Harrison Barnes Named Spurs Player Who Should Be Traded This Season

Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley went through all 30 NBA rosters Friday and pulled one trade candidate from each. For the San Antonio Spurs, it was Harrison Barnes.

The Spurs are the reigning Western Conference champions. Buckley's choice for them was a 34-year-old forward who re-signed in June.

Five other Spurs forwards sit at the end of Buckley's case.

"The Spurs re-signed Barnes this summer, and he took a big paycut to stay, so there is obviously a mutual appreciation of the other," Buckley wrote. "His appearance here, then, is more about the lack of obvious alternatives."

"We could have gotten bold and put De'Aaron Fox, but we don't actually believe it," Buckley continued. "Not yet, anyway. As talented as San Antonio's young guards are, Fox is still the best option for organizing and running an offense."

"So, it's sort of Barnes by default," Buckley added. "His experience and willingness to stay within his role are helpful to have, but a forward rotation featuring Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, Keldon Johnson, Carter Bryant and Tobias Harris could easily get by without him."

Barnes agreed on June 29 to a one-year, $8 million contract, and the Spurs announced it in July. His previous deal was a three-year, $54 million contract signed with Sacramento in July 2023.

A year after that signing, the Kings sent him to San Antonio in the three-team sign-and-trade that moved DeMar DeRozan to Sacramento. In his first Spurs season, Barnes started all 82 games and averaged 12.3 points while shooting 43.3% from 3. He waived his trade kicker as part of the deal so San Antonio could keep Julian Champagnie.

Barnes and Spurs general manager Brian Wright were on the same page about the first two years, Barnes said in comments reported by Roundtable's Jonah Kubicek.

"I expressed to Brian [Wright] before last season and at the deadline that this was the place I wanted to be at," Barnes said. "I felt like we had done a lot in the first two years of me being here, and I was excited that he felt the same way."

Last season, he averaged 9.9 points and 2.8 rebounds and shot 38.8% from 3. He made 52 starts before Champagnie took his spot in the lineup in February, and Champagnie has since signed a new three-year deal.

Since the start of the 2022-23 season, Barnes has played in 323 of a possible 328 regular-season games. In two seasons with the Spurs, he has 159 appearances and 134 starts, averaging 11.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists.

His minutes dropped in the playoffs. Barnes did not play in the final three games of the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks, who won the title.

The Spurs won 22 games the season before Barnes arrived.

"Everyone can look at last year and say this would be a situation to come to, but when I first got here, that was not the case," Barnes explained. "I'm excited for another year of that. I'm excited to continue to grow with my teammates."

The Golden State Warriors drafted Barnes seventh overall out of North Carolina in 2012, and he won a championship there in 2015. He has career averages of 13.6 points per game and 38.5% shooting from 3-point range. Barnes turned 34 in May, and this is his 15th NBA season.

Victor Wembanyama, Dylan Harper, and Stephon Castle are all still on rookie-scale contracts this season. Harris joined the forward group this offseason, and Bryant is in his second season. Roundtable's Spurs coverage also graded Barnes' 2025-26 season.

The Spurs visit the Dallas Mavericks on Oct. 24, four days into the season. They play the Knicks on Christmas Day in New York.

San Antonio went 62-20 last season, second in the West.