The Golden State Warriors raised their championship banner and received their rings before comfortably defeating the New Orleans Pelicans by a final score of 111-95.

Stephen Curry is now putting that championship season firmly in the past.

"This is the last straw of the whole championship celebration," Curry told Yahoo Sports. "We celebrated for three months, as we should. But you can't get distracted by what happened last year. I might peek at [the ring] every once in a while, but it's not like it's going to go away.

"I'm going to put it in the safe and just worry about what's ahead. When we are 10 games into the season nobody cares about it. You can't bring the [ring] out onto the floor. It's not going to intimidate anybody. You got to go out and play."

The Golden State Warriors and Harrison Barnes have broken off talks on a contract extension. 

The two sides have until Nov. 2nd to agree upon a deal.

In September, Barnes rejected the Warriors' four-year, $64 million extension offer.

Talks ended at the request of Barnes.

“The deal has to work for Harrison and the organization,” Bob Myers said. “And I always — maybe it’s my background (as a player agent) — but I always respect the position that an athlete takes in these situations. And now, representing the organization, we’re going to make the decision the best decision for us.

“I would not say (they’re) disappointed, would not say frustrated. Like I said, (Barnes) has conducted himself tremendously well — as has his representative — and I think we ended the discussions in a very healthy place, if that’s possible. And I say that will all sincerity.”

Ian Clark received recruiting letters in high school mentioning Stephen Curry with the idea he could develop into that type of player.

Clark played collegiately at Belmont and is now Curry's teammate having made the Golden State Warriors' regular season roster.

Clark said he grew up following Jason Terry and now models some of his game after Curry.

"Of course, when we're competing, that's all out the window," Clark said, smiling. "I'm trying to go after him. He helps me a lot."

The Oklahoma City Thunder led the NBA in efficiency differential during the preseason with a mark of +12.5.

During the 14-15 preseason, the Golden State Warriors had the league's best mark with +11.0, which became a first indicator of their jump as title contenders.

Here's the full rankings from the 15-16 preseason:

1. Thunder: 12.5
2. Celtics: 11.6
3. Grizzlies: 11.5
4. Wizards: 10.4
5. Hornets: 10.0
6. Pistons: 7.1
7. Raptors: 5.6
8. Pacers: 4.7
9. Knicks: 4.0
10. Suns: 3.9
11. Nuggets: 3.5
12. Kings: 3.3
13. Magic: 2.8
14. Blazers: 1.8
15. Jazz: 0.4
16. Heat: 0.0
17. Hawks: -0.7
18. Rockets: -0.7
19. Nets: -1.0
20. Warriors: -1.3
21. Spurs: -1.9
22. Lakers: -2.1
23. Bucks: -3.4
24. Bulls: -3.6
25. Pelicans: -3.6
26. Clippers: -4.2
27. Cavaliers: -6.5
28. 76ers: -8.6
29. Mavericks: -10.7
30. Wolves: -11.0

Steve Kerr will not be available to coach the Golden State Warriors on opening night as he continues to suffer from complications following his back surgery.

Luke Walton will continue his role as interim head coach into the regular season.

Bob Myers said there remains no timetable on Kerr's return.

"Even if you ask Steve, he doesn't know," Myers said.

Kerr had back surgery July 28 to repair an injury he suffered while coaching in the NBA Finals.

If NBA general managers could collectively decide upon a starting five, it would begin with LeBron James at small forward.

James is the pick at small forward by 89.3 percent of GMs, ahead of Kevin Durant at 8.9 percent and Kawhi Leonard at 1.8 percent.

James also received 7.1 percent of the vote at power forward, but it was Anthony Davis with the most at 82.1 percent. Blake Griffin also received 7.1 percent of the vote.

At shooting guard, James Harden was the choice of 79.3 percent of GMs, ahead of Klay Thompson with 10.3 percent.

Marc Gasol was voted best center in the NBA with 65.5 percent, ahead of DeMarcus Cousins at 13.8 percent.

Finally, Stephen Curry received 55.2 percent of the vote for the best point guard, ahead of Chris Paul at 24.1 percent and Russell Westbrook at 17.2 percent.

Curry, Harden, James, Davis and Gasol were also First Team All-NBA selections last season.

The Golden State Warriors have signed Xavier Henry and Chris Udofia.

Henry was most recently with the Los Angeles Lakers before he ruptured his left Achilles tendon.

Udofia played collegiately for Denver.

The Golden State Warriors are still unsure if Steve Kerr will be on the sidelines to start the season.

Kerr's suffering in the wake of two offseason back surgeries has improved to the point that he is with the team on its weeklong preseason swing through Southern California.

‎"He still doesn't know," Luke Walton said after practice Monday in San Diego. "He's not going to force a return. There's no timetable still. He's been around more lately, which is great. As long as it's not affecting his recovery, I think it's healthy for the guys to see him.

"Steve's brilliant at giving quick, clean messages to the players when they need it. He's been able to do that the last couple days. He just told me I'm doing a great job, just keep doing what you're doing; the guys are going to take care of some stuff you're probably stressing about; we have really good players and so we'll be fine."

Kerr underwent surgery in late July to repair a ruptured disk in his back, but the procedure caused a leakage of spinal fluid. A second surgery was required in early September to address the leak.

Walton has become more comfortable in the head coaching role over the past few weeks.

"It's night and day. Obviously this team's preference is to have Steve coach Tuesday night, but the last couple weeks I feel like I'm comfortable now," said Walton. "If you told me two weeks ago that Steve's out no matter what for the first regular-season game, I probably would not have slept much. But I feel fine and confident doing that if it's required next week."

The Warriors have waived Ben Gordon, two weeks after signing the 11-year NBA veteran.

Gordon, 32, averaged 1.0 points and 1.0 assists in 8.3 minutes in his two preseason appearances with the Warriors.

Chris Babb, Ian Clark, Jarell Eddie and Juwan Staten are the guards with non-guaranteed contracts that remain on the roster.

Harrison Barnes suffered a right knee sprain in the second quarter of Tuesday's preseason game.

"We obviously won't rush him back," Luke Walton said.

Barnes and the Golden State Warriors are currently negotiating a contract extension ahead of the Nov. 2nd deadline.

Barnes started every game for the Warriors last season.