NBA free agency rumors: Harrison Barnes declines Kings option

Harrison Barnes, acquired by the Kings from the Mavericks in a playoff push at the NBA trade deadline in February, will decline his $25.1 million player option with Sacramento for the 2019-20 season but both sides are open to exploring a new deal this summer, his agent told ESPN.com on Tuesday.

Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes is declining his $25.1M player option and becoming an unrestricted free agent, his agent, Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports, tells ESPN. Barnes, 27, and Kings are open to exploring a new deal together this summer, sources said.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 18, 2019

The Kings got Barnes in a package that included Justin Jackson and Zach Randolph as they tried to make the playoffs for the first time since 2005-06, an effort that fell short as Sacramento finished ninth in the Western Conference.

The Kings were 28-26 when they made the trade and went 11-17 the rest of the season, although the 39 wins was their most since the playoff year.

In the 28 games with the Kings, Barnes averaged 14.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 40.8 percent from 3-point range and 45.5 percent from the field. His 2018-19 scoring average dropped from Dallas, where he averaged 17.7 points per game.

Although Barnes, 27, will become an unrestricted free agent, he has talked up a young Kings core that includes Buddy Hield, De'Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley III.

He could return on a new contract (the Kings would have to hope he'd be more efficient if they're going to strike a deal), but as a long, talented wing scorer he also could be attractive on the open market.

In seven NBA seasons, he has averaged 13.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 30.7 minutes per game.