Harrison Barnes Favorite for 2012-13 Rookie of the Year

Harrison Barnes, drafted by the Golden State Warriors 7th overall, is the most likely player to win Rookie of the Year in the 2012-13 season. 


Polish


From an offensive fundamental standpoint, Barnes is the most polished player in this years rookie class. He has an NBA ready mid range game, NBA 3 point range as well as an adequate low post game. While his college career indicates that he needs to work on his ball handling and decision making, he still rates higher than his peers from a fundamental perspective. 


NBA Size


At 6'8 240lbs Barnes is physically ready for the NBA game. This will help him on the defensive end, where unlike a typical rookie,  he will not be physically overwhelmed


Playing Time


Barnes will get playing time for two reasons. First, his situation. The Warriors are not only committed to the youth movement, but have no competition at Barnes position. Barnes will most likely start from day one. Two, Barnes will not see his minutes decrease due to defensive shortcomings. As mentioned above, his ability to compete defensively will keep him in games. 


Floor Space


The Warriors will space the floor with shooters at every position. Guards Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are in the 99th percentile of NBA shooters respectively. David Lee and Andrew Bogut are above average shooters for their positions. This will allow space for Barnes to operate in Isolation situations. 


Competition


Barnes biggest competition for Rookie of the Year will come from number one pick Anthony Davis. There are a lot of great things to say about Davis, however  when talking about just next year, Davis does not yet have the polish, size, playing time and floor space that Barnes will have in 2012-13.