Raptors: 3 reasons to get hyped about the Scottie Barnes pick

2021 NBA Draft night kicked off on July 29th as expected, with the top three picks of the board being Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, and Evan Mobley. As the Toronto Raptors were on the clock to lock in their pick, even ESPN began to show the college highlight reel of Jalen Suggs. At the last minute, Barnes ended up with the pick.

You could hear the collective shock of Raptors Nation as Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster shocked the basketball world by going ahead with Barnes as the No. 4 pick in the draft. Now that the proverbial dust has settled, if you haven’t already, please take a few deep breaths and exhale while repeating the mantra: In Masai We Trust.

At the Draft Combine, Barnes thoroughly impressed scouts with his 2.99-second shuttle run (second best at the combine), and he also recorded a 36-inch standing vertical (third-best mark amongst all combine participants). Clearly, the Raptors believe in his athletic ability.

Now let’s take a look at Barnes and how he could potentially meet or exceed expectations based on his raw skills, talent, and potential. Here are 3 reasons to get hyped about Barnes and his future in this league.

Toronto Raptors: 3 reasons to get hyped about Scottie Barnes

1. Point-Forward skills

Barnes is a freakishly athletic forward who reads the floor extremely well and has a knack for finding his teammates in the right spots. With Florida State, Barnes averaged a team-high 4.1 assists per game. His 2.05 AST/TO ratio ranked third among power-five freshmen.

Standing 6-7 tall, Barnes is easily able to grab defensive rebounds and has the handles to kick start the fast break himself. He’s got Ben Simmons’ like potential in transition with his ability to read defenses on the fly, find the 3-point shooter, and use his height advantage to spot the man cutting to the hoop, often with flashy no-look passes.

Other times, he grabs defensive boards and is comfortable throwing classic quarterback heat-seeker passes to find his teammates leading the break. If he sees the lane open, he’s able to cut aggressively to the rim and is athletic enough to posterize defenders, very similar to an old-school banger like Darius Miles.

Clearly, the elephant in the room is that he currently doesn’t possess an NBA jump-shot or a developed offensive game.

Last year with the Seminoles, he shot a paltry 11-of-40 from beyond the arc and just 62% from the free-throw line. To gain the respect of NBA defenders and improve floor spacing for his teammates, Barnes will have to become a scoring threat and work on his ability to create his own shot.

The silver lining is that the team’s development and shooting coaches were able to take Norman Powell from being a poor shooter in college to one of the leagues’ most dangerous threats from three-point territory. With Barnes’ reputation as a gym rat, he will have every opportunity to build up his offensive arsenal.

2. Insane defensive potential

While his offensive game needs work to catch up to NBA speed, defense is where Scottie Barnes really excels. His game has shades of a young Andre Iguodala, in some respects, as both have very similar builds and skillsets coming into the league.

Weighing in at 227 pounds with a 7-2 wingspan and a 9-0 standing reach, Barnes is everything you want in a defensive wing. If he gets caught on the pick, he moves laterally extremely well to guard smaller players and is big enough to handle some Centers as well.

In college, he was tasked with guarding the opposing team’s playmakers, which he handled with ease. His big Kawhi-esque hands allowed him to get deflections and pick the passing lanes, which resulted in leading his team with 1.5 steals per game (2.4 steals per 40 mins).

He takes pride in keeping the pressure on his man- often as soon as they inbound the ball. While Barnes doesn’t have a reputation as a shot-blocker (averaged 0.5 Blocks per game), he is relentless and tenacious on D, which will result in forcing turnovers and blocked shots on the weak side.

Barnes is super confident in his ability to clamp down on opposing teams:

"I don’t back down from nobody [defensively]. It’s about how tough you are, whatever you’re willing to do. I’m willing to do those things. I’m tough when I’m on the floor. I’m not gonna get bullied. I sit on defence. I guard full court. I guard the ones, the twos, the threes. I take pride in that stuff"

Scottie Barnes can guard multiple positions on defense.

A potential lineup featuring Barnes, OG Anunoby, and Pascal Siakam would create matchup problems for most teams, as they can switch with ease, disrupt the point of attack, and force turnovers that turn into instant offense in transition.

He communicates at a high level, knows how to read the floor and when to help. His versatility could prove to be a trump card for Coach Nurse as he tinkers with various lineups and defensive schemes throughout the season.

3. Infectious energy

With the sad departure of The GROAT in Kyle Lowry after he took his talents to South Beach, the team currently lacks an established identity.

Barnes is a breath of fresh air ready to infuse the locker room and practice sessions with competitive energy and excitement.

His former teammate, Max Thorpe, raves about Scottie dominating and elevating practice sessions and always being the most energetic guy on the court. Barnes is a hypercompetitive, electric player which makes him a solid addition to a team to hopefully bring back a winning culture to the city.

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It’s only been a few weeks since Giannis’ dominated his way to an NBA Championship as a super athletic, aptly nicknamed, Greek Freak. The Raptors organization seemed focused on taking a gamble and drafting a high-upside talent with very similar potential.

Scottie Barnes brings energy to the Raptors.

As it stands, Barnes has a lot of ground to cover to even be mentioned in the same conversation as the 2021 Finals MVP. But the kid just turned 20 earlier this week, and in today’s positionless NBA, he will have all the freedom to become the best version of himself.

I’m all aboard to witness Barnes’ journey in taking this team from the Draft lottery to the postseason.