Raptors Select Florida State’s Scottie Barnes with No. 4 Pick

This is what all that frustration was for.

This is why Kyle Lowry played nine of the Toronto Raptors’ final 27 games following the March 25th trade deadline. It’s why Raptors president Masai Ujiri asked “play-in for what?” during his year-end press conference. The Raptors knew their 2020-21 roster was flawed, fatally so. Instead of going for it, they pivoted, hoping that it would all be worth it.

Two months after the Raptors walked off the court for the final time in Tampa the dream has come true. Toronto selected Scottie Barnes with the fourth overall pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft.

Toronto’s pick was the first surprise of draft night. The Raptors reportedly made a last-minute attempt to move up in the draft and acquire the No. 3 pick from the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, but the Cavaliers wouldn’t bite. Unable to get Evan Mobley, Toronto opted to pass on Jalen Suggs, who went No. 5 to Orlando, and selected the Florida State product.

“I think he’s kind of a multi-faceted, multi-positional two-way player,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “We want two-way guys who are versatile. He’s all of that, and he’s young. I’m excited, man. I liked him.”

While Toronto’s decision to go with Barnes over Suggs was certainly surprising, there’s a ton to like about the 19-year-old from West Palm Beach. He is, by all accounts, a team-first, charismatic, and great locker room presence. At the NBA Combine in Chicago, he stuck around well after his workouts to cheer on his fellow prospects.

“I’m always pretty excited to see other people succeed,” Barnes said. “I like seeing other people be happy. That’s just who I am. I’m a natural leader. I’m a guy who encourages other guys to be better. I like seeing people be great at what they love doing. That’s just who I am, the natural guy that I am. I’m a caring guy, a loving guy. No matter what, I just want to spread love and positivity.”

More importantly, he’s a lockdown defender with future all-defense kind of skills. At 6-foot-8 with a 7-foot-2.75 wingspan, he’s versatile and switchable and should have no problem guarding almost anyone on the basketball court.

“He’s got a bit of a knack for anticipation,” Nurse said. “That’s why he gets into lanes. Not only his length — he has outstanding length, and that helps him — but he has the feel to do that. He reminds me of two guys we already have, OG and Pascal.”

Unlike most prospects who boldly proclaim they can guard one through five without any supporting evidence, Barnes has the length to actually defend at least one through four and may have the skills to guard some smaller centers down the road.

The multi-million dollar question about Barnes, however, is his shooting. Much like Anunoby and Siakam who weren’t fully developed shooters when they entered the NBA, Barnes’ shot has major question marks. He shot just 27.5% from three-point range while averaging just 10.3 points per game.

Toronto believes it can work with Barnes to fix that.

“Let’s put it this way, his shot isn’t broken,” Nurse said. “People talk about his jump shot’s broken, it isn’t broken. I think there’s probably a few little mechanical things that we’ll probably look at, as we do with everybody. And then it’s going to be up to him. I think there will be some things we think we can look at, there won’t be a ton, there will be a few, and then it’ll be up to him to put in the work.”

That shouldn’t be too much of a problem for Barnes who is known for his impressive work ethic and his determination to get better.

“I feel like my shooting improved so much tremendously since the college season but of course it’s getting with the program, being able to, willing to work with them, trying to, if they feel like they need to fix something in it, I’m willing to work with them to try to fix whatever it needs,” Barnes said. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to try to be the best player I can be, being that great, being at the top of the league, being able to just come in day and day out knowing that I’m the best player on the floor. I’m trying to achieve greatness.”

Whatever the Raptors saw in Barnes’ reportedly impressive workouts clearly was enough to convince Toronto’s front office that those offensive issues are fixable. He already has the offensive IQ to make the right plays, make smart passes, and kickstart the offense in transition, Nurse said. Now, it’ll be about putting everything together, rounding out his shooting mechanics, and developing Barnes into the type of truly two-way player the Raptors have seen Anunoby and Siakam develop into.

Toronto has done it before. While passing on Suggs may have been a surprise, Ujiri and Bobby Webster have earned the benefit of the doubt, and if they can do with Barnes what they’ve done before, the Raptors could have a really special player on their hands for many years to come.

Further Reading

Bobby Webster discusses Masai Ujiri’s, Pascal Siakam, and the team’s draft strategy

Report: Raptors among 3 teams ‘most likely’ to land Ben Simmons