The Golden State Warriors built their team through the draft. Year after year, the NBA Draft was an intense time for fans. The pick could be the team’s next star or draft bust and another year would be wasted.In 2009, the Warriors took Stephen Curry. Klay Thompson came in 2011, then Draymond Green, Festus Ezeli, and Harrison Barnes followed in 2012.
Steph signed an extension before he exploded into a superstar and Klay Thompson got his after an impressive showing. This offseason, Draymond was up for an extension and got paid. The Warriors have expressed their desires to keep the core together; this season will be important for Barnes and Ezeli.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Warriors sent the small forward a contract extension which was turned down:
The Golden State Warriors delivered forward Harrison Barnes an initial four-year, $64 million contract extension proposal, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
The $16 million annual offer wasn’t accepted, but appears to be a starting point in talks that could last until the Oct. 31 deadline for rookie extensions.
The Warriors are trying to prevent Barnes from reaching restricted free agency in July 2016, when a rising salary cap and scores of teams with financial flexibility will couple with Barnes’ burgeoning talent and potential to make him a significant target on the market.
It was known that Barnes was looking for a huge pay day. Last week, he parted ways his agent, the only person to represent him since leaving North Carolina. Wojnarowski also went into detail about the offer the former agent had in place:
The offer of $16 million per year annually – comparable to teammate Draymond Green’s five-year, $82.5 million extension this summer – had been negotiated by Barnes’ former agent, Jeff Wechsler. After that initial offer, Wechsler countered with a figure north of $16 million annually before he and Barnes parted ways, league sources said. Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports is representing Barnes now.
At 23, Barnes is an athletic swingman who was incredibly efficient. By improving his scoring ability, he could hit the market as a hot commodity for a ton of other teams. If the Warriors and Barnes don’t come up with an agreement by October 31, Barnes would hit the offseason as a restricted free agent. The Warriors would be able to match any offer, but that may hinder leverage.