Official Scottie Barnes Thread - Part 5

[canada_dry]

3 weeks exactly until we see Barnes in action in his first pre-season game. Then the real discussions can begin in earnest.

And I’ve got tickets to the first game, a sellout in Vancouver. So unbelievably excited.

But the big question for training camp remains - does Gary start or not?

Thats awesome. How much that put you back? Im always curious how they price pre season tickets.

Sent from my SM-G960W using RealGM mobile app

[HumbleRen]

“Step more into a leader role. Losing Fred was a huge lost but it opens up more opportunities for other people … Expect great things from us, I think we’re going to do really good this year”

- Scottie Barnes.

via CBC News

[SkywalkerAC]

3 weeks exactly until we see Barnes in action in his first pre-season game. Then the real discussions can begin in earnest.

And I’ve got tickets to the first game, a sellout in Vancouver. So unbelievably excited.

But the big question for training camp remains - does Gary start or not?

Thats awesome. How much that put you back? Im always curious how they price pre season tickets.

Sent from my SM-G960W using RealGM mobile app

100, probably nosebleeds. Sold out in minutes of course, lucky that a friend got a couple and thought of me.

[Spates]

Barnes being underrated like crazy by the Raps own fan base

that’s OK tho, everyone will be on the same page soon enough

Every fan base is universally down on him.

It’s kinda insane to see everyone write off a ROTY.

I don’t think he’ll ever be a top 10 player but these people are acting like his ceiling is being an average starter.

I think it’s interesting that fans are so down on him yet people around the league who are very close to the game, who have played or who are currently playing are quite high on him. What are the fans missing?

Or are the players and folks working around the league wrong?

The team's efg% was 3.2% better when Scottie was on the court. Best on the team and ranks well among league leaders. I think it's especially impressive given the kid wasn't a primary option. The team shot less 3's when he was on the court but their accuracy significantly improved. 3.9% higher. An elite jump.

He may not be the full package but he's truly intriguing.

[HiJiNX]

Every fan base is universally down on him.

It’s kinda insane to see everyone write off a ROTY.

I don’t think he’ll ever be a top 10 player but these people are acting like his ceiling is being an average starter.

I think it’s interesting that fans are so down on him yet people around the league who are very close to the game, who have played or who are currently playing are quite high on him. What are the fans missing?

Or are the players and folks working around the league wrong?

I think players speak alot of lip service, I wouldn't take them too seriously.

Media has kinda soured on Scottie too imo. I think it's across the board tbh.

That’s not how I read it. There’s no incentive for guys like KD or Lebron to talk up Barnes. You can say that maybe the reporters asked them about Barnes. Fine. But why is a guy like KG talking about him randomly on the first episode of his podcast?

Ad for the media souring on him—I think Doug Smith and Lewenberg have soured him, but around the league I think folks are taking a more measured approach. That makes sense. His numbers were mostly the same last year, the team underachieved, and I’m going to assume most media members outside of a few don’t really watch Raptors games when they’re not in the playoff hunt.

Either way, I think that through his two years as an NBA player, Scottie has received heaps of praise about his ability and potential from folks around the league while fans have always been divided (and are probably more so now).

I just think it’s interesting.

[Boogie!]

I think it’s interesting that fans are so down on him yet people around the league who are very close to the game, who have played or who are currently playing are quite high on him. What are the fans missing?

Or are the players and folks working around the league wrong?

I think players speak alot of lip service, I wouldn't take them too seriously.

Media has kinda soured on Scottie too imo. I think it's across the board tbh.

That’s not how I read it. There’s no incentive for guys like KD or Lebron to talk up Barnes. You can say that maybe the reporters asked them about Barnes. Fine. But why is a guy like KG talking about him randomly on the first episode of his podcast?

Ad for the media souring on him—I think Doug Smith and Lewenberg have soured him, but around the league I think folks are taking a more measured approach. That makes sense. His numbers were mostly the same last year, the team underachieved, and I’m going to assume most media members outside of a few don’t really watch Raptors games when they’re not in the playoff hunt.

