Wizards broadcast takes shot at Raptors’ Scottie Barnes/Pascal Siakam duo

For some reason, it’s become relatively commonplace on NBA social media to bash Toronto Raptors second-year standout Scottie Barnes and All-Star forward Pascal Siakam. It appears as though Barnes not becoming LeBron James at age 21 and Siakam’s bubble performance from three years ago are still fair game as far as insults go.

Despite some of the questions about this team’s direction, both Masai Ujiri and Nick Nurse appear to be in lockstep on the thought of Barnes and Siakam being the two-headed monster that leads the team to success in the future. That doesn’t mean everyone is convinced.

During the Washington Wizards’ loss against Toronto that made it nigh impossible for them to claw their way back into the play-in, former NBA power forward and analyst Drew Gooden was very damning in his analysis of the Scottie/Siakam relationship.

Gooden said that it is impossible for Barnes and Siakam to coexist on the same team if the Raptors eventually want to give Scottie the keys and make him a featured offensive player. Considering that we’ve seen improvement from both of them this season alongside one another, this argument may not hold up.

Wizards broadcast ripped Toronto Raptors stars Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam.

This is not the first media member and ex-player to take a shot at the Barnes-Siakam duo, as Kendrick Perkins implied that Siakam was on his way out via trade just minutes after Barnes was drafted. That take has been proven emphatically wrong so far in Barnes’ career.

The Raptors’ starting lineup has been one of the best in the league since Jakob Poeltl came to town, and that alignment features Barnes and Siakam sharing the floor for heavy minutes. They might play the same position, at least nominally, but the Raptors have shown they are willing to eschew positional labels at times.

Part of the reason that the Raptors’ upcoming free agency plans, which could include losing Gary Trent Jr. and Fred VanVleet, are so scary for large chunks of this fandom is the notion that both Barnes and Siakam are eventually going to get long-term deals. Toronto must plan its free agency spending around that.

Both Barnes and Siakam are well above average ball handlers and passers for their size, and the fact that they are both so skilled in this area is part of the reason why the Barnes/Siakam pairing was so intriguing for this front office. Neither are perfect players, but they play well with one another.