Harrison Barnes knows he was fallback option in Golden State if Durant didn't sign

Barnes acknowledges it would've been awkward to come

After giving up a 3-1 lead in the Finals and losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Golden State Warriors quickly made changes to their roster in the offseason. Most notable of course was the addition of Kevin Durant.

It wasn't guaranteed that Durant would sign with the Warriors though. Several teams like the Boston Celtics, San Antonio Spurs and Durant's former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, were trying to sign the superstar forward.

Durant ultimately signed with the Warriors but if he hadn't, Golden State would've likely re-signed Harrison Barnes. This would've led to some awkwardness as Golden State made no attempt at re-signing Barnes once free agency started. The Warriors were just solely focused on Durant.

Barnes is not an idiot and was well aware of his standing in Golden State after the Finals. Which is why Barnes isn't surprised or even mad with Golden State's decisions in free agency.

From ESPN's Tim MacMahon:

"There were a lot of emotions after a Game 7 loss," said Barnes, who will return to Oracle Arena as a visitor for the first time along with fellow former Warrior Andrew Bogut on Wednesday, when the Dallas Mavericks face Golden State. "I think a lot of people were upset, frustrated. And we blew a 3-1 lead. So that was the mindset. I think we knew they were going to blow it up if we lost that series, which we did. I can't say I was surprised."

...

"It would have been a little awkward," Barnes said. "At a press conference if they would have been like, 'Yeah, we really wanted him to come [back],' no one would really believe that. You know what I'm saying?

"How things went down, like I said, it's a business. It's not something you get emotionally hurt about or anything like that, but when you lose and they say, 'Thank you, we're going to go in a different direction,' you take that and keep it moving."

Barnes clearly has no hard feelings for Golden State and understands the business of the NBA. Sure the Warriors drafted him but he understood that it was very unlikely that he would've spent his whole career in Golden State. Which is just something either because of trades or free agency, very few players do these days. Even Durant switched teams after spending all of his career with the Thunder.

Plus it's not like Barnes isn't doing OK after Golden State. He found another starting role on the Mavs and signed a max-level deal in Dallas. Barnes is making the most money of his career and also has more opportunities offensively with the Mavs.

Just like most players in the league, for Barnes, a door closed in Golden State but another one was wide open for him in Dallas.