CLEVELAND — Two-and-a-half years ago, Joe Lacob was sitting in his corner office at Warriors headquarters in downtown Oakland, pondering what he was then calling, “not an urgent problem right now.” The question was about the future of his budding Warriors stars — Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson for sure, but also Harrison Barnes — and whether the NBA’s reconfigured financial system and luxury tax would force the Warriors to lose at least one of them.

“It is not going to be a monetary issue,” Lacob told Sporting News at the time, “because this ownership is willing to spend whatever it takes to build a championship here and be extremely competitive every year. That isn’t something I even think about, we will spend the money.”

MORE: Must-see photos from the NBA Finals rematch

Four games into these NBA Finals, with the Warriors on the edge of a second straight title, it’s obvious that Lacob’s vow to spend money on a championship team is less than three weeks away from receiving a real test. That’s because Barnes, so often the forgotten Warrior, has quietly been Golden State’s most consistent player in this series, averaging 12.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 51.3 percent from the field and 42.9 percent on 3-pointers.

Barnes was especially effective in the first quarter of Game 4, when the Warriors were trying to avoid the same kind of first-quarter meltdown that doomed them in Game 3 against a re-energized Cleveland lineup. The No. 7 pick of the 2012 NBA Draft scored eight of the Warriors’ first 10 points, including two 3-pointers, and added four rebounds.

Early in the fourth quarter, with the Cavaliers having seized an 83-81 lead, Barnes set off a critical 13-1 Warriors run with a 3-pointer. That run essentially sealed the win.

“Harrison was great,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Made those early shots to help us get going. Did a great job defensively. Hit a huge three, I guess it was early fourth quarter. But he was fantastic.”

MORE: 23 best available free agents, including Barnes

That praise comes after a postseason in which Barnes was a non-factor. Before the Finals, Barnes averaged 8.9 points and shot 40.1 percent from the field. When told that Kerr has given him the thumbs-up, Barnes said he couldn’t remember the last time that had happened. “Not recently,” he said, “so that’s always good. Tonight, we as a team played well. We played physical. We didn’t do that in Game 3. I think that’s what was the big difference for us.”

Getting his stroke back in these Finals represents good timing. When July 1 hits, Barnes will be eligible for restricted free agency, and he has managed to maintain his focus on the Warriors’ historic season and their current playoff run without feeling overshadowed by the direction of his future. It has not always been easy—there’s been the temptation to be more aggressive, to post his own numbers in an effort to audition for potential free-agent suitors.

“For me, since the beginning of the season, I made the decision that I would focus on the game,” Barnes said. “I knew we had something special going on. The proof is here: winning 73 games, coming back in that crazy playoff series (in the West finals) and being here in the Finals. That’s what it’s all about, and being able to put all that other stuff aside has allowed me to really enjoy this.”

MORE: Barkley says Draymond had 'obligation' to punch LeBron's balls

Barnes took a gamble last summer by turning down a four-year, $64 million offer from the Warriors. Now, because of his willingness to accept a role as a fourth option on a championship caliber team, Barnes is an enormous gamble for teams with cap space this summer. He averaged 11.7 points and 4.9 rebounds this season, and his player-efficiency rating has actually dipped in his fourth season, from 13.4 last year to 12.9 this year (15.0 is considered average).

The emergence of Draymond Green has dented Barnes’ usefulness to the Warriors, and Golden State gave Green a five-year deal worth $85 million last summer. That brings us back to Lacob, who, when he was originally speaking about the Warriors’ future payroll, was not counting on Green’s stardom. But he also was not aware at the time that the league’s new television deal would be so rich, and that payrolls would spike this summer. That’s created a narrow path for the Warriors to actually make a play for the top free-agent prize, Kevin Durant.

But there has been blow-back against that notion, according to sources within the organization, especially if the Warriors win another title. Several teams with significant cap space this summer — the Celtics, Lakers, Suns, Mavericks among them — have the intention of pursuing Barnes, especially as a fallback option for Durant. Barnes is expected to receive and offer of at least $20 million per year or perhaps as much as a max offer starting at about $23 million.

MORE: How to properly argue MJ's Bulls vs. Curry's Warriors

The Warriors have the right to match any offer, though, because Barnes is a restricted free agent. One source within the organization pointed out that Lacob and the Warriors owners have, indeed, said all along that he will pay to keep a winning team together, and that has not changed. As an outsider NBA general manager told Sporting News, “I think that all along that they were not going to let him go unless they fell down and didn’t win it all. It might just be that they’re trying to push down offers, but that’s the message.”

The one possible scenario in which Barnes leaves, the source said, would be if he approached the Warriors front office with a request to be elsewhere. If Barnes determines he would like to have a chance to be a more featured part of an offense, the Warriors would likely honor that — especially if a sign-and-trade deal could be worked out. A deal involving fellow free agent Nicolas Batum of the Hornets (Barnes played college basketball at North Carolina) has been rumored, but of course nothing along those lines has actually been discussed.

Barnes, while thoughtful about the decision ahead of him, insists he has not thought about what he’s going to next. He’s been in the playoffs in all four of his NBA seasons, has been part of teams that have gone 238-90 in the regular season and is on the brink of its second title. It would be difficult to leave that kind of success and go to a .500 team or worse just to get more shots.

MORE: Ranking every Finals rematch, from 1953 to LeBron

“This could be my last time getting here,” Barnes said, “regardless if I stayed or left, so I just want to really enjoy this moment and give it all I have. You don’t know. You look at the Spurs, they have guys who could have left multiple times, guys who could have commanded a lot more money, and almost 20 years later, five championships later, here are those guys still there.”

That’s going to weigh on what Barnes will do next, he said. It will weigh on the Warriors’ decisions, too. “When you peel away the individual stats and the money that could be made,” Barnes said, “all that kind of pales in comparison to championships. That’s what it’s all about.”