Harrison Barnes is now in the position so many NBA players have found themselves in the past three months: Take the security of a large deal now on a team he likes, or bet on himself that the market will offer more next summer and chase more dollars?
The Golden State Warriors have wanted to sign Barnes to an extension of his rookie deal, and they have put a healthy offer on the table, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.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 walk a fine line of keeping their core together and leaving themselves flexibility for future moves. Golden State already has five players making eight digits in salary for the 2016-17 season (Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Andrew Bogut and Stephen Curry). They are going to be bumping up against the new cap, but this deal meets all their needs, as former Nets executive Bobby Marks explained on twitter.
Barnes at 16m per year would allow @warriors to stay under the tax in 16-17 and allow them re-sign Curry in 17-18 and still have $ for FA
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) September 21, 2015
The question is will Barnes go for it?
According to Wojnarowski this offer was on the table a while ago, before Barnes changed agents (he is now represented by Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports). It’s comparable to what Green is making from Golden State, but with two-thirds of the teams in the league likely to have space for a max salary next summer, does Barnes think he can do better? The fact this report came out now seems like someone is trying to pressure Barnes to take a deal that the public and Warriors fans will see as good.
While he has an important role for the NBA champions (averaging an efficient 10.1 points and 5.5 rebounds a game), does he want to go to a squad that would give him more touches and a larger role? What is his priority?
The two sides have until Oct. 31 to reach a deal. If not, Barnes becomes a resticted free agent next summer.