OAKLAND — In early April 2012, at the tail end of a lockout-shortened 23-43 season, the Warriors packed up for another meaningless road trip, bouncing from Los Angeles to Memphis to Salt Lake City, serving as lottery-bound road kill for playoff-bound teams. That was life in April as a Warrior back then.

Stephen Curry didn’t make the trip. So he doesn’t remember the exact game. But he remembers the night. Curry picked up Andrew Bogut, the team’s newest acquisition, from his Oakland hotel. Curry drove Bogut back to his apartment in San Francisco. They watched the Warriors lose. They talked basketball. They talked life — Golden State’s two centerpieces, both injured, getting to know each other.

“It was off and running from there,” Curry said.

A little more than four years later, Bogut returns to Oakland on Wednesday night to face his former franchise for the first time. So does Harrison Barnes. They’re both Dallas Mavericks, necessary cap casualties from the Kevin Durant signing.

So much has changed since Bogut and Barnes arrived. In their four seasons, the Warriors made the playoffs all four years. They won a championship. They set the NBA’s all-time regular season wins record. Then the Warriors proved appealing enough to lure one of the biggest free agents in league history.

There are so many reasons for Golden State’s rapid rise. Bogut and Barnes aren’t atop the list. But, while oft-criticized, both guys — two of the five starters on the Warriors’ first title team in 40 years — played important roles.

The Warriors traded for Bogut in March of 2012. It was an unpopular move within the fan base. Bogut was injured at the time and, to pluck him from Milwaukee, they needed to part ways with the well-liked Monta Ellis.

Giving up a high-scoring, high-usage guard for a defensive-minded big man? It was an early sign that the franchise’s new management team — led by owner Joe Lacob, general manager Larry Riley and soon-to-be general manager Bob Myers — really were morphing the culture.

“Andrew was kind of the only center we had here over the last 30 years,” Myers said.

The face of the franchise noticed.

“It was a move in the totally opposite direction of anything the Warriors had ever done,” Curry said. “We knew he’d be a huge catalyst in giving us that defensive mindset.”

Four months after the trade, three months after that get-to-know-you night in Curry’s apartment and two months after Myers had taken over GM duties for Riley, 2012 NBA Draft night arrived. Myers’ first selection in his new role: Harrison Barnes, 7th overall.

Draymond Green, at 35, was the steal of the draft, a franchise changer. But hitting on Barnes at seven was important, too. He was an immediate starter and steady two-way contributor on a playoff team from Day 1.

And when Steve Kerr arrived two years later, Barnes’ versatility proved crucial. To unlock the team’s full potential, Kerr unleashed a small-ball unit later nicknamed the Death Lineup. It terrorized the league.

Green was the engine, rising to stardom as a tenacious, undersized 6-foot-7 play-making center, rampaging on the back end while the Splash Brothers poured in 3s from all over. But to ensure it wasn’t overpowered, Barnes needed to hold his own against some of the league’s burly four men, like Zach Randolph, who Barnes battled well in a playoff series during the title run.

“He allowed us to play small because of his strength as a four man,” Kerr said. “We could spread the floor because of his shooting and he could guard the four man because of his strength.”

“There’s a reason he was on the floor in big moments,” Curry said.

Both Bogut and Barnes had their flaws. And blemishes tend to stick out when you’re surrounded by three All-Stars. Bogut’s injury issues bit Golden State last June when he was knocked out of the Finals with a knee issue. And, during that same series, Barnes slumped, shooting a combined 5 of 32 in those final three losses. The Warriors’ fan base grumbled.

But warts are only bothersome on a day-to-day basis. Now the lens is widened. Instead of the minor issues, Bogut and Barnes can be remembered for the memories they helped cultivate. It goes beyond Bogut’s defensive quarterbacking and Barnes’ capable play.

They were colorful, different personalities in the locker room and around the community. Green cracked up the other day thinking back on Bogut’s jokes at the card table. Curry says he still laughs about Bogut’s “Twitter gems” and elevator responses to surprised strangers.

“He said he was going to make a business card that had a line, ‘Yes, I know I’m tall, I do play basketball,’ and he’d just hand it to them,” Curry said.

Then there was Barnes, who perhaps more than any other Warrior embraced the Oakland community. Myers was floored by all the non-team organized community events in which Barnes participated. He rode around Oakland with Bay Area News Group columnist Marcus Thompson II to get a better idea of the city’s rougher areas.

Curry’s favorite Barnes memory: In the summer of 2014, he organized a fan mail initiative, asking anyone interested to send him letters about why they wanted an autograph and, if he approved, he’d sign and send it back. Barnes’ mailbox flooded.

“He’d go to his P.O. box himself, get the big-old mail wagon, gather up the letters, sign everything and send it back to people,” Curry said. “He took time out of every day just to reach out to fans.”

Myers called Barnes “a guy you’d want your daughter to date. Just a solid individual.” He was business-like when it came to basketball. But on the night the Warriors won the title, Barnes let himself enjoy the moment. Kerr gave him a shot of tequila.

“He said it was his first drink he’d ever had,” Kerr laughed. “So I was proud I was able to offer him tequila.”

Everyone has their favorite memories of the pair. At some point on Wednesday, a tribute video will help remind fans of theirs. And as it plays, Oracle will likely rise in appreciation for a golden era of Warriors hoops in which they helped create.

“It’ll be an amazing response, ovation for them,” Curry said. “Something that they truly deserve.”