Either way, I think that through his two years as an NBA player, Scottie has received heaps of praise about his ability and potential from folks around the league while fans have always been divided (and are probably more so now).

I just think it’s interesting.

The only media that soured on scottie were Toronto media. And that same media also was so adamant on praising and hyping up someone else despite having the worst year of his career.

Idk why people like to put so much stock into what the media says. It's all propaganda. That's why I said I don't care what media people say about the team anymore, I don't care about outside projections, preseason discussion etc.

I'll trust what I watch and what I see from how players perform and enjoy the aspects of the team that I like. I've already said I believe the raptors are a playoff team this year.

[HiJiNX]

I think players speak alot of lip service, I wouldn't take them too seriously.

Media has kinda soured on Scottie too imo. I think it's across the board tbh.

That’s not how I read it. There’s no incentive for guys like KD or Lebron to talk up Barnes. You can say that maybe the reporters asked them about Barnes. Fine. But why is a guy like KG talking about him randomly on the first episode of his podcast?

Ad for the media souring on him—I think Doug Smith and Lewenberg have soured him, but around the league I think folks are taking a more measured approach. That makes sense. His numbers were mostly the same last year, the team underachieved, and I’m going to assume most media members outside of a few don’t really watch Raptors games when they’re not in the playoff hunt.

Either way, I think that through his two years as an NBA player, Scottie has received heaps of praise about his ability and potential from folks around the league while fans have always been divided (and are probably more so now).

I just think it’s interesting.

The only media that soured on scottie were Toronto media. And that same media also was so adamant on praising and hyping up someone else despite having the worst year of his career.

Idk why people like to put so much stock into what the media says. It's all propaganda. That's why I said I don't care what media people say about the team anymore, I don't care about outside projections, preseason discussion etc.

I'll trust what I watch and what I see from how players perform and enjoy the aspects of the team that I like. I've already said I believe the raptors are a playoff team this year.

The other thing about the media is they are frequently wrong. About a lot. But they never get taken to task. I’d also argue that most media are only good at analyzing what’s already happened but not so good at prognosticating.

We may have different reasons, but like you, I don’t put a lot of stock into what media folks say or write. Most of them are just fans who are good enough at communicating that they get to write/talk about their hobby for money.

[HiJiNX]

Every fan base is universally down on him.

It’s kinda insane to see everyone write off a ROTY.

I don’t think he’ll ever be a top 10 player but these people are acting like his ceiling is being an average starter.

I think it’s interesting that fans are so down on him yet people around the league who are very close to the game, who have played or who are currently playing are quite high on him. What are the fans missing?

Or are the players and folks working around the league wrong?

The team's efg% was 3.2% better when Scottie was on the court. Best on the team and ranks well among league leaders. I think it's especially impressive given the kid wasn't a primary option. The team shot less 3's when he was on the court but their accuracy significantly improved. 3.9% higher. An elite jump.

He may not be the full package but he's truly intriguing.

Wow great stat. It suggests that the team’s shot selection and shot quality improve when Scottie is on the court (or that’s how I choose to interpret that stat since it matches my eye test haha). It speaks to his intelligence in knowing what the right play for the team is and an underrated skill of his, which is knowing where to be in order to give his teammates’ room to operate.

Anyway, the kid has incredible basketball intelligence, great size and athleticism, and just needs to improve a couple key skills (he may never knock down threes at a high clip but a midrange jumper is easy to learn and opens up everything for him).

I don’t think I’ve ever believed in a Raptors prospect this much. Even when Vince was the most popular player on the planet, hitting game winners and dropping 50 pieces, I didn’t think he had the potential to be a championship caliber player, as the main guy. I think Barnes has that kind of potential. That doesn’t mean I think he will average a huge amount of points, but I think he will be more effective in generating wins, if that makes sense. And maybe Barnes doesn’t get there, but that’s where his ceiling is in my opinion.

