Harrison Barnes has rejected a four-year $64 million contract extension. Barnes still has another year before he becomes a restricted free agent, but the Golden State Warriors just showed that the franchise is all-in on signing him. A report from Yahoo! Sports states that even though the offer wasn’t accepted, this becomes a starting point for negotiations to continue.
Rookie extensions can be signed until an October 31 deadline, so there is still a lot of time for the team and Barnes’ agent to come to terms. What this offer makes extremely clear, is that the team doesn’t want him to get to free agency. That would happen following the 2015-16 NBA season if no new deal is agreed to before that preseason deadline. It could lead to a bidding war in free agency, which is something that the team wants to avoid at all costs.
Draymond Green signed a five-year $85 million deal during the offseason, continuing a trend by the Warriors’ front office to keep the team intact. Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry already got contract extensions as well, meaning the core of players should be with Golden State for a long time to come. That’s if Barnes agrees to a deal in the short-term and if Curry is happy to sign another extension in two years, even if it becomes one of the richest contracts in the league.
Last season , Harrison Barnes played in all 82 games for the Golden State Warriors, averaging 28.3 minutes a night. He started every game as well, bringing consistency to the starting lineup for head coach Steve Kerr. During his time on the floor, Barnes averaged 10.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. The numbers could be better, but there are a lot of offensive weapons on the team that take touches away from him on offense. Barnes came up big several times in the 2015 NBA Playoffs as well, starting all 21 games and averaging 32.4 minutes a night for the Warriors.
The front office for the Warriors is showing no fear when it comes to future luxury tax penalties. Even though the salary cap is expected to see a big increase for the 2016-17 NBA season, the Warriors have a lot of players under contract for huge salaries. That includes roughly $16.7 million for Klay Thompson, $11 million for Andrew Bogut, $11.1 million for Andre Iguodala, $12 million for Stephen Curry, and $6.8 million for Jason Thompson. That doesn’t even count the money owed to Draymond Green or what Harrison Barnes might make.
[Image Source: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images]
