One of the positives from the Raptors 2023-24 season was the team finally picked a direction.
After years of being stuck in the middle the Raptors decided to rebuild. They traded away both O.G. Anunoby and Pascal Siakam, making Scottie Barnes the new face of the franchise.
Barnes is coming off his best season yet. The 22-year-old took a giant leap in his third season and became an NBA All-Star.
In 60 games for the Raptors this season Barnes averaged 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.5 blocks. He shot it 47.5 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from deep. These were all career-highs across the board.
Barnes showed that he can be the guy to help turn this team’s fortunes around.
Raptors president Masai Ujiri talked about Barnes’ growth in his end-of-season press conference:
“For me his passion is always there and we jut need to guide him, but that guy is full of passion and he wants to win. I think he’s really matured as a player and this year he’s gone through a lot and I think we’re going to come out of this well in terms of him.”
In a rebuilding situation often times it takes a team a while before they find the cornerstone of their franchise. However, that is not the case for the Raptors. They have Barnes as the main pillar to build around going forward.
Ujiri talked about how it’s difficult to find guys like Barnes:
“I want our fans to know this that the most difficult ones are the guys like Scottie to find. And hopefully one other person can emerge on our team you know, and or you get another one and you’re on your way.”
The Raptors are hoping that Barnes along with RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley continue to progress and form a promising young core for this team.
Masai Ujiri weighs in on draft and rebuild
Ujiri also talked about the Raptors upcoming 2024 NBA Draft and their current rebuild. He seems optimistic about the future of this team.
More must-reads: