Changing of the forward

In a sudden yet inevitable transition from Siakam to Barnes, patience is a virtue

Former Raptors coming away with a victory in their return to Toronto shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. From Vince Carter to Dwane Casey, the evidence is overwhelming.

If anything, it was Scottie Barnes trying to join rare company in making the symbolic gesture that Toronto will be on the better side of change. Kawhi Leonard is the rare exception to do so, forcing a steal on DeMar DeRozan late in the fourth quarter at midcourt and going on to dunk it at the other end to secure victory in DeRozan’s return game.

With 29 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists to go along with a very aggressive intent from the outset, Barnes did all he could, even coming within a foot on the three-point line of tying the game with under a minute remaining (wrong former Raptor tribute).

Barnes showed in this game — as he has over the majority of an all-star worthy 2023-24 campaign — why the Raptors have made the pivot to rebuild the team in his image. It was a much needed response after the team’s pathetic showing and his own rather anonymous showing against San Antonio culminating in him leaving the bench with 3.8 seconds still remaining.

The 22-year-old was wrong to do it, and the meeting with coaches to remind him of his responsibilities as the face of the franchise was necessary. I don’t think anything more was required, though. Some pointed to Pascal Siakam’s incident during the dreaded 2020-21 season in Tampa, when he went straight to the locker room after fouling out against the Sixers with 25.6 seconds remaining and feeling plenty of frustration over picking up five fouls in the final six minutes.

Two wrongs don’t make a right and I thought it was ridiculous, considering Siakam’s body of work, that he was hit with the disciplinary action of sitting out a game. A straightforward conversation should have sufficed. I’ll quickly add the distinction that he was forced to sit out and wasn’t suspended, because if he was suspended it would have meant missing out on about US$375K based on his salary at the time. That didn’t happen.

What likely frustrates some when it comes to Barnes and causes concern is that it isn’t the first time he’s been “caught napping” and so each additional moment further scratches that itch. What’s important, though, is to weigh these moments alongside the positives, so, let’s do that now.

Barnes announced himself in just the second game of his NBA career with a magnificent 25-point, 13-rebound performance in Boston that showed off a scoring touch that many underestimated coming in and as a result questioned the selection the Raptors made at No. 4. Through the opening 12 games, Barnes led the team in scoring five times and helped the team keep its head above water with a 6-6 record as Siakam finished off his recovery from shoulder surgery that forced him to miss the opening 10 games and 11 of 13. Barnes averaged 17 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists while shooting 53.3 percent from the field to put an early lid on the mouths of doubters.

When Siakam re-established himself as the premier scorer on the team, Barnes’ scoring faded to the background with just 12.5 points on 42.2 percent shooting over the next eight games. He was still contributing in other areas, with 8.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists over the next eight games but there were now occasional moments where he looked a bit too nonchalant, disinterested even.

Then, Nick Nurse benched Barnes 96 seconds into his 21st NBA game because he started out looking too lackadaisical on the heels of the Raptors having lost eight of 11. Within those first two minutes, Barnes had two careless turnovers and a bad three-point attempt off the backboard. While the talent became apparent early in the season, not valuing possessions appropriately was emerging as a weakness — a fairly common one for a rookie.

As the Raptors pushed and prodded for more and Barnes continued to get his feet wet, he emerged as the second-best player on the team during a second half of the season surge that saw him earn Rookie of the Year honours and the Raptors finish 25-11 (57-win pace) despite Fred VanVleet struggling with injury. Smiling, hugging, dominating, the vibes were immaculate.

Barnes mesmerized early in his playoff debut against Philadelphia, collecting 15 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists before twisting his ankle. The series was effectively over when he returned with the Sixers up 3-0, but his comeback along with a resurgence from Siakam did help spark the Raptors to forcing a Game 6. As the Raptors were eliminated (and after the buzzer), Barnes headed to the locker room while teammates engaged in customary end of series pleasantries with the opponent. I thought his competitiveness may have got the better of him and frustration with the outcome possibly leaving him wondering ‘What if?’ and how different things might have looked without that ankle sprain.

I asked him about it in an effort to learn more about his nature and competitive spirit and was left with the impression he just didn’t think much of it. “I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know,” Barnes said with a sheepish grin. “I was outta there, I don’t know.” It was apparent this was a then 20-year-old being a 20-year-old.

What was also abundantly clear was that Barnes wants to be great in every way, as revealed in a list of rookie season goals shared with Andscape’s Marc J. Spears. Among his goals:

• Be the best player on the court

• Win every game and compete

• Be a true leader by example

The above can carry forward into any season but the biggest challenge Barnes was going to face in his second season was not just trying to repeat his best tricks, but show that he learnt some new ones, too.

