Spurs must follow Klay Thompson blueprint to solve growing Harrison Barnes problem

In San Antonio's latest loss to the Pelicans (ew), Harrison Barnes only played 19 minutes. There were only two players who got into that game who played fewer minutes than the 14-year veteran, and they were both rookies. The writing on the wall is already there, so now it's time to commit and put him on the bench, similar to what the Mavericks did with Klay Thompson.

Thompson was and, for all intents and purposes, still is one half of the Splash Brothers. His run with Steph Curry in Golden State solidified him as one of the best shooters in the history of the game. He has just as much cachet as any aging player in the league, and yet he was moved to the bench. If he can do that, so can HB.

Barnes could improve with a different role

This doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing situation. There are more than a handful of fans and a few analysts who have suggested moving Barnes to another team, but the solution to a problem isn't always to trade it away. I understand he's on the last year of his deal, but unless the Spurs are certain they'd get an upgrade who can contribute immediately and going forward, they may want to pause on that.

Putting him on the bench could be what he needs to get his game back. I'd actually love to see a starting lineup with De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Victor Wembanyama, and Luke Kornet. That particular group has only spent five total minutes on the floor together. That's not enough time to give us any information whatsoever.

I'm also open to just replacing HB with Julian Champagnie. Jules has been the +/- god over the past month. While everyone else has been up and down, he's remained pretty consistent. The spacing for Wemby, Fox, and Castle certainly increases by rolling with Champ instead of Kornet. However, nobody gets more screen assists for this team than Luke, and it's not even close.

Whatever Coach Johnson does, he needs to do it soon so the team can get reps with their new look, because outside of a small stretch, he hasn't been good all season. The trade deadline is on February 5. That's a little over a week away, and a trade certainly isn't off the table. But if they're not going to move him to a new city, they should move him to the bench. They'll be better off.