And I know people think I’m crazy with this belief that I have but I have a feeling Barnes is going to prove me right.

[HumbleRen]

I think it’s interesting that fans are so down on him yet people around the league who are very close to the game, who have played or who are currently playing are quite high on him. What are the fans missing?

Or are the players and folks working around the league wrong?

I think players speak alot of lip service, I wouldn't take them too seriously.

Media has kinda soured on Scottie too imo. I think it's across the board tbh.

That’s not how I read it. There’s no incentive for guys like KD or Lebron to talk up Barnes. You can say that maybe the reporters asked them about Barnes. Fine. But why is a guy like KG talking about him randomly on the first episode of his podcast?

Ad for the media souring on him—I think Doug Smith and Lewenberg have soured him, but around the league I think folks are taking a more measured approach. That makes sense. His numbers were mostly the same last year, the team underachieved, and I’m going to assume most media members outside of a few don’t really watch Raptors games when they’re not in the playoff hunt.

Either way, I think that through his two years as an NBA player, Scottie has received heaps of praise about his ability and potential from folks around the league while fans have always been divided (and are probably more so now).

I just think it’s interesting.

I don't really take what media or players say too seriously about their peers because I know they're not watching Scottie on a consistent basis. KG's whole thing about Scottie was that he loves his attitude, do I think for a second that he's watching Scottie Barnes games ? No lol.

Scottie is such an unique player that he kind of bucks the tradition of what a traditional player looks like. He has high IQ, non existent shooting prowess, one of the strongest players in the league yet isn't even the 3rd best athlete on the Raptors. He's a walking dichotomy.

I personally don't think he'll be that #1 option or ever get to Vince's peak but Scottie's peak will mirror Jimmy Butler's IMO. Numbers aren't always there but he can impact a game with the best of them when it matters most. Hopefully Scottie can realize that potential.

[Spates]

I think it’s interesting that fans are so down on him yet people around the league who are very close to the game, who have played or who are currently playing are quite high on him. What are the fans missing?

Or are the players and folks working around the league wrong?

The team's efg% was 3.2% better when Scottie was on the court. Best on the team and ranks well among league leaders. I think it's especially impressive given the kid wasn't a primary option. The team shot less 3's when he was on the court but their accuracy significantly improved. 3.9% higher. An elite jump.

He may not be the full package but he's truly intriguing.

Wow great stat. It suggests that the team’s shot selection and shot quality improve when Scottie is on the court (or that’s how I choose to interpret that stat since it matches my eye test haha). It speaks to his intelligence in knowing what the right play for the team is and an underrated skill of his, which is knowing where to be in order to give his teammates’ room to operate.

Anyway, the kid has incredible basketball intelligence, great size and athleticism, and just needs to improve a couple key skills (he may never knock down threes at a high clip but a midrange jumper is easy to learn and opens up everything for him).

I don’t think I’ve ever believed in a Raptors prospect this much. Even when Vince was the most popular player on the planet, hitting game winners and dropping 50 pieces, I didn’t think he had the potential to be a championship caliber player, as the main guy. I think Barnes has that kind of potential. That doesn’t mean I think he will average a huge amount of points, but I think he will be more effective in generating wins, if that makes sense. And maybe Barnes doesn’t get there, but that’s where his ceiling is in my opinion.

And I know people think I’m crazy with this belief that I have but I have a feeling Barnes is going to prove me right.

I'm right with you. I'm a sucker for players who process the game well and prioritize good/easy baskets. What constitutes good shot is a topic of debate, but you know it when you see it. Scottie is that kinda guy and that's why I feel the same way about him as you. They're a rare breed.

While he may not have the ability to be the guy you build around, he can certainly be a cornerstone piece you build with.

I think of multiple permutations of this but gimme squad something like:

Derrick White
Bogdan Bogdanovic
OG
Scottie
Jakob

And I think you have a very legitimate team.

[ATLTimekeeper]

I think it’s interesting that fans are so down on him yet people around the league who are very close to the game, who have played or who are currently playing are quite high on him. What are the fans missing?

