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Barnes seems to have developed a comfort level on the court. No longer the hesitant rookie, he is attacking with confidence and producing numbers that figure to put him in the Rookie of the Year conversation. Over his last two games, Barnes has scored 37 points on 14-of-26 shooting. He's also grabbed 22 rebounds, including five offensive. Barnes newfound effectiveness is the payoff of his budding relationship with Jackson, who has been grooming the former North Carolina star since the Warriors drafted him No. 7 overall. "I think coach has done a good job of teaching us in practice," Barnes said, "putting me in good positions to be successful, giving me different touches. Early on, it was an adjustment." San Jose Mercury-News

Golden State Warriors, Harrison Barnes 

Harrison Barnes heard all the rumors before the draft that he'd be a Cavalier. He just never believed it. "I didn't put too much stock into that," the former North Carolina forward said before Wednesday's game between the Cavs and the Golden State Warriors. "You heard about it, but at the end of the day you don't get too attached. I heard my name being associated with a couple of other teams, too. I tried to be optimistic going into the draft and I landed here." Cleveland Plain Dealer

Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Draft, Harrison Barnes 

Harrison Barnes: No better feeling than losing yourself in the game...we are all in #4BRush!!! Twitter @HBarnes

Golden State Warriors, Brandon Rush, Injuries, Stephen Curry, Harrison Barnes 

Warriors coach Mark Jackson announced Monday that rookie Harrison Barnes will be his starting small forward. Jackson said he was looking for the best fit and not necessarily the best player. Apparently, Barnes beat out forward Richard Jefferson and swingman Brandon Rush. "Starting was definitely a goal of mine," Barnes said. "Playing in the NBA and starting on opening night is a huge accomplishment. But my mindset is not going to change. I'm going out there and try to provide this team all of the little things I can to help us win." San Jose Mercury-News

Golden State Warriors, Harrison Barnes 

Harrison Barnes: Words can't describe how it feels to be in the rafters at Carolina instagr.am/p/Qp31UIEase/ Twitter @HBarnes

Golden State Warriors, Harrison Barnes 

Seems battle for SF job is a 2-man race: Brandon Rush v. Harrison Barnes. Sources say Rush has advantage because... Rush is clearly the better defender at this point. The starting lineup needs someone who can really make it tough for opposing perimeter stars, and Rush is even better with Andrew Bogut backing him up. Plus, to this point, Rush is shooting better. If Barnes did start, it would likely be because Mark Jackson already knows that Rush can thrive off the bench. Bringing Barnes off the bench, adding the task feeling a game out and getting going after sitting, might take away Barnes' aggressiveness and impact. Sulia

Golden State Warriors, Brandon Rush, Harrison Barnes 

At media day, when asked about the SF competition, Barnes expressed appreciation that he had a coach willing to consider a rookie to start. But when discussing his chances, he simply left it at “we’ll see.” Uh oh. Sounds like whatever he had brewing is working. Contra Costa Times

Golden State Warriors, Mark Jackson, Harrison Barnes 

Late last night, after the evening practice, I was talking with a source about the small forward competition. This source, who I trust and has seen every second of practice, said rookie Harrison Barnes has been special the first two practices. He went as far as saying “it’s Harrison Barnes’ job to lose.” Coming from him, it says something. Trust me. Now, I’ve been considering Barnes a long shot of sorts in favor of easing him along, not putting too much pressure on him. We don’t get much practice, but allowing Barnes to develop methodically is a good plan. But it sounds like Barnes is having the kind of camp so far that makes him a serious contender to start. Admittedly, I was a bit surprised by the strong endorsement. Barnes has been flying under-the-radar lately and coach Mark Jackson has seemed pretty hesitant to tout him too hard. (Maybe that is a hint.) He praises him, but he usually quickly follows by pointing out it’s early or he hasn’t done it in games yet or he has a lot of room to grow. Contra Costa Times

Golden State Warriors, Mark Jackson, Harrison Barnes 

Do you have a sense about how this team is going to play? Andrew Bogut: It’s hard right now. But obviously we’re going to be a scoring team. We have some flat-out scorers on our team–Steph and Klay and Harrison Barnes is a scorer, too. He can be very aggressive. David Lee and myself. The list goes on. Richard Jefferson as well. I think our focus isn’t going to be offense so much in training camp. That’s what we’re focused on in these drills we’re doing in the preseason, there’s a lot of defensive focus. That’s been a weakness here not just last season but for a number of years–the defense wasn’t a priority. So we’re trying to change that. We know you’re not going to win many games and even if you do, you’re not going to win many playoff series scoring 110 points a game. That’s just not going to happen. The math and the numbers and the stats say if you can grind down teams, keep them under 100, generally you’ve got a good chance to win. San Jose Mercury-News

Golden State Warriors, Richard Jefferson, David Lee, Andrew Bogut, Harrison Barnes 

But don't take his word for it. Listen to the players themselves, who told their own version of events on Twitter after Gaskins spoke. Young Sun Kendall Marshall said "I'm turnin my playa card in." Blazer top pick Damian Lillard declared: "This man @TonyGaskins is too real. Y'all need to get up on him. He just changed my life. #realrap" Harrison Barnes, Darius Johnson-Odom, Draymond Green, Jared Sullinger, Andre Drummond and Quincy Acy all tweeted similarly. ESPN.com

