Dallas Mavericks: Harrison Barnes called out by Skylar Diggins-Smith

The ongoing conversation about the poor pay of WNBA players has found its way to the Dallas Wings and, by extension, the Dallas Mavericks. Skylar Diggins-Smith, two-time All-WNBA first team guard for the Wings has brought Harrison Barnes into the conversation here in Dallas.

In an interview with Wealthsimple, Skylar Diggins-Smith of the WNBA’s Dallas Wings, talked about the concerns of the wage gap between the WNBA players and NBA players. The big concern that Diggins-Smith focused on was not necessarily the number of zero’s, but the difference in how much of the league revenue players receive from each league.

I won’t get too in depth on these issues because they do need to be resolved but its not as simple as people want to believe on either side of the argument. Something does need to change, though. That much is clear.

The reason this pertains to Dallas Mavericks fans is because Diggins-Smith brought up Harrison Barnes when talking about the difference between her pay and an NBA player’s pay. Here is what she said:

"I’m the highest paid player on the Dallas Wings, and my salary is in the low six figures. [Harrison Barnes, the highest paid player on the Dallas Mavericks, made $24 million last season.] He’s definitely younger than me. Do you know his stats? Was he an All-Star? I mean, it doesn’t matter. But last year, I was First Team All-WNBA, which only goes to five players. I was also a WNBA All-Star for the third time."

This was an interesting shot taken at Harrison Barnes who, to my knowledge, has never said anything against Diggins-Smith or the WNBA. And for that reason, I have a hard time seeing it as a shot at one specific player. I think Barnes was mentioned because he is getting paid a lot and he plays in the same city as Diggins-Smith. Aside from that, I don’t think there was any hostility or bad blood in what Skylar said.

However, it is tough to call out Harrison Barnes for not making an All-Star game or All-NBA team at this point in his career. Let me explain why.

The WNBA has a total of 12 teams. The NBA has 30. That is a big difference in the number of players each person is competing against. The WNBA would have a total of about 144 players, whereas the NBA has 450.

That is not to take anything away from Diggins-Smith who has worked her butt off to become one of the premier players in the WNBA, but it is an important thing to realize. Diggins-Smith has also been billed as one of the top talents since the minute she left college. Barnes was not as highly regarded after his unconvincing collegiate career.

All I am saying is that Harrison Barnes is doing well for Dallas. He may not be the perfect player to build a team around, but he has done really well in Dallas. I think Skylar Diggins-Smith has every right to be frustrated with how things are in her league and between the two leagues, but I don’t think Barnes needed to be dragged into it all.