Harrison Barnes reportedly sustained a right knee injury during Golden State's preseason loss to the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night. Midway through the game's second quarter, which is held at the Oracle Arena, the Warriors forward collided with Nuggets rookie Emmanuel Mudiay.
Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com reports that Barnes left the court and never returned. The team described Barnes' injury as a sprained right knee with coach Luke Walton saying, "He's day-to-day. When I took him out, just like Harrison, he doesn't say anything. But once I substitute him out, he goes to the trainer. He doesn't complain about anything and always wants to play."
An MRI test performed on the player on Wednesday revealed a bone bruise within his right knee. Barnes did not participate with the Warriors' practice the night of the same day. With Barnes out, Golden State will likely slide Andre Iguodala back into the team's starting lineup.
The 23-year-old Barnes started as the Warriors' small forward in every game for the past season. He delivered an average of 10.1 points and 5.5 rebounds in the regular season and 5.3 points so far for the current preseason.
Barnes' agents and the organization have until October 31 to finalize a contract extension deal. Otherwise, the fourth-year forward will become a restricted free agent next summer. It will be interesting to see how his recent injury will affect the ongoing negotiations.
In other news involving Golden State players, center Andrew Bogut has moved up in ESPN's recent NBA player ranking. Bogut, who hails from Melbourne, Australia, has occupied the 66th spot in the list, up from his previous number 74 ranking. The 30-year-old center's rise is partly attributed to the fact that his team is the reigning NBA champion.
The ESPN ranking has always caused a stir in the NBA world and one interesting part in this year's list is Kobe Bryant's significant decline. The Los Angeles Lakers star is now at the 93rd spot; he fell 53 spots from last year's number 40.
The Golden State Warriors and Boomers center's current rank has been his highest so far. It puts him ahead of fellow centers Hassan Whiteside, Marcin Gortat, and Timofey Mozgov, who sit at ranks 68th,74th, and 78th, respectively.
