
Harrison Barnes has been a key role player on a Golden State Warriors team that will likely take home its second consecutive championship this year. Barnes will be a free agent after the NBA Finals, and many have speculated that he may leave Golden State in favor of a larger role and paycheck. The Warriors want to do all that they can to keep their core championship group together, reports Sean Deveney of SportingNews:
The Warriors have the right to match any offer, though, because Barnes is a restricted free agent. One source within the organization pointed out that Lacob and the Warriors owners have, indeed, said all along that he will pay to keep a winning team together, and that has not changed. As an outsider NBA general manager told Sporting News, “I think that all along that they were not going to let him go unless they fell down and didn’t win it all. It might just be that they’re trying to push down offers, but that’s the message.”
The one possible scenario in which Barnes leaves, the source said, would be if he approached the Warriors front office with a request to be elsewhere. If Barnes determines he would like to have a chance to be a more featured part of an offense, the Warriors would likely honor that — especially if a sign-and-trade deal could be worked out. A deal involving fellow free agent Nicolas Batum of the Hornets (Barnes played college basketball at North Carolina) has been rumored, but of course nothing along those lines has actually been discussed.
It’s a tough call for Barnes. On the one hand, he’s on maybe the greatest basketball team ever. On the other hand, though, having a larger role is tempting; it would give him a chance to establish himself as a star. If the Warriors want him badly enough, though, they’ll probably be able to keep him.