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The swingman free agent market this summer just added another name to the mix on Saturday when Denver Nuggets goalie Will Barton withdrew his $ 14.7 million player option according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The Nuggets will retain Bird Rights over Barton, who has played for Denver since 2015. According to Charania, Denver and Barton are both interested in a new deal, but the 30-year-old will enter the unrestricted free agent market next month. He played 56 regular season games last season, averaging 12.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists.
What could this movement signal for Evan Fournier’s market?
Barton’s decision is a bit of a surprise considering his injury issues to end the year. There are only a handful of teams with a significant margin this offseason, so Barton’s agent is unlikely to be able to capitalize on his departure and still get a raise on the player option he refused.
However, given that the Nuggets are an over-the-cap team, they’ll have no way of replacing Barton and his production if he moves past their mid-tier exception ($ 9.7 million). Jamal Murray is set to miss a good chunk of next season while recovering from a torn ACL, the Nuggets can’t afford to lose a dynamic scorer to Barton if they are to keep pace with other Western Conference contenders during the regular season. Barton’s agent knows this and will likely try to use it to leverage a long-term deal for his Denver client or another potential suitor.
Barton’s decision to test the waters of the market should help Celtics’ hopes of retaining free-winger Evan Fournier for a reasonable salary. The Celtics won’t have the chance to sign Barton as they won’t be able to offer him more than the mid-level exception, but his presence will create a more crowded market for the wings.
Apart from top talents like Kawhi Leonard and DeMar DeRozan, Barton becomes one of the best shooters in the business along with Fournier. His presence alongside other talented veteran scorers such as Tim Hardaway Jr., Kelly Oubre Jr., Duncan Robinson, Nic Batum, Reggie Bullock, Norm Powell, Doug McDermott, Andre Iguodala, Trevor Ariza, Gary Trent Jr. and Josh Richardson .
With such a limited number of teams (only 5-10 depending on what happens in the NBA Draft) with a salary cap of over $ 10 million to spend, adding guys like Barton to the market should help Boston. His availability raises the possibility that there will be one less team at stake to aggressively pursue Fournier with a big contract, as Barton could be an attractive and cheaper alternative.
There’s still plenty more dominoes to fall to help shape the free agency market in 2021, but more good players coming to the market is good news for Boston. Brad Stevens has no significant wiggle room to spend beyond the mid-level, so he wants a crowded market to help keep Fournier’s eventual price low. Barton’s availability as a veteran winger can help do just that.
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