Harrison Barnes Injury: Updates on Warriors Star's Knee and Return

Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes suffered what was originally thought to be a sprain to his right knee during a preseason game against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, according to CSN Bay Area's Monte Poole. However, an MRI revealed a bone bruise, according to Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group on Wednesday.

Continue for updates.

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Barnes Ruled Out vs. Houston Rockets

Thursday, Oct. 15

Barnes did was ruled out of action for the team's matchup with Houston on Oct. 15, GSWStats announced.

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How Barnes' Injury Could Impact Final Season Before Free Agency

While not one of the most important stars in the Warriors' lineup, Harrison Barnes has established himself as a key role player for the reigning NBA champions. 

The 23-year-old averaged career highs in points (10.1 PPG) and rebounds (5.5 RPG) last year. His shooting percentage also jumped nearly 10 points from 39.9 percent in 2013-14 to 48.2 percent in 2014-15.

Barnes is such an interesting player in that his stats aren't altogether impressive but he's still likely to receive a massive contract before the Nov. 2 extension deadline or next summer. He is a skilled defender and scorer, and he's also a solid rebounder for a small forward.

In his lengthy analysis of Barnes' impending free agency, Grantland's Zach Lowe wrote the Warriors will likely be forced to deal with a future in which Barnes is no longer on the roster:

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But Barnes has ambitions beyond his current role, and some team will pay him at that level if it gets the chance. There have been enough glimpses to justify that Barnes in his prime could be a versatile but expensive second option on a good team. The Warriors have already locked up a first and second option, and considering how often Green handles the ball, probably a third. Maxing out Barnes feels like a suboptimal use of resources. It will cost them quality role players at some point.

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Barnes has already turned down $16 million per year, so he could potentially command $20-plus million in the offseason, which would be a difficult price to pay from a Golden State perspective.

Given that he's in the final year of his contract, Barnes can ill afford to suffer a major injury during the 2015-16 season. Missing a lot of games could be the difference between receiving the contract offered by the Warriors and getting the kind of money he ideally wants.

Losing Barnes to injury means Golden State will play Andre Iguodala more at the 3, which isn't the worst thing in the world. The bigger impact for the Warriors may be at power forward. Barnes' ability to play the 4 is great for the Warriors when they want to play small ball. While head coach Steve Kerr won't abandon the strategy completely without Barnes, the tactic may not be quite as effective.