The Golden State Warriors failed to reach an agreement on a contract extension with forward Harrison Barnes and he will become a restricted free agent after this season.
The two sides could not come to terms before the Nov. 2 deadline and Barnes chose to focus on the season rather than continue to engage in negotiations.
“I let my agent worry about all that kind of stuff,” Barnes said. “The goal was to try to get something done, but now that the season’s here, it’s solely about basketball. The contract stuff, put that all aside.
“There’s a lot riding on this season, just in terms of the possibility of going back-to-back. After this season, hopefully after another parade, we can do this again.”
According to reports, Barnes rejected a proposed four-year, $64 million extension from the defending NBA champion Warriors. There’s the possibility that he could land a max deal after this season worth more than $120 milion with the Warriors or $89 million with another team. Golden State has the right to match any offer.
Warriors general manager Bob Myers said Tuesday that negotiations ended amicably. Owner Joe Lacob confirmed that the reported four-year, $64 million offer that Barnes rejected was close to being accurate.
“It doesn’t change our position with him,” Myers said. “We’re still very intent on revisiting it in July when we have an opportunity to do it. We still view him as a core member of the team in the long term.”
The 23-year-old Barnes was a first-round draft pick in 2012.