From a personnel standpoint, this next stretch of games without Kawhi Leonard feels more important for RJ Barrett than anyone else on the Toronto Raptors. With the “Maple Mamba” in the final year of his deal, the way he plays with Leonard out could really help his case to earn a long-term extension from the Raptors. The Barrett extension hasn’t been something I’ve personally shied away from since writing over here at Raptors Rapture, and that won’t be changing any time soon.
With Barrett, there have been clear questions about his fit as an off-ball scorer when this group is fully healthy, as he’s never been a great shooter or the type of defender you’d want a third or fourth option to be. But one of the strongest counterpoints to those of us against extending RJ is that when Leonard inevitably missed time due to injury, Barrett was supposed to have the tools to step up and be a No. 2 option for this team.
After all, he did it in a seven-game sample size during the 2026 playoffs, so that must mean it was super legit, right?
Barrett has a great opportunity to lock in his future as a Raptor
For Barrett, there's never been a better chance to show Bobby Webster he’s crucial to this team's success and that they need to extend him and keep him alongside Scottie Barnes for a long time.
Yes, it’s just a four-game sample without Leonard in the lineup, but the Raptors' half-court offense has been a tough watch, and Barrett needs to help fix that. He’s been billed as a player capable of creating his own shot when the offense stalls and needs a jolt. Since Leonard has gone down, he’s had moments like this, starting both the Minnesota game and the first game against Orlando off incredibly hot and carrying Toronto’s offense. But in the second half, he hit a wall in both of those games, just like he did from the jump in game two against Orlando.
That’s the issue right now: we’ve yet to see Barrett put together a consistent run as a No. 2 scoring option. Yes, there is a seven-game sample from last year's playoffs, but that’s still too small of a sample for a front office to feel comfortable saying that’s who Barrett can be. Now, a seven-game playoff sample plus, let's say, eight more regular-season games would give you a 15-game sample that offers a better idea of who Barrett is in a bigger role.
He needs to show he can consistently produce as a scorer in games where he's near the top of the opposing team's scouting report alongside Barnes. That projects to be the exact situation he'll face over this next stretch, which should tell us a lot about who Barrett really is as a player.
I’m not going to throw a label on Barrett or suggest he isn’t capable of stepping up, because he did it in the postseason against the Cavaliers. Also, he isn’t the sole reason Toronto has struggled to score in the half-court recently, as their spacing issues remain prevalent. But if he can be a solution to those issues, that only amplifies his importance to the team from the front office's perspective.
No one is saying he has to be Kawhi Leonard or become some elite top-10 scorer in the league with Klaw out. However, if he can be a steady No. 2 for Scottie Barnes during this stretch and look like the player he did in the playoffs last season, the case for not extending him long-term becomes a lot weaker.
Add us as a preferred source on Google