Who Is More Vital to the Warriors' Plans, Harrison Barnes or Draymond Green?

The battle for minutes in the Golden State Warriors’ rotation this season will focus primarily on two players drafted in the same year, who play roughly the same position and who have rewritten the expectations from when they were drafted.

Harrison Barnes, since the moment he was winning high school titles at Ames High School in Iowa with Doug McDermott, has been groomed for greatness. He was named the No. 1 prospect in the country by 247Sports, a preseason All-American at North Carolina and was ultimately taken with the seventh overall pick by the Warriors in the 2012 draft.

Draymond Green was the little engine that could. Like Barnes, he led his high school to two championships and was heavily recruited by prestigious college programs, choosing Michigan State over Kentucky. From there, the accolades rolled in.

He won the Big Ten Conference Sixth Man of the Year award in his sophomore season and took home All-American honors from the AP and was voted the National Player of the Year by the coaches his senior year (not to be confused with the Naismith Award, which was won by Anthony Davis).

Despite all of his accomplishments, Green was not a highly touted prospect and joined Barnes on the Warriors after they selected him in the second round with the 35th pick in the draft.

Barnes was instantly inserted into the starting lineup, and while he didn’t set the world on fire, he did well enough to be named to the All-Rookie first team. The playoffs proved to be his coming-out party, as he asserted his will when head coach Mark Jackson went to him any time he saw a mismatch.

Green was never about the headlines, and it showed in his play. He showed grit and determination every time he stepped on the court. He was fearless going after loose balls, a menace on defense and became the Swiss army knife on the Warriors roster.

Both were highly instrumental in the Warriors’ playoff run, where they knocked off the Denver Nuggets in the first round and pushed the San Antonio Spurs to their limit in the second.

Last season, it all changed. Barnes, who entered the season with overwhelming hype, struggled from the get-go. He floundered in his bench role, where he was supposed to be the ultimate sixth man. Instead, it was Green who flourished in that spot, captivating the hearts of the fans and his team with his never-wavering determination.

Barnes appeared to lack confidence in his abilities, as with every missed shot he drifted further away from the basket. His greatest asset, elite athleticism, was negated. Green had no such issues, relishing every minute on the court and proving with each game that he belonged.

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It all culminated in the postseason, where Green, in the absence of Andrew Bogut, stepped up and battled the imposing front line of the Los Angeles Clippers. The Warriors needed someone to step up, and it was the second rounder who did it.

That’s all in the past, however, and with the Warriors receiving some serious buzz heading into the new season, both players still have an opportunity to continue writing their stories.

Barnes, more than anything, does not want to be labeled a bust. Of the two, he is by far more talented and has a much higher ceiling. He is two years younger, has a better shooting stroke and, of course, has off-the-charts physical tools.

But you can’t teach effort, and Green, at this point, has him beat there. All hearts are not created equal, and that appears to be the case here. Green just has a better feel for the game, a trait that had Magic Johnson gushing during last season’s playoffs, going as far to even calling him a mini-Magic, courtesy of Hugh Bernreuter of MLive.com:

"

Saginaw has one of my favorite basketball players in the world. The reason why is that he plays with his head. He is so smart when it comes to the game of basketball. When you watch him, he makes all the right decisions, all the right plays.

He's almost like a mini-Magic. You can't judge Draymond by how many points he scores.

"

And that is what makes Green more vital to the Warriors’ plans. No, not because Magic likes him, but because he can see what we all do: Draymond Green does more with his abilities than anybody else.

Talent is a great thing to have, and it’s even better when coupled with otherworldly athleticism. But not even those can trump head issues, and that is exactly what Barnes has. He’ll have his chance to put it all together, but as it stands, if he can’t get out of his own way, he’ll be the odd man out in the future.

With Klay Thompson sure to receive a max contract in the coming months, the money likely won’t be there for the Warriors to keep both Barnes and Green. The Warriors would be choosing between upside in Barnes and a known commodity in Green. In the end, I suspect they choose the warriors' heart (no pun intended) over the fragile mind.