Harrison Barnes will be a restricted free agent on July 1, and the Golden State Warriors will have to make some difficult decisions regarding the 24-year-old forward.
Barnes says that it’s out of his control whether or not he re-ups with the defending NBA champs.
For now, the Dubs are marching towards their second consecutive title but plenty of questions await them down the line.
Per NBA.com:
That the Warriors want to be at the front of the line if (Kevin) Durant considers leaving Oklahoma City as a free agent has been a poorly kept secret since early in the regular season. Of course, a lot of teams want to to be in that spot. The difference is a lot of teams won’t have at least one championship and two straight trips to the Finals in the bag, not to mention the most regular-season wins in NBA history.
Golden State management would love the opportunity to consider breaking up a back-to-back champion, and the players know it. […] “Guys have definitely asked questions,” center Andrew Bogut said. “We’re not immune to it. We’ve seen it. We’ve seen the rumors, heard the rumors, all that kind of stuff. Different guys at different times have been scratching their head and thinking, ‘Why?’ The only way we can dispel all that stuff is maybe we’ve got to win five straight. Who knows? It’s one of those things we can’t really control, but we can control trying to make them make a tough decision.”
Harrison Barnes, for example. He will be a restricted free agent on July 1 and plays the same position as Durant, small forward. Barnes would love to stay. But asked if he thinks he is staying, he said: “Assuming no one else chooses to sign here?” […] “It’s out of my control,” Barnes said. “People say, ‘Do you want to be here in Golden State?’ A lot of it is, look, I love Golden State. I’d love to be here. But there’s also some other factors that factor into that, you know what I’m saying?”
