The Toronto Raptors selected Scottie Barnes No. 4 overall in the 2021 NBA Draft.
It’s a decision that would change the course of the franchise.
Barnes won Rookie of the Year honors that season and he became an All-Star this past season.
Barnes has now become the face of the Raptors franchise and the player who Toronto is clearly building around.
For as talented as Barnes is, not everyone is high on the 23-year-old.
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons put out his 2021 re-draft list and he ranked Barnes as the No. 6 player in the draft class on an episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast.”
Simmons had Barnes behind Evan Mobley, Cade Cunningham, Jalen Suggs, Jalen Johnson, and Alperen Şengun, respectively.
This ranking comes across as surprising since Barnes just signed a max rookie extension, meanwhile the likes of Suggs, Johnson and Sengun weren’t offered such a contract.
Also, Barnes is the only player out of that group that has received All-Star honors.
Perhaps, Barnes’ early-season injury has factored into Simmon’s ranking. However, there’s no doubt that the fourth-year player has looked just as good if not better than any of those 5 names ranked ahead of him. Barnes was averaging 19.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game through his first four games before suffering an orbital bone fracture when Denver Nuggets star’ Nikola Jokic inadvertently elbowed him in the face.
However, Simmons is known for being critical of Barnes. He had said that Barnes was underserving of a max contract extension from the Raptors this past summer.
If Barnes continues to develop and progress as he has, then he will make Simmons’ comments look even more foolish over time.
Raptors share update on their All-Star
Barnes has undergone further testing on his fractured right orbital bone and it has been determined that surgery will not be necessary for the 23-year-old, Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic informed reporters in Denver on Monday night.
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