, very good player.
After this trade, GS would have a lottery pick and a cap number of 60 million.
I'd do this if I were Utah. Look at this team:
Exum/vet PG/Cotton
Hayward/Burks
Barnes/Hood
Favors/Booker/Lee
Gobert/Favors
That team makes the playoffs. I really, really like that team.