Harrison Barnes came to the Warriors in 2012 with high expectations.
In two seasons at North Carolina, he averaged 16.3 points per game.
But on the Warriors, with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson leading the way, Barnes averaged 10.1 points per game in his four seasons.
Now, after signing a four-year, $94 million deal with the Mavericks, the expectations have ratched back up for Barnes.
"He's been a great system player. I think that's the way to characterize it. He's been playing with two perennial All-Stars and MVP candidates, let's be honest. And now, we need him to step up to a higher level of responsibility for us. Dirk [Nowitzki] is getting near the end of his career, [Chandler] Parsons was a playermaker and a scorer for us, so we're going to need him to score and stretch out and do other things," Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said on SiriusXM NBA Radio on Monday.
Carlisle also spoke about his interactions with Barnes recently and what he likes about the 24-year-old.
"I just spent the last five days with him, two and a half days in Ames, Iowa, which was really interesting, and a couple days in Dallas, and I love him. I love his work ethic, I love his game and I see the possibilities of how he can keep improving and work towards getting that higher level and striving to become an All-Star caliber guy," Carlisle said.
The Mavericks signed Barnes as soon as the rules allowed last Thursday, with a lighthearted poke at the drama that cost them DeAndre Jordan last year.
Dallas owner Mark Cuban tweeted a picture shortly after the NBA's moratorium ended at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time last Thursday showing the former Golden State player playfully handcuffed to president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson, with both smiling.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