Or are the players and folks working around the league wrong?

The team's efg% was 3.2% better when Scottie was on the court. Best on the team and ranks well among league leaders. I think it's especially impressive given the kid wasn't a primary option. The team shot less 3's when he was on the court but their accuracy significantly improved. 3.9% higher. An elite jump.

He may not be the full package but he's truly intriguing.

Wow great stat. It suggests that the team’s shot selection and shot quality improve when Scottie is on the court (or that’s how I choose to interpret that stat since it matches my eye test haha). It speaks to his intelligence in knowing what the right play for the team is and an underrated skill of his, which is knowing where to be in order to give his teammates’ room to operate.

Anyway, the kid has incredible basketball intelligence, great size and athleticism, and just needs to improve a couple key skills (he may never knock down threes at a high clip but a midrange jumper is easy to learn and opens up everything for him).

I don’t think I’ve ever believed in a Raptors prospect this much. Even when Vince was the most popular player on the planet, hitting game winners and dropping 50 pieces, I didn’t think he had the potential to be a championship caliber player, as the main guy. I think Barnes has that kind of potential. That doesn’t mean I think he will average a huge amount of points, but I think he will be more effective in generating wins, if that makes sense. And maybe Barnes doesn’t get there, but that’s where his ceiling is in my opinion.

And I know people think I’m crazy with this belief that I have but I have a feeling Barnes is going to prove me right.

I don't think it's all that meaningful considering the woeful bench last year. There's a similar bump for Pascal, and Fred and Poeltl aren't far off, according to nba.com (slightly lower number for Scottie than posted). And Pascal and Fred would almost certainly be carrying more bench blended line-ups than Scottie last season, dragging their on court results down.

For Scottie to be that guy you see him as he has to score slightly <20 super efficiently, and be a DPOY calibre player. So he has to go from one of the worst midrange shooters in the league to respectable to weaponized, so that he can be like Jimmy Butler ref bait his way to cheap points.

[TheGeneral99]

I think players speak alot of lip service, I wouldn't take them too seriously.

Media has kinda soured on Scottie too imo. I think it's across the board tbh.

That’s not how I read it. There’s no incentive for guys like KD or Lebron to talk up Barnes. You can say that maybe the reporters asked them about Barnes. Fine. But why is a guy like KG talking about him randomly on the first episode of his podcast?

Ad for the media souring on him—I think Doug Smith and Lewenberg have soured him, but around the league I think folks are taking a more measured approach. That makes sense. His numbers were mostly the same last year, the team underachieved, and I’m going to assume most media members outside of a few don’t really watch Raptors games when they’re not in the playoff hunt.

Either way, I think that through his two years as an NBA player, Scottie has received heaps of praise about his ability and potential from folks around the league while fans have always been divided (and are probably more so now).

I just think it’s interesting.

I don't really take what media or players say too seriously about their peers because I know they're not watching Scottie on a consistent basis. KG's whole thing about Scottie was that he loves his attitude, do I think for a second that he's watching Scottie Barnes games ? No lol.

Scottie is such an unique player that he kind of bucks the tradition of what a traditional player looks like. He has high IQ, non existent shooting prowess, one of the strongest players in the league yet isn't even the 3rd best athlete on the Raptors. He's a walking dichotomy.

I personally don't think he'll be that #1 option or ever get to Vince's peak but Scottie's peak will mirror Jimmy Butler's IMO. Numbers aren't always there but he can impact a game with the best of them when it matters most. Hopefully Scottie can realize that potential.

In the draft combine, Scottie was 4th in the vertical jump (no step), 9th in the vertical jump, 7th in the lane agility drill, and 2nd in the reactive shuttle run...his metrics were elite given his size and strength.

[HumbleRen]

That’s not how I read it. There’s no incentive for guys like KD or Lebron to talk up Barnes. You can say that maybe the reporters asked them about Barnes. Fine. But why is a guy like KG talking about him randomly on the first episode of his podcast?

