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LOS ANGELES -- Harrison Barnes believes he still would be a member of the Golden State Warriors if they had won last seasons NBA championship.However, Barnes knew after his exit interview in the wake of the Warriors blowing a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers that he had likely played his final game for the franchise. He described his chances of returning to the Warriors at that point as slim to none, even though Golden State had the right to match any offer he received as a restricted free agent.There were a lot of emotions after a Game 7 loss, said Barnes, who will return to Oracle Arena as a visitor for the first time along with fellow former Warrior Andrew Bogut on Wednesday, when the Dallas Mavericks face Golden State. I think a lot of people were upset, frustrated. And we blew a 3-1 lead. So that was the mindset. I think we knew they were going to blow it up if we lost that series, which we did. I cant say I was surprised.Golden State management informed Barnes during that meeting they would have other priorities in free agency, essentially confirming seasonlong rumors that they planned to pursue Kevin Durant. The Warriors needed to let Barnes leave and move another significant salary in a trade to make room to give the superstar a maximum contract.It was difficult, man, Barnes said. Just because you go back and you watch Game 7 and youre like, Man, its two minutes away from planning a parade or Thank you for your services. It was a pretty big switch.At the end of the day, youve got to put that stuff to the side. I made the decision to go to Dallas. I dont really dwell on that and just move forward.The Mavs signed Barnes to a four-year, $94 million max contract, a move that was questioned by many, considering his pedestrian offensive numbers during his four seasons as a complementary player for the Warriors. He averaged 10.1 points per game during his Golden State stint, including a career-best scoring average of 11.7 points last season.But Barnes has quickly blossomed as a primary option with Dallas, which desperately needs him to be a prolific scorer, since?Dirk Nowitzki?is dealing with health issues. Barnes is averaging 22.3 points per game on 50.8 percent shooting. He already has more 30-plus-point performances for the Mavs (three) -- including consecutive games during the 2-5 Mavs modest winning streak -- than he did for the Warriors (one).Theres a lot more opportunity for me here, said Barnes, who had 31 points on 11 of 18 shooting in Tuesdays 109-97 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. The offense is different. Obviously, Im not complaining about my role at Golden State, because we won a lot of games doing that. But in the same regard here, theres just more opportunities to do different things.I love it. As a player, you always want to know what you can do. At the end of your career, you can look back and say, look, I was able to get this much out of my playing career and I was able to become this type of player. I think thats what allows you to sleep well at night. Im getting a chance to see and experience and learn. Obviously, we had a rough start, some growing pains. But Im really looking forward to this situation.Barnes acknowledged that it made sense for the Warriors to pursue Durant, whose arrival gave Golden State three of the leagues most explosive scorers, as the 2013-14 MVP joined two-time MVP Stephen Curry and All-Star Klay Thompson.Bogut, who was traded to Dallas in a salary-dump deal, characterized it as an easy decision for Golden State general manager Bob Myers, despite the Warriors winning the 2014-15 title and setting an NBA regular-season record with 73 wins in 2015-16.Look, you get a chance to get one of the best players in the world, you jump at that chance, Bogut said. If Im the GM, you generally jump at that chance.Obviously, we had a lot of success with the group that we had. We understood our roles. We knew our strengths and our weaknesses each way -- individually and how we needed to lift each other up. But obviously, theyre looking to build for the future too. Theyre trying to build it for the next five or six years and not just the next one or two.The Warriors considered Barnes an insurance policy, as he put it, and would have matched the Mavs offer if Durant had chosen to re-sign with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Barnes said he considered his exit interview the closing of that chapter of his career.It would have been a little awkward, Barnes said. At a press conference if they would have been like, Yeah, we really wanted him to come [back], no one would really believe that. You know what Im saying?How things went down, like I said, its a business. 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HOOVER, Ala. -- It took a few years for coach Bret Bielema and the Arkansas Razorbacks to gain their footing in the Southeastern Conference Western Division.But after an encouraging third season that ended with an 8-5 record, including 5-3 in the league, Bielemas hard-nosed, blue-collar vision is starting to become a reality in Fayetteville.At Arkansas were not built very sexy, were just kind of a work in progress, Bielema said. We need a lot of time in the bathroom to get ready and come out and look great.Bielemas easygoing demeanor during his fourth SEC media days appearance on Wednesday is a stark contrast to his first few, when his combative remarks often irritated other league coaches. There was no need to be combative on the podium this year: His team is doing a better job of handling that task on the field.But to keep the momentum moving forward, the Razorbacks are going to have to solve some uncertainty on offense.Arkansas lost experienced playmakers in quarterback Brandon Allen, running back Alex Collins and tight end Hunter Henry, as well as three starting offensive linemen. Allen will be replaced by his younger brother -- junior Austin Allen.Bielema said the brothers have some similarities, but also some key differences that the Razorbacks must harness.Hes got a little bit different demeanor, Bielema said of Austin Allen. Hes a very aggressivve person by nature.dddddddddddd I think well have to calm him down rather than juice him up. He throws a tremendous long ball and is a very, very intelligent player.Bielema has also been impressed with a pair of freshmen running backs -- Devwah Whaley and T.J. Hammonds -- who he believes are going to have a huge impact on this season.Arkansas has much more experience on defense with nine starters returning.Senior Deatrich Wise, a 6-foot-5, 272-pound defensive lineman, led the league with eight sacks during conference play last season. Senior Brooks Ellis, a 6-2, 246-pound linebacker, led the team with 102 tackles, which ranked ninth in the SEC.Hall said hes been impressed that its not just the nine returning starters who are playing well.We just have a lot of people coming in that are very strong and know what theyre doing and theyre going to make an impact for us, Hall said.Arkansas hopes to get off to a better start this season than in 2015. The Razorbacks lost three of their first four games before a 7-2 performance the rest of the year.Were getting really close to where we want to be, Bielema said.---Follow David Brandt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbrandtAP---AP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org . ' ' '