Harrison Barnes, Jared Sullinger, Andre Drummond, Damian Lillard, Draymond Green, Kendall Marshall, Darius Johnson-Odom, Quincy Acy, Tony Gaskins 

The Logo is Barnes' unofficial tutor. So, yeah, it is a big deal. "I've seen his highlights," Barnes said. "I've looked him up. He does a great job of when he comes off shots, he's always square. He's always able to get his shot off. He had a nice looking shot. That's something I'm going to try to take from him, his ability to get to the basket and his ability to square up and get by guys." Maybe they will meet somewhere around Warriors headquarters in Oakland. Maybe Barnes will go to Los Angeles, West's home base. The where, and the when, has not been decided. NBA.com

Golden State Warriors, Harrison Barnes 

Approaching someone retired for 38 years simply did not seem unusual. "I certainly don't want to make a big deal out of this," West said. "Our coaches are working with him. One of the things that I tried to talk to him about was efficiency of your footwork, particularly as an offensive player. I tried to talk to him about a straight line-driver instead of driving in circles, which makes degree of difficulty of shots much more difficult. And, more importantly, footwork. How to stop correctly. A lot of that is just simple things that I think he'll pick up very, very quickly. "He approached me and I told him that I'd be more than happy to try to show him some of the things I felt were important," West said. "I talked about pivoting. About how the degree of difficulty in shots is what you don't want. You want to cut down on the degree of difficulty. He's got a 40-vertical jump. He just jumps over people. But that won't do it. I certainly don't want to over-emphasize my role in anything that he might want to do because he's just an exceptional talent, a player who's got an enormous future. NBA.com

Golden State Warriors, Harrison Barnes 

Harrison Barnes: Congrats to the homie Ray Felton on signing with NY Twitter

Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, Raymond Felton, Harrison Barnes 

It’s one NBA Summer League game — which matters about as much what the Kardashians think about presidential politics — but Barnes looked impressive as the Warriors throttled the Lakers by 40. He came out aggressive from the opening gun, attacking the rim on his way to 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting. He was 4-of-4 from three, showed an impressive floater on one play, finished at the rim or at the arc in transition. He was the complete package. “Coach (Mark) Jackson just told me to be aggressive and not to worry about making mistakes,” Barnes said. He didn’t make many. Barnes had a real chemistry with Klay Thompson, it was Thompson who was dictating the offense (and knocking down 6-of-8 threes) and he was clearly looking for Barnes. Klay’s father Mychal — the former No. 1 overall pick out of Minnesota and current Lakers broadcaster — noticed it. “(Barnes) plays a really smart game, and that makes it easier,” the elder Thompson said. NBCSports.com

Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Summer League, Harrison Barnes, Klay Thompson 

A league source confirmed yesterday that Duke’s Austin Rivers, taken by New Orleans with the 10th pick, was indeed targeted by the Celtics during their failed attempt to move up the board Thursday night. But Doc Rivers’ son wasn’t alone. The Celtics had targeted “four or five guys” who went in the lottery, including North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes, who was taken by Golden State at No. 7. The Celtics had worked out Barnes and Washington’s Terrence Ross, the eighth pick of the draft by Toronto, during the Eastern Conference finals in Miami. Boston Herald

Boston Celtics, Draft, Trade, Harrison Barnes, Austin Rivers, Terrence Ross 

Roy Williams, the coach at North Carolina, said the Warriors were "one of the two or three best fits out there" for the smooth 6-foot-8, 228-pound small forward. He said Barnes' all-around game, including the ability to hit shots at crunch time, will make him a fan favorite. "He's a great addition," Williams said by phone Friday. "He's what the Warriors needed." Contra Costa Times

Golden State Warriors, Draft, Harrison Barnes, Roy Williams 

Barnes has had a lot to live up to even before he was born. His mom used to videotape all of Michael Jordan's games in case she one day had a son. The VCR was rolling May 29, 1992, the night Jordan scored 29 points to help the Chicago Bulls win the decisive Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. That's also the night Shirley went into labor. She named her son Harrison Bryce Jordan Barnes. Contra Costa Times

Golden State Warriors, Harrison Barnes 

Once the Portland Trail Blazers selected Oakland’s own Damian Lillard, a point guard out of Weber State, Warriors general manager Bob Myers said his phone went berzerk. North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes was still on the board. “My phone almost blew up with people wanting our pick, wanting our player,” Myers said. “He’s got great value and he fits what we need.” Contra Costa Times

Golden State Warriors, Draft, Harrison Barnes, Bob Myers 

Mary Schmitt Boyer/Tom Reed: NBA source with knowledge of Warriors plans doesn't think there's anything to rumor the #Cavs are looking to send Varejao to GS for Barnes Twitter

Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Draft, Trade, Anderson Varejao, Harrison Barnes 

Mary Schmitt Boyer/Tom Reed: It's possible #Cavs haven't given up on Harrison Barnes. Michael Reghi reporting Cavs trying to trade Varejao to Golden State for him. Twitter

Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Draft, Trade, Anderson Varejao, Harrison Barnes