What Harrison Barnes is capable of on a given night may shock you

When the San Antonio Spurs helped DeMar DeRozan get to Sacramento, it was a peculiar deal because all they needed to do was give the Kings a place to send Harrison Barnes. That's quite a position to be in. Barnes is a veteran, but he's far from a non-factor on the basketball court, and his minutes will help this team win a lot of games.

DeRozan is the main piece in that deal, and he should be. He's the six-time all-star and career 20-point-per-game scorer. He's led teams to the playoffs as the focal point more than a few times and even got the Raptors to the Eastern Conference Finals.

But Barnes's ability is being overlooked in this equation, as the most talked about acquisition this offseason has been Chris Paul because of what he'll do for the development of the young guys and how much easier he'll make the game for Wembanyama. Now, it's the former Tar Heel's time to get his shine.

Barnes will surprise fans with explosive nights

Barnes played all 82 games last year. As the old adage goes, the best ability is availability, and he's been on the court more often than not throughout his career. However, the skills on the court are what will energize Spurs fans. Last season, Barnes only averaged 12 points, but he maneuvered his way through being the third, fourth, or fifth option on any given night on a deep Kings team.

However, he dropped 20 or more points 10 times and cracked 30 on three occasions, including a career-high 39 points against the team that drafted him, the Golden State Warriors. He finished that game 7-12 from three, and by the end of the game, they were feeding him consistently as he kept delivering.

Barnes is a legit 6'8" and strong. He can score in various ways and has had the ability to punish mismatches since his time at North Carolina. He can get in the post and score over either shoulder, finish at the basket, knock down pull-up jumpers, and operate from the triple threat, and you'll see him do all of those things in his highlights from that night.

The Iowa-born hooper is a significant upgrade over Julian Champagnie, who played a solid role last year but was never a threat to put up this kind of production. Barnes knows how to play his role, but his role can morph depending on what the team needs on a given night, and that's an incredibly valuable skill to have on the team.