Confusing Harrison Barnes trade proposals should drive Spurs fans mad

Harrison Barnes needs to remain wearing the silver and black next season. The rumors about him being traded can go away.

Barnes was acquired prior to this past season as part of a three-team deal involving the Bulls and the Kings. The former Tar Heel was a quality addition for the Spurs, starting all 82 games this season in his age-32 season. He’s also under contract for one more season.

Averaging just over 27 minutes per game, Barnes chipped in with 12.3 points per game and 3.8 rebounds per game.

His biggest impact was from behind the three-point line, as he shot a career-best 43% from that range, tied for 6th best in the NBA. This wasn’t a statistical anomaly either; he averaged about the same 4.4 shots per game from that distance that he did during his six seasons in Sacramento, so shooting is what he does.

Barnes is the best long range shooter the team has

Spurs Nation has been clamoring for shooters on the roster for quite some time now. Barnes delivered at an excellent rate last season, and his reward is to have his name included in trade proposals.

It’s understandable. After all, he is 32 years old; he’s not getting any younger. To the contrary, however, his numbers are also getting better. Barnes’ true shooting percentage this past season was .656, the highest of his career. His three-point attempt rate was .527, also the highest of his career.

Barnes’ turnover percentage was the lowest of his career at 6.1%, and his 5.6 win shares were the fourth-best of his 13-year career.

Harrison did his most damage with the three-point shot from the corner, as he attempted about 54% of his threes from a corner. He made nearly 48% of those shots as well. It's clear Barnes is a plus shooter, even at an advanced age for an NBA player.

It makes sense why other teams would want him included in a package back from the Spurs. It also makes sense why fans talking around the cooler at work would think he’d be a player other teams would covet.

Barnes is too valuable to the team with his current skillset to be moved

From the outside looking in, the hope has to be that these rumors are just fans or talking heads musing about possible ransoms it would take to acquire a top player.

Brian Wright and the Spurs organization as a whole have done a wonderful job thus far during the rebuild phase that the organization is going through. They won’t be willing to sacrifice the shooting ability they’ve been craving for years in order to obtain a player who may not have that same ability.

The Spurs usually do the right thing. They won’t disappoint here. Barnes will continue to wear the silver and black.