New Rumor Shines Light On Harrison Barnes' Future With Sacramento Kings

The NBA season is starting to heat up after most of the teams in the league have played roughly 17 games, and the rumor mill is starting to churn out some noteworthy updates about players who many believe are up on the trading block.

Chief among them is Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes.

Barnes has had a positive impact on the Kings since being traded to them during the 2018-19 season and eventually re-signing with them on a four-year, $85 million contract in the summer of 2019.

But with Barnes set to enter free agency in the summer of 2023, the Kings are rumored to be looking for a trade partner that will net them a decent return among contenders pushing to better their chances at a possible NBA championship.

However, the possibility of a trade materializing between now and the trade deadline in mid-February appears to be slim to none.

"According to a lead source, the Kings are not currently involved in any trade talks regarding Harrison Barnes," Kings insider James Ham reported, without naming his source.

He continued, "They are focused on building chemistry with this group of players, and the positive start to the season."

Sacramento has been such a pleasure to watch this season after seeing Barnes work well with guard De'Aaron Fox and two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis – whom they acquired from the Indiana Pacers ahead of last season's trade deadline.

Averaging a double-double of 17.7 points, 10.8 rebounds along with 5.9 assists while shooting the ball at a 58.3% clip, Sabonis helped the Kings post a 9-6 record, and is currently in the thick of the race for a playoff spot.

Fox is currently on pace to have career highs in field goal percentage, three-point percentage, free throw percentage and rebounds per game as he continues to lead the Kings out of the basement of irrelevancy in the ever-brutal Western Conference.

For Barnes' part, he is on a bit of a down year as he is currently averaging the least points of his career since his final year with the Golden State Warriors while shooting 25.5%from beyond the arc.

Despite what appears to be a down year for Barnes, the Kings have been using him as a complementary star alongside Sabonis and Fox that teams simply could not leave alone on the arc lest he gets hot from beyond the arc.

The interest in Barnes is definitely warranted as he slots in perfectly as a 3-and-D winger for any competing team that sorely needs it, best exemplified by the Toronto Raptors, Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets.

With how well the Kings have been playing to open the season so far, there is no reason for them to trade him just yet.