Will Barton had a strong season in Denver — he finished fourth in the Sixth Man of the Year voting, averaged 15.7 points per game while shooting 37 percent from three and playing quality defense.
Which is why Indiana and a few other teams that needed wing help had targeted Barton heading into free agency, but when the calendar flips to July 1 in a few hours expect the Nuggets to hold on to Barton, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
There's strong momentum with the Denver Nuggets and their free agent guard Will Barton to get a deal done quickly after the start of free agency at 12:01 AM, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2018
Expect this to be one of the early deals to fall in free agency.
What is Indiana going to do instead? As Wojnarowski reported, the buzz around the league is they have their eye on Doug McDermott.
Barton has been a strong focus for the Pacers, who would pivot and search for perimeter free agent help elsewhere. Doug McDermott and Joe Harris are potential Pacers targets, league sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/gSQJnuIJT5
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2018
Don’t sleep on the Pacers this free agency, they have money, and while not targeting the top-tier of free agents, they want to upgrade and have the room to spend this summer.