Harrison Barnes revisits how he let down Warriors in tearful Game 7 loss

The much-maligned Harrison Barnes was always in a no-win scenario with the Golden State Warriors.

In a 73-win team loaded with talent, Barnes was relegated to being a role player which often left little room for error, or redemption. He was an easy scapegoat on rare nights when the Warriors lost and praise went elsewhere when he thrived within his narrow role.

Barnes would eventually jet for a bigger role and bigger contract in Dallas this summer, but it wasn't how he wanted things to end with Golden State. He was a roller coaster of emotions this summer following the Warriors' famed 3-1 collapse.

“That was the hardest I cried in a long time, after (Game 7),” Barnes told Michael Lee of The Vertical. "To me, just the atmosphere felt like, this team will never be together again.

"After we blew that lead, everything went south, you knew this group would never be there. And I felt like, I had an opportunity to really help the team and I didn't come through. That is something that hurts, but you have to close that chapter and just move on."

Golden State badly needed someone to step up during its collapse in Games 5-7. Barnes wasn't the answer. He shot a combined 5-for-34 from the field - mostly on wide-open shots no less - in those final three games as he proved to be one of the links that broke in Golden State's historic offense.

Barnes would later be told in his Warriors exit meeting that they would prioritize Kevin Durant in free agency. That prompted Barnes to look elsewhere.

"When I left the exit meeting ... they made it clear where they were standing. They were going to pursue free agents. There was no secret who they were going after. I was kind of in this place where I still felt like I had to go out there and prove myself."

Although the Mavericks aren't winning, the early returns on Barnes have been strong. He's averaging 22.3 points and 5.9 rebounds as Dallas' first option in his journey to redemption.