Mavericks became Barnes’ first choice as Warriors pursued Durant

In his first meeting with the media Tuesday, Harrison Barnes talked handcuffs, playing with Dirk Nowitzki and eating with a billionaire at the International House of Pancakes.

After signing a four-year, $94 million free-agent contract with the Dallas Mavericks last week, Barnes is eager to line up next to Nowitzki.

“He’s already talked trash about shooting games post-practice, so I’m looking forward to that,” said Barnes, a small forward. “I’m still waiting to block that shot — I couldn’t quite get to that fadeaway.

“When Coach [Rick Carlisle] was talking to me about floor work and that type of stuff, I thought about the times where I’ve guarded Dirk, and he’s just so efficient.”

Barnes, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2012 draft, has played his entire career with the Golden State Warriors. Last off-season, Barnes turned down a four-year, $64 million extension. His career with Golden State effectively ended July 4 when Kevin Durant announced that he would sign with the Warriors.

“The Warriors had told me they were going to be active in free agency, very aggressive, and that was pretty much a non-subtle gesture to me that I should be looking at other teams,” Barnes said.

“When I made a list of teams that I wanted to go to, Dallas was on the top of that list.”

Dallas will also be the new home of Andrew Bogut, the Warriors’ center the past 4  1/2 seasons. He was traded to the Mavs last week.

“Bogut is a great rim protector,” said Barnes, who will play for the United States at the Rio Olympics. “For us, especially the last four years, he’s been that guy that erases all the mistakes.

“I think if you look at [the Mavericks] last year, interior defensive rebounding was a big thing. So I think that he’ll be able to bring that to this team and he can help a lot, especially with his passing on offense in terms of keeping the ball moving.”

Bogut will play for the Australian Olympic team if his injured knee is deemed ready.

Since joining the Mavericks, Barnes acknowledged that the “Southern hospitality” he’s received has been off the charts. Once the moratorium period was lifted, he even agreed to take a funny picture while being handcuffed to Donnie Nelson, the Mavs’ president of basketball operations.

The photo also shows Michael Finley, the team’s assistant vice president of basketball operations, and Carlisle, who is holding a signed contract.

Barnes, 24, said he understood why Carlisle wanted that picture.

Last year center DeAndre Jordan backed out of an oral agreement to sign with the Mavericks and re-signed with the Los Angeles Clippers.

After Barnes’ contract was official, owner Mark Cuban and Carlisle took Barnes to iHOP for lunch. That raised some eyebrows — but not from Barnes.

“I had an unbelievable cinnamon french toast,” Barnes said while laughing. “It was amazing.”

The Mavericks are hoping Barnes’ tenure with their organization will be equally amazing.

This story was originally published July 12, 2016 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Mavericks became Barnes’ first choice as Warriors pursued Durant."