The Golden State Warriors didn’t offer starting forward Harrison Barnes a $64 million extension this summer to have slippery fingers. But over the weekend, they nearly cost him dearly.
On Saturday, Barnes returned to his alma mater of North Carolina, along with fellow Warriors alum James Michael McAdoo, Larry O’Brien trophy in tow. The duo was honored at halftime of the Tar Heels’ 41-14 victory over Delaware and hoisted the hardware high above their heads for all to behold.
Disaster was narrowly averted when Barnes briefly forgot about the laws of balance and weight shift.
My bad, Larry. That was close. http://t.co/wTA6g6AGyq
— Harrison Barnes (@hbarnes) September 26, 2015
The fourth-year forward quickly owned up to the mistake and reassured a concerned NBA (or at least their official Twitter account) that he had the situation under control.
Careful! RT @hbarnes: My bad, Larry. That was close. http://t.co/BIaESEBgm7
— NBA (@NBA) September 26, 2015
.@NBA lol me and @jamesmcadoo have ? under control.
— Harrison Barnes (@hbarnes) September 26, 2015
Barnes, who has expressed his desire this offseason to stay with the Warriors long-term but actually turned down that $64 million figure, is a crucial element of Golden State’s success as they look to defend their title next season. He has always shown great hands when drilling those open catch-and-shoot jumpers created by the Splash Brothers and when he is locking down one through four on the perimeter, so we’re willing to give him a pass for his near-gaffe.