Ad for the media souring on him—I think Doug Smith and Lewenberg have soured him, but around the league I think folks are taking a more measured approach. That makes sense. His numbers were mostly the same last year, the team underachieved, and I’m going to assume most media members outside of a few don’t really watch Raptors games when they’re not in the playoff hunt.

Either way, I think that through his two years as an NBA player, Scottie has received heaps of praise about his ability and potential from folks around the league while fans have always been divided (and are probably more so now).

I just think it’s interesting.

I don't really take what media or players say too seriously about their peers because I know they're not watching Scottie on a consistent basis. KG's whole thing about Scottie was that he loves his attitude, do I think for a second that he's watching Scottie Barnes games ? No lol.

Scottie is such an unique player that he kind of bucks the tradition of what a traditional player looks like. He has high IQ, non existent shooting prowess, one of the strongest players in the league yet isn't even the 3rd best athlete on the Raptors. He's a walking dichotomy.

I personally don't think he'll be that #1 option or ever get to Vince's peak but Scottie's peak will mirror Jimmy Butler's IMO. Numbers aren't always there but he can impact a game with the best of them when it matters most. Hopefully Scottie can realize that potential.

In the draft combine, Scottie was 4th in the vertical jump (no step), 9th in the vertical jump, 7th in the lane agility drill, and 2nd in the reactive shuttle run...his metrics were elite given his size and strength.

His metrics were elite from a stationary stand point. There's in game athleticism and then there's just stationary athleticism. I think Scottie is in the latter rather than the former.

Look at the utter lack of lift that he gets, his head isn't even near the rim. His first step is almost non existent due to his lack of burst and we all know his issues in terms of lateral movement. He's not a better athlete than Precious/OG or Siakam IMO.

What he does have over Precious/OG and Siakam is his unreal ability to elongate his wingspan to finish over people and how incredibly strong he is.

I'd classify him as a great athlete but no where near being an elite one in the NBA.

[F22_Raptor]

“Step more into a leader role. Losing Fred was a huge lost but it opens up more opportunities for other people … Expect great things from us, I think we’re going to do really good this year”

- Scottie Barnes.

via CBC News

Read on Twitter

Summary: @RaptorsRealGM - just chill, we got this.

[Tha Cynic]

Every fan base is universally down on him.

It’s kinda insane to see everyone write off a ROTY.

I don’t think he’ll ever be a top 10 player but these people are acting like his ceiling is being an average starter.

I think it’s interesting that fans are so down on him yet people around the league who are very close to the game, who have played or who are currently playing are quite high on him. What are the fans missing?

Or are the players and folks working around the league wrong?

Honestly haven't heard much hype of Scottie this off-season. He wasn't on Team USA, either by choice or by omission. We got that one comment out of David Thorpe and executives watching the Rico runs noting that his 'joy' wasn't present. The only guy close to the league that's said anything that I can recall this summer was David Aldridge, who seemed to just make a lazy 'opportunity' argument.

If he proves people wrong it's because his summer was nothing but work.

By that sense all the other opinions could also be as lazy as, he didn't progress from his rookie season so we'll not talk about him until something changes. Opinions change very quickly. If he comes out strong for 10 games, the hype is back. If he comes out slow, the lack of confidence continues until he changes that.

Right now we're all just going off the opinion formed based on unimpressive growth from season 1 to 2 after winning rookie of the year. I actually think him winning rookie of the year and then not increasing his counting stats is why a lot of the reactions or lack of reactions are what they are. If you look at the top 4 drafted players from that class, all of them pretty much stayed stagnant.

[Tha Cynic]

I’m high on Scottie but I think I’d rather win now. Not sure what that looks like exactly, but I’d rather trade him than Pascal if we get Dame. GTJ can go too, but I’ll be sad to see both on a new team. I think it’s best we move Scottie before his flaws are exposed.

If you think his flaws will be exposed the longer he stays here that means you're not really high on him.

