Scottie Barnes is off to a terrific start in his third season.
After his big performance against the San Antonio Spurs, people have taken notice of his new and improved game.
Barnes has had more of an increased role offensively and has had more ball handling duties so far this season.
He’s been a jack of all trades and his numbers are a reflection of that. Barnes is averaging 22.6 points, 9.9 rebound, 5.9 assists on 51.3 percent shooting from the field and 42.1 percent shooting from deep.
JJ Redick recently weighed in on Scottie Barnes on the latest edition of The Old Man and The Three Things. He talked about what the ideal team would look like around Scottie Barnes:
Great segment on Scottie. Thought their conversation about what an “ideal” team around him would be is super interesting. https://t.co/UuQq9VbxMG pic.twitter.com/V8IK2ZOEMq
— Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni) November 6, 2023
What Redick mentions makes sense. The Raptors would benefit from guys who can play off the ball, who shoot well and cut more.
He mentions that when he was interviewed for the Raptors head coaching job, one of the things that he looked at was how the team cut to the basket.
Raptors are in the lower third of cutting frequency and cutting efficiency.
As the Raptors see the continued development of Scottie Barnes, they will have to make a decision about who they want to have around him.
Will the Raptors trade Siakam?
One of the names already coming up in trade rumors is Pascal Siakam. Siakam is struggling during the midsts of the Barnes leap. He is averaging 15.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists on 41.2 percent shooting from the field and 33.3 percent shooting from three. These numbers are way down from a season ago.
Siakam hasn’t been taking a lot of shots in this new Raptors offense. He’s also been playing sloppy basketball and at times he looks a little out of place on the court.
If the Raptors continue to lose games, Toronto might have no choice but to revisit some of the trade discussions around Siakam. He’s set to become an unresisted free agent in the summer of 2024.
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