Versatile Florida State point forward Scottie Barnes possesses some of the same qualities that make Warriors veteran Draymond Green such a valuable teammate, writes Kendra Andrews of NBC Sports Bay Area. Barnes also is an unselfish player who prioritizes defense and winning over personal statistics, and could be an intriguing successor to Green if he falls to Golden State’s No. 7 pick in the upcoming 2021 draft.
Even though Barnes was a below-average jump shooter in college, Andrews notes that his Green-esque impact could offset his modest scoring contributions. In his lone season for FSU, the 6-9 Barnes averaged 10.3 PPG, 4.1 APG and 4.0 RPG, with a shooting line of .503/.275/.621.
There’s more out of the Pacific Division:
- LSU guard Cameron Thomas is scheduled to work out for the Warriors this Wednesday, tweets Nick Friedell of ESPN. The 6-4 guard averaged 23.0 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 1.4 APG during the 2020-21 NCAA season. He posted a shooting line of .406/.325/.882.
- Kings shooting guard Buddy Hield faces a potentially tenuous future with Sacramento, as he touched on in a podcast interview with Yahoo’s Chris Haynes. “I see my name in trade rumors, but I can’t control all that,” Hield said. “My job is to go out there and play basketball and everybody’s goal is to get to the playoffs and win a championship.” Hield has two years left on the four-year, $86 million contract extension he signed with Sacramento during the 2019 offseason.
- Suns head coach Monty Williams notes that Nets head coach Steve Nash, a former two-time MVP while a point guard for Phoenix, has reached out to him over text during the playoffs, tweets Mark Medina of USA Today. “It spoke to me about how that guy feels about the Suns and the fan base,” Williams said.
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