Personally, I'm not expecting this season to be some huge revelation. I expect this season to be a transition season that builds into next season with Barnes leaving an imprint. I want this team to learn to share the ball, develop chemistry between bench and starters and start trusting each other more - no more ignoring open players for selfish shots. I want to see players swing the call. This team has zero chemistry for me to this they'll win with a disgruntled Dame playing here before going into cap hell.

Idk man. 3rd year is historically supposed to come with a leap. This sounds like you're giving him an early excuse for not taking the leap and pushing the can down the road as they say for year 4.

He absolutely has to show something here in year 3. The pressure and urgency needs to be there.

Sent from my SM-G960W using RealGM mobile app

What I'm looking for is that pressure and urgency in his game. I want an attack mode Barnes and that's what I'm mainly looking for. He needs to attack downhill a lot more than he did and get to the free throw line. He needs to make more midrange jumpers. That's where I'm focusing on more than his final counting stats. I need to see him increase his usage. I think those honestly will take care of his jump. What I don't want to see is him setting screens, passing the ball off and then sitting in a corner and disappearing for long stretches. That part of his game needs to change.

[Spates]

The team's efg% was 3.2% better when Scottie was on the court. Best on the team and ranks well among league leaders. I think it's especially impressive given the kid wasn't a primary option. The team shot less 3's when he was on the court but their accuracy significantly improved. 3.9% higher. An elite jump.

He may not be the full package but he's truly intriguing.

Wow great stat. It suggests that the team’s shot selection and shot quality improve when Scottie is on the court (or that’s how I choose to interpret that stat since it matches my eye test haha). It speaks to his intelligence in knowing what the right play for the team is and an underrated skill of his, which is knowing where to be in order to give his teammates’ room to operate.

Anyway, the kid has incredible basketball intelligence, great size and athleticism, and just needs to improve a couple key skills (he may never knock down threes at a high clip but a midrange jumper is easy to learn and opens up everything for him).

I don’t think I’ve ever believed in a Raptors prospect this much. Even when Vince was the most popular player on the planet, hitting game winners and dropping 50 pieces, I didn’t think he had the potential to be a championship caliber player, as the main guy. I think Barnes has that kind of potential. That doesn’t mean I think he will average a huge amount of points, but I think he will be more effective in generating wins, if that makes sense. And maybe Barnes doesn’t get there, but that’s where his ceiling is in my opinion.

And I know people think I’m crazy with this belief that I have but I have a feeling Barnes is going to prove me right.

I don't think it's all that meaningful considering the woeful bench last year. There's a similar bump for Pascal, and Fred and Poeltl aren't far off, according to nba.com (slightly lower number for Scottie than posted). And Pascal and Fred would almost certainly be carrying more bench blended line-ups than Scottie last season, dragging their on court results down.

For Scottie to be that guy you see him as he has to score slightly <20 super efficiently, and be a DPOY calibre player. So he has to go from one of the worst midrange shooters in the league to respectable to weaponized, so that he can be like Jimmy Butler ref bait his way to cheap points.

Hey ATL, how are you?

My numbers are from cleaning the glass.

I think it's pretty meaningful. It's not an above replacement stat. When Barnes is on the floor, regardless of the four other teammates, on avg the team's efg% increases by 3. The year prior he was a negative in that regard. -0.8%

[TheGeneral99]

We know Scottie can easily be a 16, 7 and 5 player on decent efficiency as the 3rd or 4th option.

Now can he sustain his efficiency and increase his production as the 2nd or 3rd option? If he averages around 19ppg, 8rpg and 7apg on solid shooting splits I would be very happy. That would be very impressive for a 3rd year 22 year old.

Barnes will never be Jokic but for comparison, Jokic in his 3rd season as a 22 year old averaged 19ppg, 11rpg and 6apg on splits of 50%fg, 40%3fg and 85% ft.