Barnes started out the 2022-23 season taking more threes and long twos, suggesting this is what he had worked on in the off-season and wanted to showcase it. The results weren’t there. As his struggles continued, and after Barnes shot 1-for-7 with just one rebound in one of the worst losses of the season in New Orleans, President Masai Ujiri felt the need to meet with him in Brooklyn in early December and share some stern words.

I spoke with his long-time trainer Brian Macon for further perspective:

“I think we were all spoiled last year because it all came so easy to him,” Macon said. “A lot of it did come easy to him because he was playing off other people’s actions, getting tip-ins, playing in the dunker spot a lot, catching drop-down passes. It’s no excuse, he’s still gotta play better, but he’s still a 21-year-old trying to figure out the NBA game and how to manage it better.”

Players who have great rookie seasons can often experience the sophomore slump, and Barnes proved to be no different. His biggest criticism was a trend of working himself into games, saving his best for last and having tremendous fourth quarters or second halves on the back of uninspired first halves. There was a prevailing thought in some circles that while Barnes worked hard in the 2022 off-season, he didn’t necessarily work smart. Again, unsurprising for a 21-year-old experiencing his first NBA off-season.

As the season wore on, it did seem as though Barnes lost some of the joy he so gleefully displayed during his rookie season. It was a season of middling results for both player and team, one that Barnes later revealed was an “energy drainer.”

Energy became the focus of Barnes’ 2023 summer, he declared his desire to improve his conditioning at the end of the 2022-23 season to give all he could on both ends of the floor in the upcoming season. He then revealed at 2023-24 Media Day that that was indeed what transpired over the off-season.

When it came time to see the results, Barnes looked a player transformed and making the leap many hoped for but had to simply wait and see. In addition to improving his defence, Barnes also showcased the work he had put in to improve his three-point stroke. Through 55 games, Barnes is shooting a very strong 39.3 percent on catch-and-shoot threes on double the attempts from last season when he shot 30.1 percent. This is a massive development because only 48 of his 273 three-point attempts have come from the corner.

His pull-up three-point shooting still has a long way to go, currently at 19.3 percent for the season on just about one attempt per game. Can he get from there to about 33 percent some day? That and some improved mid-range efficiency (43.8% from 3-10ft. and 29.2% from 10-16ft.) can take his scoring to a superstar tier. It’s going to be the most difficult leap. DeMar DeRozan was once just a slasher who struggled with his dribble and his jump shot, it was hard to envision what he eventually became. It’s a fool’s errand to make conclusions on what Barnes’ fully matured offensive package will look like.

On the season, Barnes is averaging 20.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.5 blocks. This should be considered great growth and when coupled with his outside shooting is more than what the most optimistic prognosticators could have forecasted. This wouldn’t have been possible without working extremely hard and smart in the off-season.

His energy hasn’t always been optimal, whether it be whinging to officials, not hustling back on defence, expressing frustration with teammates for not catching a difficult pass or more generally not being on the same page as him. Barnes absolutely has to mature in this regard.

Coming back to Barnes’s transgressions against San Antonio and his words after, it did take some coaxing to get him to admit it was a bad look to leave the bench early. Denying there was a meeting with head coach Darko Rajakovic specifically about his leadership shortcomings wasn’t ideal, either. Going back to the goals of wanting to be the best player on the court, competing in every game, and wanting to be a true leader who leads by example, he has to consistently bear his words in mind.

Fred VanVleet left in July, OG Anunoby was traded in December, and Siakam was dealt a month ago. That’s a fairly sudden change in foundation, even if things were trending that way for a while. Barnes has had moments this season where he’s stumbled along the way, like in Oklahoma City and then against San Antonio. He may well falter again. The transition to adulthood and being a thorough professional isn’t easy. Because it came more naturally to DeMar DeRozan or VanVleet doesn’t mean it has to apply to everyone else. Kyle Lowry was once a cantankerous know-it-all.

“I think it's hard. It's tough,” Siakam said about making the transition to being ‘The Guy.’ “As a young man coming in, it's going to be a lot of ups and downs. There's going to be things that's not going to look so good and there's going to be days where it’s going to be amazing, it’s going to be great. I think that he's just got to be able to take those kinds of waves and as he continues to learn from it, he's going to grow.”

Barnes has a ceiling not seen in a Raptors uniform since the Vince Carter days, not from someone who started their career with the Raptors anyway. How much do the missteps to this point suggest he won’t get to that ceiling? How much does it take away from all the positives we’ve witnessed? These make for fun guessing games and churn the content mill but the reality is Raptors followers have to be patient beyond a few viral moments in waiting for the truth about whether this team will be on the better side of change.