Exclusive with Nuggets Will Barton: "This is just the tip of the iceberg"

The 2012 NBA draft took place on June 28th. Draft hopeful Will Barton gathered with a small group of friends and family at a hotel for the evening’s festivities. It was going to be a life changing night for Barton who was projected to be a mid-to-late first round selection, thanks in part to the 18 points and eight rebounds he averaged during his sophomore season at the University of Memphis. Barton was also named Conference USA’s Player of the Year in 2012 after leading the Tigers to a 26-9 record and an eighth seed in the Western Region of the NCAA Tournament.

As, then, commissioner David Stern announced player after player in round one of the draft, Barton’s remained on the draft board. Ahead of the draft, former Nuggets general manager Masai Ujiri brought Barton in for a group workout and all signs pointed to Denver looking to add a guard or forward. This was Barton’s range. With the 20th pick the Nuggets indeed selected a guard, but it was Evan Fournier out of France.

The Atlanta Hawks also took a guard, but it was John Jenkins with the 23rd pick. The Cleveland Cavaliers (selecting for the Dallas Mavericks) were next on the clock and they too took a wing, but it was Jared Cunningham. With the 28th pick, the Oklahoma City Thunder selected small forward Perry Jones III. The 29th and 30th picks saw the Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors select point guard Marquis Teague and center Festus Ezeli, respectively. The first round was complete, and Barton’s name remained uncalled.

In what was supposed to be a “feel good” draft night behind the scenes film from High School Hopefuls featuring Barton, instead turned out to be an intense look at the struggles a draft hopeful goes through when his name isn’t called where it should be.

First round picks in the NBA earn guaranteed contracts, while second round picks must fight for their NBA life. Players selected in the second round are not under any salary restrictions, but rarely command more than the rookie scale minimum contract. To add to the stress, teams have no obligation to tender a deal to second round picks, at all.

Barton hosted a few family members and friends in a hotel room for the draft viewing party, using the two beds as couches as they watched the draft unfold together. It was supposed to be a quick gathering before meeting up with more friends in a celebration of a Barton making the NBA. However, Will had left the room to gather his thoughts, visibly upset and understandably so.

You’ll come to find out that PTF is an important acronym for Barton, it stands for Protect the Family and it was Will that needed some protection in that instance. As mothers can often do, it was Karen Bush who reeled her son back in with an inspirational hotel hallway speech.

“I know you’re upset, but we’ve been down this road a hundred times,” said Karen Bush to her son Will. “You’ve put in a lot of hard work and you’re hurt about it because you see you’re better than a whole lot of them. So, when they call you, guess what? You take it as a number one. You don’t look at it as a 31, or 32, or 33. You still face it the same way. You are a number one draft pick. They didn’t call it, we know it. God called it. We gonna roll with that. We gonna take the number — whatever number they give you — we gonna take that. But you’re going to get out there once again and do what you’ve been doing all your life.

“Since you’ve played, you’ve had to keep going to prove it,” continued Bush. “You made them see you. You gonna do that again. You are a star. You are an NBA player, whether you have a ball in your hand or not. You understand? You did a lot of things that you should be proud of and not upset at this moment right here. You graduated high school, you led Lake Clifton to a championship. You went to preparatory school, you have a diploma from preparatory school – you led them to a championship.

“You went to Memphis, player of the year and you led them not once, twice, to two conference championships. It has nothing to do with you. You will make it. They’re going to call your name. And it’s hard because you work hard and you know you’re better than a lot of them and it hurt. And it’s okay. It’s okay. We just didn’t start fighting, we’ve been fighting all along. You said it, we gonna keep fighting.”  said Karen Bush to her son.

Barton went back into his hotel room and his name was called, but during a commercial break – adding injury to insult. He was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 40th pick of the 2012 draft. While being selected was an incredible accomplishment, Barton has used that night to add fuel to his fire.

“I think about it all the time,” Barton told BSN Denver. “It’s something that motivates me and keeps me going. When I’m playing well or achieving some of my goals, it humbles me and brings me back down to earth. It let’s me know how far I’ve come, where I want to go and that there are still people that doubt me. It’s just something that I’ll never forget. It just drives me and drives me.

“I feel like the reason I made it to this point is because I never looked at myself as a second rounder,” Barton continued. “I knew I was a first round talent. I feel like I was better than almost everyone in the draft and that my talent level was higher, it was just that I needed a chance. I came in looking at myself as a guy that could play right away. I always was working hard, preparing myself and training like I was an all star or something.”

Barton appeared to be a perfect fit in Portland and this was just the chance he needed. The team was now two years removed from a three-year stretch where they compiled a 152-94 record under core players Brandon Roy (retired in 2011 at age 27), LaMarcus Aldridge, and Nicolas Batum. They were looking to reload in the summer of 2012 with a core of Aldridge, Batum and newcomer Wesley Matthews.

