Earl

Barron

The 7-footer played college ball at Memphis, and was cut by the Magic last year before the season started. The Heat were impressed with his performance in their summer league, but he’ll have no fantasy value this year.

It happened because he had a fantastic summer-league showing and is now guaranteed his $745,000 salary. Barron has a little sleeper potential, but the Heat’s rotation is set, and he doesn’t have a very big role in it.

Barron lasts three weeks with the Warriors. He appeared in two games, failing to top five minutes in either.

The Warriors were expected to sign a big man to take the place of Kwame Brown (pectoral), who was announced as out for three months on Thursday and Barron fits the bill. After releasing G Ishmael Smith earlier on Friday, Golden State moved quickly to add another big body to its roster.

Barron will have a little over a week to find a new gig for a center-starved team before the season starts.

Barron will give Golden State some insurance for their frontcourt while Kwame Brown is out with a pectoral injury. Last year he averaged 3.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per game, and fantasy owners should avoid him.

X-rays were negative but Seraphin left the building in a walking boot last night, and there’s no clear timetable for his return. With Nene still nursing his plantar fasciitis, guys like Earl Barron and Brian Cook will likely be forced to play heavy minutes.

Emeka Okafor got the night off, while Nene is still out indefinitely with plantar fasciitis and Kevin Seraphin is dealing with a calf injury. Barron is worth keeping an eye on, but may not even make the team, while Seraphin and Trevor Booker are guys you can actually target at the end of fantasy drafts this year.

Earl Barron came in the game and was much more effective and active, while Jan Vesely also saw time at power forward. Booker should be better than this on most nights and has some potential as long as Nene is out.

He was actually fun to watch and very active, but has a very limited ceiling. Once Kevin Seraphin is back in action, Barron’s role will likely dry up, unless he continues to play this well on a nightly basis. Just keep an eye on him.