2016 NBA Free Agency Rumors: Harrison Barnes to Sign with Atlanta Hawks?

By Carlo Monzon
Harrison Barnes
Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes (40) dunks the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) in game seven of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena.  Marcio Jose Sanchez-Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports

The 2016 NBA Free Agency is all set to take place in a couple of days, and new rumors are suggesting that Harrison Barnes could leave the Golden State Warriors next season. According to those reports, he might end up with the Atlanta Hawks.

As noted by Fan Sided, the Hawks are also on the lookout of free agents and will probably sign a player or two once the market opens on July 1. Although the team is also expected to have free agents on its rosters, such as Kent Bazemore and Al Horford, it will still probably try to retain them.

But aside from re-signing these players, the Atlanta franchise could also get a new addition in the form of Barnes. According to the sports new site, Barnes will make a great fit in Atlanta because of his team-centric type of plays and attitude.

These attributes were most notably displayed during the 2016 NBA Finals series when the Warriors faced off against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Although Golden State lost the series, Barnes was still able to show that he's a great supporting player to the team's main guys, such as Draymond Green and Curry.

But aside from this, he is also an effective three-point shooter. During his last season with the Warriors, Barnes was able to make 38.3 percent of his three-point shots. He also averaged 11.7 points with 4.9 rebounds last season.

Apart from the offense, Barnes can also be groomed into a great defensive player under the guidance of Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer. At a height of 6'8", he's certainly taller than Bazemore and can become a serious threat under the basket.

With him on the team, Barnes can certainly help the Hawks, which has been named as one of the top five defensive teams during the 2015-2016 NBA season.

Of course, these are just based on rumors and it is currently not yet clear what Barnes will do once free agency begins. As for the athlete himself, he has just been selected as the latest member of Team USA for the Rio Olympic Games, according to Yahoo! Sports.