According to Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com, the Denver Nuggets have reached a contract agreement with Will Barton in the range of three years, $11 million.
Barton is the first free agent the Nuggets have signed this offseason which speaks volumes about the confidence Tim Connelly has in the former Portland Trailblazer. At a rate of roughly $3.6 million per year Connelly has certainly made a solid investment in the young swingman.
As is often the case in the NBA, your environment can dictate your individual success as much as the work you put in during your spare time. In Portland, Barton was stuck behind talented wings like Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum, C.J. McCollum and Mo Williams. In Denver, with only Randy Foye to compete with at the shooting guard position, Barton thrived averaging 11 points, five rebounds and two assists in only 24 minutes of action per night. At 24, with his best basketball still ahead of him, Barton should end up becoming a valued asset for the Nuggets off the bench as he continues to develop.
Back in late April I detailed the Nuggets’ top offseason priorities and mentioned retaining Barton as part of the checklist:
I’ve been a Will Barton fan for a while. He was one of my favorite sleepers in the 2012 draft and as any draftnik well knows, once you attach yourself to a collegiate or foreign prospect, it’s hard to let go.
Though Barton hasn’t exactly panned out the way I (or Portland) thought, he’s still only 24 and on the upswing of his career. After being traded to the Nuggets in February he averaged 11 points, five boards, two assists and a steal in only 24 minutes of action per game, including nine separate occasions where he scored 15 points or more.
What I love most about Barton is that he’s the exact type of player the Nuggets absolutely must sign this offseason (more on this later). He plays hard, he puts forth effort on defense, he’s positive, he wants to be in Denver and he listens to what his coach tells him to do.
It’s been several months since I wrote the above snippet but nothing has changed in my position. Barton is a team player. He puts forth effort on defense. He can score the rock. He’s really athletic. He’s a good guy. And as far as I’m concerned that’s exactly the type of player you want on your roster when attempting to build a professional, winning culture. This is a solid signing to kick off free agency for Connelly and an excellent overall addition to a young Nuggets team looking to establish a hard-nosed defensive identity under new head coach Michael Malone.