Without Roy, the Blazers stumbled to a 28-38 record in the lockout shortened 2011-12 season. Portland was set up well in the offseason as they hired Terry Stotts to replace former head coach Nate McMillan (who had been fired 43 games into the 2011-12 season, 20-23) and had two lottery picks and a second round selection in the upcoming draft to bolster their young core. They selected guard Damian Lillard out of Weber State with the No. 6 pick (from the Brooklyn Nets via the Gerald Wallace trade), center Meyers Leonard out of Illinois with the No. 11 pick and finally, Will Barton with No. 40.

Portland went through some growing pains in Barton’s rookie season as they finished 33-49 in Stotts’ structured system. Barton was carving out a small role with the team as he appeared in 73 games (including five starts) averaging 4.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in 12.2 minutes per contest. Year two was supposed to be even better for Barton, but instead of building on his rookie campaign, he suddenly appeared out of Stotts’ rotation as the team rocketed to a 54-28 record – winning 21 more games than the previous season. Barton played in just 41 games and averaged a meager 9.4 minutes.

“It was frustrating, but at the same time in Portland we were winning,” said Barton. “I should be playing, I wanna play, but we’re winning so I can’t really argue with it. You can’t fix something that’s not broken. But it definitely was frustrating knowing that I could play and anytime I got in there I produced. So, that was even more frustrating.”

During those 41 games there were some bright spots, as Barton eluded. On Feb. 26th, 2013 he logged 28 minutes in a blowout win at home against the Brooklyn Nets, 124-80, and put up 20 points on 8-13 shooting, including 11 rebounds, four assists and one block. In the final regular season game of the 2013-14 campaign Barton exploded for 23 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and one steal in 35 minutes in home win over the Los Angeles Clippers, 110-104.

“I’m competing in practice, I’m holding my own everyday,” said Barton. “and it’s like, ‘Man, when am I going to play? How am I going to play? What’s happening?'”

What happened was Barton being pressed into duty in the second round of the 2013 playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs. Barton played a role in all fives games against the mighty Spurs averaging 16 minutes and producing 9.0 points and 2.4 rebounds. In the Blazers lone win of that series (they lost the series 4-1) Barton played 30 minutes in Game 4 and put up 17 points on 7-13 shooting to go along with six rebounds and two assists. But it just wasn’t enough.

He would only appear in 30 games the following season before being traded to the Nuggets on Feb. 19th, 2015. The five-player deal would see Arron Afflalo and Alonzo Gee sent to the Blazers in exchange for Barton, Victor Claver, Thomas Robinson and a lottery protected 2016 first-round pick. The Nuggets cut ties with Claver and Robinson before they ever suited up for the team. Barton would get a fresh start in Denver under general manager Tim Connelly, who had been following his fellow Baltimore native closely for years.

“I get traded, come here and I produce.” said Barton.

Barton played in Denver’s final 28 games last season and exploded onto the scene as he put up two 22 point games in his first four contests with the Nuggets and averaged 11.0 points and 4.6 rebounds in 24.4 minutes the rest of the way. Barton set his career high in New Orleans a few weeks later on March 15th in a thrilling 118-111 double-overtime win in The Big Easy. He rallied the Nuggets with 25 points on 10-16 shooting, including 3-6 shooting from downtown and a clutch three in the first overtime to tie the game at 109-109. On that 3-point play, teammate and close friend J.J. Hickson was the first to greet Barton as he raced to the bench after a NOLA timeout.

“He’s made tremendous strides,” said Hickson. “Me and him have a great relationship: in the locker room, on the court, off the court. We have the same beliefs and values, that’s why we connect like we do. I’ve seen him grow a lot, it’s not by accident he’s putting in work. He definitely believes in himself and he believes in his talent. When you have somebody like that it’s hard to not grow as a basketball player and as a person.”

Hickson and Barton were teammates in Portland during Will’s rookie season and reconnected in Denver.

“He made it way more comfortable when I came here,” said Barton “J.J. that’s my guy. It’s more than basketball with us two. We hang out almost every day. He comes to my house, I’ll go to his house. When we’re on the road we go to dinner together all the time. We talk about basketball, but more importantly we just talk about life. We’re friends. Besides basketball, we have a lot of similarities and things of that nature. We kind of keep each other out of trouble and really stay on each other. We keep the locker room easy going.”

