>**Partnow:** At this point I would describe myself as concerned but not *worried*quite yet. You certainly would have liked to have seen more development by him as a playmaker, shooter and defender. I know we havenāt mentioned that end of the floor much, in part because this is an analytics-focused conversation and defensive metrics for non-centres can be difficult to find and/or interpret. But if the path for Barnes is as more of a versatile jack-of-all-trades type rather than as a primary scorer or main ballhandler, high-level defence has to be a major component of that package. > >Only two years in, you donāt want to say that any particular doors have been closed to him, but the lack of progress toward a more starring role does make some of the very peak, All-NBA-level player-type outcomes for Barnes much less likely. Certainly, some of the hyperbole that had him off the table in a rumoured [Kevin Durant](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/kevin-durant-ho6h1sijyi2PAURU/) swap last offseason looks a little silly. > >However, Siakamās own path is illustrative of what a best-case outcome might look like. Siakam developed in fits and starts for his first two to three years before blossoming into an All-Star. Much like is the case with Siakam, I think Barnes would be miscast as a primary offensive weapon, and would be better served as the number two or number three on a high-level team. However, that developmental pathway remains wide open for him.
mMounirM
if I’m Masai I tell him to put in work this summer if he wants that max extension next year
pakattack91
I thought his handle and playmaking definitely improved, but it’s hard to showcase if the offence isn’t going through you
Edit: and as noted below, we couldn’t sink a ball into an ocean let alone a basket.
peroper7
Iām really confused about what people thought Scottie would be in his second year
He couldnāt shoot, couldnāt dribble at an elite level, but could finish, had really high passing potential, and legit defensive versatility.
Talking like he was expected to be Lebronto in his second season, as if he ever showed the ability to be a 1 right away. Like yeah, he disappointed this season, I wish he did better but expecting a star right away just seems crazy in retrospect when he was never a big scorer throughout his career.
No doors are closed, and I disagree his passing wasnāt shown enough, the raptors need to make more threes
99ahmadali786
Pretty hard to develop when you stand and watch iso ball the majority of the game.
piranhas32
Scottie is going to be a bottom quartile rookie of the year winner. Not an absolute bust but heās probably going to be a serviceable starter with occasional flashes.
tercet
Iāve been saying this for 6 months and my karma is this sub Reddit is nearly -1000ā¦
Writers says that raps fans should be concerned.. Sub Reddit is worried and upvotes the post.. lollll
iDareToDream
Teams also always have more of a scouting book on sophomore players – part of the reason they hit the wall is that defenses adjust to what they do. And that’s where the learning curve comes in where the players then have to develop counters and adjust.
Barnes has that ability to take over games, but he really just needs to work on everything to get that consistency – fitness, ball handling, shooting.
Barnicus53
It’s called a sophomore slump because it’s not an uncommon thing to happen. The amount of pressure being put on a 21 year old is absolutely ridiculous.
mo_downtown
A slump is a strange thing to call his second season. His production was very similar to his Rookie of the Year season. Almost identical. It’s more that an expected step up from there didn’t happen.
His shooting %’s did drop slightly, his APG and Ast% went up as they definitely had him bring up ball and initiate the offence more in year 2.
Otherwise, the same.
Personally, I think his role got bounced around too much in this past season. They need to settle on how they want to used and develop him.
ImmaFunGuy
3rd year is definitely a prove it year, by the end of next year his āmost likelyā ceiling is probably cemented
SadInternal9977
Scottie played great in the fourth quarter of games If he was given the ball late more he would have been in the conversation for clutch player of the year
. When running with combinations of OG, GTJ and bench players he showed the ability to make players around him better.
All in a decent development year where the team tested him out in multiple positions. Hopefully next year the new coach can take Scottie to the next level.
Spider_Carnage23
Toronto sports media is toxic, we need to clean house. We all saw the improvements if you actually watched the games, the stats dont tell the full story and even that Barnes stats are equal too or better than his rookie season. Heās also not the first or second scoring option, its even arguable who was third scoring option especially earlier in the season.
MrkGrn
I still believe in him. No average player is taking over regularly in the 4th like Scottie did as long as he was given the ball. I just really think he’s never gonna be able to blossom gully till Siakam at the least is out of the way, Fred I wouldn’t mind sticking around if he’d stop going heroball all the time and actually focus on being a point guard.
efficientshelter69
Can’t believe we wasted 2 years not building around a ROTY all because we let FVV larp as a star.
Ylissian
I would view it as a write off but if he isnāt showing tangible improvements by next season then alarms should be going off.
First and foremost his mindset going into games needs to improve. He hasnāt done anything in this league yet, he absolutely hasnāt earned the right to coast over multiple quarters and even games the way guys like Butler and Lebron do
Raptorsthrowaway1
I thought he had a good (not great) year last year. I know its an overstated quip, but progress is not linear.
Hopefully there are some roster moves to increase his usage and responsibility. Developing a respectable 3pt shot will open up the floor for him and this team. Without it….. there is a cap on his ceiling.
Fiftypoint
The fact that there is a common term called the sophomore slump (and most 2nd year good to great players get labeled with it at some point during the season) says everything it needs to. Nothing to worry about – I expect we see a big leap this year and a rounding out of his game.
Ry314159
Everyone on the Raptors under performed this year, with maybe the exception of Siakam and OG.
The thing about Scottie is the talent is definitely there…however he’s not going to be a 30 pt a night guy for us. Occasionally he might go off and get 30+. But I’d be happy with 20 pts a night and strong defense from him. He has the right attitude and likes Toronto.
Fred should be the one people are pointing the finger at. He got paid, but isn’t playing like a leader of the team. His shooting was horrific at times.
I personally think that if we can find a deal to move Siakam and VanVleet that it wouldn’t be a huge setback. Plus I feel like now is the time to capitalize on Siakam playing well last season.
Although how do you plan an off season when you don’t even know your system as we don’t have a coach.
OsamaGinch-Laden
We still calling it a slump? Lol aight
tittyberry
I’m just going to leave this here for everyone to stop criticizing Scottie. He’s right on schedule. Calling it a slump is BS!
As an occurrence so common that thereās a name for it.
Robert_Paulson1999
He’s not a generational talent. People take time to grow, good trade piece, isn’t san Antonio looking for a point guard? Can’t we just Poeltl him?
xc2215x
Had he not won Rookie of the year, this season from him wouldn’t be criticized like this.
n3moh0es
seriously a slump? makes no sense heās still a raw player as expected at 21 years old
Kevita24
I wouldn’t call it a slump but he certainly didn’t take that next “leap” that you want to see in a player…that being said, teams focused more on him and had a year of game film to watch on him, and that generally why players 2nd year is their “hardest” because teams know what they’re going to do and game plan around that.
Most players take a significant leap in year 3 or 4, so this is a big off-season for Scottie! he’s got to improve his shooting efficiency if he want to take his game to that next level but that’s on him…
dontnobodyknow
They should view it as a sophomore slump.
octopus86sg
His shooting is worse. I had no idea whereās the talk preseason back then on how he improves his posture and shooting. He needs to improve on this if not heās very one dimensional
28 Comments
Paywalled, but I’ll excerpt the conclusion:
>**Partnow:** At this point I would describe myself as concerned but not *worried*quite yet. You certainly would have liked to have seen more development by him as a playmaker, shooter and defender. I know we havenāt mentioned that end of the floor much, in part because this is an analytics-focused conversation and defensive metrics for non-centres can be difficult to find and/or interpret. But if the path for Barnes is as more of a versatile jack-of-all-trades type rather than as a primary scorer or main ballhandler, high-level defence has to be a major component of that package.
>
>Only two years in, you donāt want to say that any particular doors have been closed to him, but the lack of progress toward a more starring role does make some of the very peak, All-NBA-level player-type outcomes for Barnes much less likely. Certainly, some of the hyperbole that had him off the table in a rumoured [Kevin Durant](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/kevin-durant-ho6h1sijyi2PAURU/) swap last offseason looks a little silly.
>
>However, Siakamās own path is illustrative of what a best-case outcome might look like. Siakam developed in fits and starts for his first two to three years before blossoming into an All-Star. Much like is the case with Siakam, I think Barnes would be miscast as a primary offensive weapon, and would be better served as the number two or number three on a high-level team. However, that developmental pathway remains wide open for him.
if I’m Masai I tell him to put in work this summer if he wants that max extension next year
I thought his handle and playmaking definitely improved, but it’s hard to showcase if the offence isn’t going through you
Edit: and as noted below, we couldn’t sink a ball into an ocean let alone a basket.
Iām really confused about what people thought Scottie would be in his second year
He couldnāt shoot, couldnāt dribble at an elite level, but could finish, had really high passing potential, and legit defensive versatility.
Talking like he was expected to be Lebronto in his second season, as if he ever showed the ability to be a 1 right away. Like yeah, he disappointed this season, I wish he did better but expecting a star right away just seems crazy in retrospect when he was never a big scorer throughout his career.
No doors are closed, and I disagree his passing wasnāt shown enough, the raptors need to make
more threes
Pretty hard to develop when you stand and watch iso ball the majority of the game.
Scottie is going to be a bottom quartile rookie of the year winner. Not an absolute bust but heās probably going to be a serviceable starter with occasional flashes.
