3 Draft Day Scottie Barnes takes that were laughably wrong

2. Kendrick Perkins wants to trade Pascal Siakam

With the Raptors in the lottery and Barnes listed as a power forward, analysts like Kendrick Perkins seemed to believe that the Pascal Siakam era in Toronto was coming to an end. Perkins was advocating for a Siakam trade before the pair ever played together.

Perkins’ assumption was rooted in two beliefs that have since been proven incorrect. Not only was Toronto not moving into a complete rebuild after one disappointing season, but they were more than willing to tinker with the lineups to make sure Barnes and Siakam shared the floor as much as possible.

Toronto Raptors: Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes can coexist.

The Raptors moved Siakam to center and Barnes to point guard at times to make sure that their two uber-versatile switchblades were playing together. As a result, the combination of Barnes’ lightning-like quickness in the open floor and Siakam’s dominance on offense made for quite the fantastic pairing.

While some teams might have been willing to pigeonhole Barnes, the Raptors have fully leaned into the wackiness his play style can create. As a result, Toronto became the only team in the league with five starters all topping 15 points per game.