It was a no-brainer for Barton to re-sign with the Nuggets this summer on a three-year pact for $10.6 million. The front office wanted him, interim coach Melvin Hunt played him and Hickson’s presence was sort of the icing on the cake. But the Nuggets would be hiring a new head coach and Barton would have to prove himself to Michael Malone. It wouldn’t take long for Malone to gain an appreciation for his fast-and-furious wing.

“One thing I love about Will, you go back to this summer with all those riots in Baltimore — Will was such an active participant in trying to bring his community together. He loves Baltimore, he loves basketball and he was having all these events at all the parks that he played at growing up. I think that speaks to his heart, his love of the game and more importantly his love for his city and all of his people,” said Malone. “I love guys like that. Basketball is a passion for Will Barton, for some guys it’s a job. You could put him on any court in the world and he’s going to play just as hard as he does for us every single night because that’s the kind of kid that Will is.”

Growing up in Baltimore, Barton wasn’t accustomed to the luxuries afforded by some – let alone those who make the NBA.

“Coming up where I’m from you don’t see a lot of things like this,” Barton said. “(My family) supported me 100 percent, it’s wonderful to have my family as part of this ride. It makes it that much sweeter. Family is a big part of my life, they mean the most to me even though I can’t always be around them.”

Barton’s simple basketball beginnings helped shape who he has become on the NBA court.

“Starting from putting up hangers in the basement (to act as a rim), to setting up crates outside trees,” said Barton. “And then playing outside on outdoor courts. Just getting after it, playing hard and attacking.”

Attacking is where Barton makes his living. Consider that of his 107 shot attempts this season, 58.8 percent of those come from inside and around the paint and 44.8 percent of those shots come around the rim.

“That’s my game to get up-and-down and play fast. I have a talent where I don’t really get tired, so I have to use that to the best of my ability,” said Barton. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a back-to-back, (zero) days off… that doesn’t really affect me. I take good care of my body, I train hard, so it’s nothing to me. I like to come in there and change that pace — especially if we’re losing — or the game’s kind of slow to speed it up. And it makes the other team uncomfortable.”

Many in Nuggets Nation see similarities between Barton and former Nuggets wing Corey Brewer. They both fill a role off the bench, provide tremendous energy when they enter the game and many think they have identical body types. But when the Rockets traveled to Denver last week, you could see Barton has the bigger frame and perceived commonalities may not actually exist.

“We have similarities, but I also feel we’re very different,” said Barton of the Brewer comparisons. “As far as using my body, to me it came from always being skinny. I’ve embraced contact. Usually I hit people first. So it’s looking like, ‘He’s so skinny, but he’s finishing around the rim, he gets to spots, he’s taking hits.’ It’s because I’m delivering that first hit. I like contact. I like to get hit. I like to hit people. I’m not waiting for someone to knock me over, I’m going into it. It’s easier that way. It comes from being from Baltimore, growing up playing outside, being tough and learning from my environment.

“The rim is where I want to get. No doubt,” continued Barton. “Get to that rim, get easy layups, dunks, finish around the rim and get to the free throw line. I don’t really favor one part of the court, besides getting to that rim.”

Barton is having a career year with the Nuggets. He’s averaging 26.2 minutes per game, 14.3 points on 47.7 percent shooting (including 41.9 percent from 3-point range and 90.3 percent from the foul line), 4.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals – all career highs. He set a new career high on Nov. 13th with 26 points in a 107-98 win over the Houston Rockets; and followed that up with a team-high 19 points in Phoenix as one of the only players who looked in sync in the second game of a back-to-back. As Barton said, he just doesn’t get tired. He loves playing basketball and wants to take his game to its highest level.

“It’s the competing part. I love playing against the best in the world,” said Barton. “This is the best league in the world, there is no other place for basketball where you can get this talent. I’m a guy that prides myself on competing and stacking myself up against the rest of the players. I have team goals and individual goals for myself. So, all those things just drive me to keep wanting to play in this league.”

Barton is just 24-years-old and is playing his way into a key role with Denver’s second unit, but he thirsts for more.

“So far up to this point this season I’ve been producing. Deep down I’m like: Man, just let me go. That’s my mindset right now. I feel like I could even do more,” explained Barton. “A lot of people hit me up saying how well you’re playing right now, you’re playing so good. To me I’m like: This is nothing. I’m playing okay, I could play way better.”

Malone has started Barton in just one game this season, a road contest against the league’s defending champions and best team in the Golden State Warriors. He responded by playing a team-high 39 minutes in the second game of a back-to-back, including all 24 second half minutes where he scored all of his 19 points on 7-12 shooting (7-16 shooting in total) and recorded a +15 in that second half.

Barton will continue to fight to prove his doubters wrong and himself right. It’s the way his life has gone and it won’t be stopping any time soon.

Concluded Barton, “I feel like this is just the tip of the iceberg of what I can really do.”