When Harrison Barnes signed his four year, $94 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks back in very distant past of 2016, it wasn’t entirely clear what kind of role Rick Carlisle and the Mavericks foresaw for Barnes in Dallas, even if the dollar amount might have suggested something.
Barnes was a pedigreed high school and college scorer, but in the NBA he had been primarily a 4th or 5th option, if perhaps one who occasionally hinted at being capable of more. Barnes joined a Maverick team that retained the top two scorers from the 2014-15 season, and there was reason to think the 24 year old might be somewhat deferential to a largely veteran group led by Dirk Nowitzki and Deron Williams.