[...] the Warriors' head coach realized that Barnes would need to go elsewhere for an expanded role. Barnes' emergence as a reliable go-to scorer has been one of the few positives for a Mavericks club that sits tied for last with Phoenix in the Western-Conference standings. After four seasons as a complementary piece with Golden State, he is preparing to take over Dallas' franchise-player title from the 38-year-old Dirk Nowitzki. With Nowitzki limited to only eight of a possible 33 games so far, Barnes is averaging career-bests in scoring, rebounds (5.6) and minutes (36.4). The newcomer shooting 46.3 percent from the field and a career-best 87.3 percent from the foul line is hardly the reason the Mavericks own the league's worst offense. Shortly after horrendous shooting performances in the final three games of the 2016 NBA Finals, in his exit interview with Golden State, Barnes was informed the team would be pursuing other options in free agency.