[ATLTimekeeper]

Wow great stat. It suggests that the team’s shot selection and shot quality improve when Scottie is on the court (or that’s how I choose to interpret that stat since it matches my eye test haha). It speaks to his intelligence in knowing what the right play for the team is and an underrated skill of his, which is knowing where to be in order to give his teammates’ room to operate.

Anyway, the kid has incredible basketball intelligence, great size and athleticism, and just needs to improve a couple key skills (he may never knock down threes at a high clip but a midrange jumper is easy to learn and opens up everything for him).

I don’t think I’ve ever believed in a Raptors prospect this much. Even when Vince was the most popular player on the planet, hitting game winners and dropping 50 pieces, I didn’t think he had the potential to be a championship caliber player, as the main guy. I think Barnes has that kind of potential. That doesn’t mean I think he will average a huge amount of points, but I think he will be more effective in generating wins, if that makes sense. And maybe Barnes doesn’t get there, but that’s where his ceiling is in my opinion.

And I know people think I’m crazy with this belief that I have but I have a feeling Barnes is going to prove me right.

I don't think it's all that meaningful considering the woeful bench last year. There's a similar bump for Pascal, and Fred and Poeltl aren't far off, according to nba.com (slightly lower number for Scottie than posted). And Pascal and Fred would almost certainly be carrying more bench blended line-ups than Scottie last season, dragging their on court results down.

For Scottie to be that guy you see him as he has to score slightly <20 super efficiently, and be a DPOY calibre player. So he has to go from one of the worst midrange shooters in the league to respectable to weaponized, so that he can be like Jimmy Butler ref bait his way to cheap points.

Hey ATL, how are you?

My numbers are from cleaning the glass.

I think it's pretty meaningful. It's not an above replacement stat. When Barnes is on the floor, regardless of the four other teammates, on avg the team's efg% increases by 3. The year prior he was a negative in that regard. -0.8%

It's not a bad thing, but I don't think it contains much to get excited about. Cleaning the glass has Aaron Gordon at 5.6.

[MiamiSPX]

The team's efg% was 3.2% better when Scottie was on the court. Best on the team and ranks well among league leaders. I think it's especially impressive given the kid wasn't a primary option. The team shot less 3's when he was on the court but their accuracy significantly improved. 3.9% higher. An elite jump.

He may not be the full package but he's truly intriguing.

Wow great stat. It suggests that the team’s shot selection and shot quality improve when Scottie is on the court (or that’s how I choose to interpret that stat since it matches my eye test haha). It speaks to his intelligence in knowing what the right play for the team is and an underrated skill of his, which is knowing where to be in order to give his teammates’ room to operate.

Anyway, the kid has incredible basketball intelligence, great size and athleticism, and just needs to improve a couple key skills (he may never knock down threes at a high clip but a midrange jumper is easy to learn and opens up everything for him).

I don’t think I’ve ever believed in a Raptors prospect this much. Even when Vince was the most popular player on the planet, hitting game winners and dropping 50 pieces, I didn’t think he had the potential to be a championship caliber player, as the main guy. I think Barnes has that kind of potential. That doesn’t mean I think he will average a huge amount of points, but I think he will be more effective in generating wins, if that makes sense. And maybe Barnes doesn’t get there, but that’s where his ceiling is in my opinion.

And I know people think I’m crazy with this belief that I have but I have a feeling Barnes is going to prove me right.

I'm right with you. I'm a sucker for players who process the game well and prioritize good/easy baskets. What constitutes good shot is a topic of debate, but you know it when you see it. Scottie is that kinda guy and that's why I feel the same way about him as you. They're a rare breed.

While he may not have the ability to be the guy you build around, he can certainly be a cornerstone piece you build with.

I am on board with this. You can see his basketball IQ is off the charts. He reminds me of Rasheed Wallace. Not in the way they play, but rather in the enigmatic talent. You already know he won't be THE undisputed guy, but you also can't let go of that tantalizing talent, size and smarts.

I still maintain that at the end of the day, Barnes and Mobley will be the top 2 players BY FAR of that draft class (although the latter is becoming massively overrated rather quickly).