It’s no secret that RJ Barrett wants to be a Toronto Raptor for the foreseeable future. He said so in his end-of-season interview, which came as no surprise after he got a first taste of playing postseason basketball for his hometown team and even hit a clutch 3-pointer to extend the series to seven games.
However, Barrett’s contract is set to expire after the 2026-27 season, and the Raptors haven’t signed him to an extension yet. Money is one issue. With a lot of money committed to Immanuel Quickley, Jakob Poeltl, and Scottie Barnes, and even more salary coming in when—or if—Kawhi Leonard finally joins the team, affording an extension for Barrett would be difficult. Even if he’s willing to take a discount, the Raptors will want to wait to see how he fits next to Barnes and Leonard before committing lots of long-term money to him.
Their willingness to wait is a good sign for anyone except Barrett. The Raptors already signed Poeltl and Quickley to massive extensions that didn’t age well and reportedly kept them from trading for Trae Young or Jaren Jackson Jr. at this year’s trade deadline. They cannot afford another mistake like that.
Fortunately, it seems they are learning from those past mistakes.
Barrett can still play his way into an extension
If Barrett goes into next season on an expiring contract, he will have to prove his value to this new-look Raptors team. Leonard’s frequent need for load management should work in his favor. When Leonard is out, someone else will have to step up as a go-to scorer and no one on the roster is better equipped to do that than Barrett.
However, there are some concerns about Barrett’s fit next to Leonard and Barnes.
He isn’t a bad 3-point shooter by any means. His 34.5% shooting over seven seasons is solid. However, with Leonard and Barnes as the clear top options and focal points for the Raptors (if the trade for Leonard is completed before the season), Barrett will have to spend a lot of time playing off the ball and working off those two. Ideally, you’d like someone who’s better than “just” a solid 3-point shooter in that role, especially considering that the spacing in the starting lineup already won’t be great with Barnes and Jakob Poeltl in the frontcourt.
Still, with Barnes and Leonard drawing a ton of attention, Barrett should still get plenty of opportunities to put pressure on the rim and do what he does best.
He will have to prove that he can help the team win when everyone is healthy and available if he wants to lock down a new deal with the Raptors. However, when Leonard is out, Barrett has a chance to become invaluable.
When Brandon Ingram struggled in the playoffs, Barrett stepped up big as the Raptors’ best player alongside Barnes. If he can be that same force whenever Leonard is out and the Raptors need to get a win without him, it could go a long way toward securing his future in Toronto.
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