Iāve been saying this for 6 months and my karma is this sub Reddit is nearly -1000ā¦
Writers says that raps fans should be concerned.. Sub Reddit is worried and upvotes the post..
lollll
Teams also always have more of a scouting book on sophomore players – part of the reason they hit the wall is that defenses adjust to what they do. And that’s where the learning curve comes in where the players then have to develop counters and adjust.
Barnes has that ability to take over games, but he really just needs to work on everything to get that consistency – fitness, ball handling, shooting.
It’s called a sophomore slump because it’s not an uncommon thing to happen. The amount of pressure being put on a 21 year old is absolutely ridiculous.
A slump is a strange thing to call his second season. His production was very similar to his Rookie of the Year season. Almost identical. It’s more that an expected step up from there didn’t happen.
His shooting %’s did drop slightly, his APG and Ast% went up as they definitely had him bring up ball and initiate the offence more in year 2.
Otherwise, the same.
Personally, I think his role got bounced around too much in this past season. They need to settle on how they want to used and develop him.
3rd year is definitely a prove it year, by the end of next year his āmost likelyā ceiling is probably cemented
Scottie played great in the fourth quarter of games If he was given the ball late more he would have been in the conversation for clutch player of the year
. When running with combinations of OG, GTJ and bench players he showed the ability to make players around him better.
All in a decent development year where the team tested him out in multiple positions. Hopefully next year the new coach can take Scottie to the next level.
Toronto sports media is toxic, we need to clean house. We all saw the improvements if you actually watched the games, the stats dont tell the full story and even that Barnes stats are equal too or better than his rookie season. Heās also not the first or second scoring option, its even arguable who was third scoring option especially earlier in the season.
I still believe in him. No average player is taking over regularly in the 4th like Scottie did as long as he was given the ball. I just really think he’s never gonna be able to blossom gully till Siakam at the least is out of the way, Fred I wouldn’t mind sticking around if he’d stop going heroball all the time and actually focus on being a point guard.
Can’t believe we wasted 2 years not building around a ROTY all because we let FVV larp as a star.
I would view it as a write off but if he isnāt showing tangible improvements by next season then alarms should be going off.
First and foremost his mindset going into games needs to improve. He hasnāt done anything in this league yet, he absolutely hasnāt earned the right to coast over multiple quarters and even games the way guys like Butler and Lebron do
I thought he had a good (not great) year last year. I know its an overstated quip, but progress is not linear.
Hopefully there are some roster moves to increase his usage and responsibility. Developing a respectable 3pt shot will open up the floor for him and this team. Without it….. there is a cap on his ceiling.
The fact that there is a common term called the sophomore slump (and most 2nd year good to great players get labeled with it at some point during the season) says everything it needs to. Nothing to worry about – I expect we see a big leap this year and a rounding out of his game.
Everyone on the Raptors under performed this year, with maybe the exception of Siakam and OG.
The thing about Scottie is the talent is definitely there…however he’s not going to be a 30 pt a night guy for us. Occasionally he might go off and get 30+. But I’d be happy with 20 pts a night and strong defense from him. He has the right attitude and likes Toronto.
Fred should be the one people are pointing the finger at. He got paid, but isn’t playing like a leader of the team. His shooting was horrific at times.
I personally think that if we can find a deal to move Siakam and VanVleet that it wouldn’t be a huge setback. Plus I feel like now is the time to capitalize on Siakam playing well last season.
Although how do you plan an off season when you don’t even know your system as we don’t have a coach.
We still calling it a slump? Lol aight
I’m just going to leave this here for everyone to stop criticizing Scottie. He’s right on schedule. Calling it a slump is BS!
*Scottie Year 2 = 15.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.8 BPG
vs.
*Giannis Year 2 = 12.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.6 APG, 0.9 SPG, 1 BPG
*Giannis Year 3 = 16.9 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.1 SPG, 1.4 BPG
As an occurrence so common that thereās a name for it.
He’s not a generational talent. People take time to grow, good trade piece, isn’t san Antonio looking for a point guard? Can’t we just Poeltl him?
Had he not won Rookie of the year, this season from him wouldn’t be criticized like this.
seriously a slump? makes no sense heās still a raw player as expected at 21 years old
I wouldn’t call it a slump but he certainly didn’t take that next “leap” that you want to see in a player…that being said, teams focused more on him and had a year of game film to watch on him, and that generally why players 2nd year is their “hardest” because teams know what they’re going to do and game plan around that.
Most players take a significant leap in year 3 or 4, so this is a big off-season for Scottie! he’s got to improve his shooting efficiency if he want to take his game to that next level but that’s on him…
They should view it as a sophomore slump.
His shooting is worse. I had no idea whereās the talk preseason back then on how he improves his posture and shooting. He needs to improve on this if not heās very one dimensional