Warriors make qualifying offers to Harrison Barnes, Festus Ezeli
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors have extended qualifying offers to forward Harrison Barnes and center Festus Ezeli.
The moves, which were made Wednesday, mean Barnes and Ezeli will be restricted free agents in July, and the Warriors will have the right to match any offer sheet that Barnes and Ezeli sign with another team.
Golden State didn't extend qualifying offers to guard Ian Clark and forward James Michael McAdoo, making them unrestricted free agents.
Barnes, 24, averaged a career-best 11.7 points to go with 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists last season. He was also recently named to the U.S. Olympic team.
Sources told ESPN Tuesday that Barnes will be high on the Philadelphia 76ers' list of potential free-agent targets when the NBA's offseason marketplace opens Friday, but added that the Warriors rate keeping Barnes as a top priority in the event they are unable to lure Kevin Durant away from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Warriors would also like to retain Ezeli, but how they fare in the Durant chase will also play a big role in determining Ezeli's fate.
Ezeli, 26, set career-highs with 7.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game last season.
Information from ESPN's Marc Stein and The Associated Press was used in this report.
