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GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 28, 2015

Harrison Barnes

Oakland, California

Q. Harrison, I know this is a deadline driven business, but can you characterize how the contract extension talks have gone so far?
HARRISON BARNES: Things are going well. I've got no complaints. Negotiations are still ongoing, and I'm confident things are going to work out.

Q. It was well noted that you guys had great chemistry last year as a team. How is it after winning a championship now? Do you feel like it's even better and you guys are closer and more of a team?
HARRISON BARNES: Yeah, I mean, we were a tight-knit group before, but just getting to that championship level, getting to the point that everyone wanted to get to really kind of solidified that bond. To be able to get along with these guys off the court so well and see that chemistry translate on to the court to a championship level, I mean, that's a dream come true.

So to be able to come back into the season with virtually the same team, adding some new pieces, everyone's looking forward to it. I think we'll actually be a better team this year than we were last year.

Q. Harrison, as the defending champions, everybody's gunning for you now. Not even the Spurs have repeated as champs. What is the biggest challenge?
HARRISON BARNES: The biggest challenge will be to approach every single day of training camp, every single day of the preseason and the beginning of the season the same way we did last year. Last year we had a new system, so everyone was on edge, everyone was locked in and everyone had to be fully invested.

So we can't just rely on the fact that we won a championship last year and expect that carry over to happen. The West has changed immensely. You look at teams like the Spurs and Clippers, they've reloaded. You look at teams like OKC, they're healthy now. So it's not the same Western teams that we faced last year.

Q. Harrison, back to the contract for a moment. When you said you were optimistic things are going to work out, are you convinced you'll have a deal before the October 30th deadline? Do you want to avoid having that hang over you all season, if you can?
HARRISON BARNES: That's the goal, but things don't always happen that way. But I do know for sure I love it here in Oakland and this is home for me.

Q. I would ask you, do you think that will probably happen? Do you expect that to happen that that deal will come to fruition?
HARRISON BARNES: Obviously you hope that happens, but that's a little bit out of my circle of competency.

Q. They often talk about how the adjustments from your first year to your second year is one of the biggest for improvements. Do you feel there is a parallel to that with your second year with the same coaching staff?
HARRISON BARNES: Yeah, I think so, just because how we played my first year is obviously way different than how we played last year. As a group we have so much we can do to grow and develop. Last year was a new system, and as crazy as it sounds, we're just starting to get the hang of it and get the rhythm of it. Another year in that system, I think everyone from top to bottom can improve.

Q. To that point about improving, Harrison, you said this is going to be a better team, in your opinion, than last year even. So what particular aspects are you looking at in that capacity? Is it players, personnel, or just the system as you were referring to?
HARRISON BARNES: Both. Individually I think guys have improved based on workouts and based on how guys look when we're out here shooting and playing around, but also from a system perspective. Last year at the beginning of the year and in some parts we had some hiccups. Some things were still kind of getting normalized and you had to get those kinks out of the system.

But I think this year now we can finally get better at those and add those different layers that Coach Kerr always talks about, add those nuances that when you look at teams like the Spurs, it looks like they've been playing together for a lifetime. When you add new guys into the system and they get more comfortable, everyone starts to play better.

Q. Harrison, a lot of your reputation has been made in your career and in the playoffs to the point where Playoff Barnes is actually a phrase people use a lot of times on Twitter. Is that a situation where you feel like that's something you want to take into the regular season to have that same sort of aggressiveness this year?
HARRISON BARNES: Yeah, you definitely want to take what you do in the playoffs and carry it through. This last season definitely gained a lot of confidence in my game, not only in the regular season, but in the postseason as well. So just continuing to try to build off that. This is a great situation to do that in. There's going to be a lot of opportunity on the court and that type of stuff, so want to improve.

Q. You've done a fantastic job. Watched you over the years. There were some times that you had to work with decision making as far as your drives and your jumpshot. Can you share with us all what you've done to improve that?
HARRISON BARNES: Yeah, it was a lot of watching tape this summer, seeing different angles, seeing different pick-and-roll situations. Closeouts in the corner, driving, making a pass. Some of that has to do with me being a willing passer. Other parts of that are just maturing, getting better at that. So that's an area that I look to improve this year. I feel like I've already gotten better this summer just in isolated situations, pick-up games that type of stuff in terms of decision making. But it's an area where there is a lot of room to grow.

Q. Harrison, obviously having a player like Klay that went crazy with scoring last year and improved, what do you make of how vital he is to this team and your chance at a repeat here?
HARRISON BARNES: Oh, I mean, Klay's a huge part of our team. Not only when he's scoring the basketball and he's driving and creating lanes, but just his ability to sit in on the wing and attract attention. I mean, no one's going to leave Klay, and if you do, it's a wide open three-point shot.

So just his ability to move off the ball this year, I know that's something that coach has talked to him about. It will only make him that much better.

Q. Harrison, I was wondering how you think the addition of Steve Nash can help you this season offensively?
HARRISON BARNES: Oh, Steve Nash will be great just because a lot of the nuances that knows about the game, whether it's getting by guys, angles. He has extremely good balance which is something that is very overlooked. I look forward to, one, personally working with him from that perspective, but two, as a team, he did such a great job of leading those teams back in the day. So I'd love to hear his stories about that.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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