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“A lot of guys are too cool,” Flake says. Or too tired after a hike. But Barnes, happier to dish dimes than score, derives energy from helping others.

Barnes, already a high-rated prospect, piqued Montverde’s interest with his ferociousness. At an EYBL camp the next summer, a Montverde coach approached him about joining them. “I don’t want to join Montverde,” he told the coach. “I want to beat them.”

“Losing to them,” Barnes says now, “it just really broke my heart, my soul.”

“He wanted that responsibility,” Miller says. “He wants to be challenged. He wants you to give him the opportunity to be your leader. And if you give him that opportunity, he’s going to repay you tenfold.”

“What separates Scott from other great athletes or famous students, and community-minded individuals, is the joy that he brings to everything he does. Henri Nouwen said, ‘Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to keep choosing joy every day.’ With everything that has transpired in Scott’s life, he could choose anger and resentment. He could have chosen a path much less positive. Scott has chosen to bring joy to everything he does, and he lifts others around him to that same state of joy.”

Despite Barnes’s improved play, the Raptors have gone 7-9 in that stretch. With several contract decisions looming, they still have to ask themselves if it makes sense to try to win and develop Barnes around the team as it is currently constructed. That’s the challenge of trying to do everything at once. It can be hard to find a sense of direction.

Reeko wrote:Confirms what I’ve suspected, Scottie is a big brother type and Fred has been trying to little bro him. He’s going to thrive once they give him the reins to the team. And I’m not talking about being the #1 option on offense.

nikster wrote:

Reeko wrote:Confirms what I’ve suspected, Scottie is a big brother type and Fred has been trying to little bro him. He’s going to thrive once they give him the reins to the team. And I’m not talking about being the #1 option on offense.

How does this confirm Fred has been trying to "little bro" him?

MAD ROB wrote:Surprised Sohi didn't provide an analysis of his game vis-a-vis his astrological sign.

alfie123 wrote:Been saying this all year, just because Fred was undrafted doesn’t mean he’s the leader. Some players are actually just more superior based on ability, intellect, physicality.

Funny to see Fred claim to be the leader, have the leagues worst shooting percentage, cannot finish around the rim and is too small. I get the sense Scottie doesn’t care for his leadership.

Give Scottie the keys!!

Barnes agrees: “I tend to get more passive at times. Well, most of the time. That’s one thing that I try to change—my mind—and keep trying to be aggressive. These guys always give me confidence to keep trying to attack, be ready to shoot. I feel like that’s one thing I just got to grow out of: being passive.”

Instead of settling, he is dribbling into the open space, drifting naturally into the middle of the floor, where he can take advantage of his multivarious skill set. He operates like a playmaking four—setting screens, catching the ball on the roll, and making decisive plays against reactive defenses. In this role, Barnes is the connective tissue between the present and future that the Raptors envisioned, setting picks and dribble handoffs for VanVleet and Trent and cutting and crashing off Anunoby’s and Siakam’s perimeter attacks.

Reeko wrote:Confirms what I’ve suspected, Scottie is a big brother type and Fred has been trying to little bro him. He’s going to thrive once they give him the reins to the team. And I’m not talking about being the #1 option on offense.

ItsDanger wrote:"Wait your turn and earn it like I did" "Follow the pecking order, project" "I had to play in the G league, everything was given to you on a silver platter"

It's time.

Fairview4Life wrote:

ItsDanger wrote:"Wait your turn and earn it like I did" "Follow the pecking order, project" "I had to play in the G league, everything was given to you on a silver platter"

It's time.

Where are those quotes from?

Airmiess wrote:

alfie123 wrote:Been saying this all year, just because Fred was undrafted doesn’t mean he’s the leader. Some players are actually just more superior based on ability, intellect, physicality.

Funny to see Fred claim to be the leader, have the leagues worst shooting percentage, cannot finish around the rim and is too small. I get the sense Scottie doesn’t care for his leadership.

Give Scottie the keys!!

I won’t touch the Scottie vs FVV cold war conspiracy stuff..

however, typically when you draft a guy in the top 5 and he wins ROY you would think the rollover to next season begins with his continued development as the focal point.

Fairview4Life wrote:

ItsDanger wrote:"Wait your turn and earn it like I did" "Follow the pecking order, project" "I had to play in the G league, everything was given to you on a silver platter"

It's time.

Where are those quotes from?

Johnny Bball wrote:

Fairview4Life wrote:

ItsDanger wrote:"Wait your turn and earn it like I did" "Follow the pecking order, project" "I had to play in the G league, everything was given to you on a silver platter"

It's time.

Where are those quotes from?

Make fake argument, win fake argument, bask in how much smarter you are than everyone else.

Johnny Bball wrote:

Fairview4Life wrote:

ItsDanger wrote:"Wait your turn and earn it like I did" "Follow the pecking order, project" "I had to play in the G league, everything was given to you on a silver platter"

It's time.

Where are those quotes from?

Make fake argument, win fake argument, bask in how much smarter you are than everyone else.

YogurtProducer wrote:

nikster wrote:

Reeko wrote:Confirms what I’ve suspected, Scottie is a big brother type and Fred has been trying to little bro him. He’s going to thrive once they give him the reins to the team. And I’m not talking about being the #1 option on offense.

How does this confirm Fred has been trying to "little bro" him?

It doesn't lol

Both Scottie/FVV just had their best months all year simultaneously (and GTJ too for that matter), and we are still just blindly hating.

FWIW - FVV imo should be traded but him being brought into every convo about Scottie makes what should be an otherwise pretty positive thread into more Scottie vs FVV bull.