Scottie Barnes signs 5-year max extension with Toronto Raptors | How do the Raptors build from here?

Scottie Barnes signs 5-year max extension with Toronto Raptors | How do the Raptors build from here?

on your Tuesday episode of Locked on Raptors Scotty Barnes has signed his rookie Max extension it’s a big deal in these parts we’ll get into what it means for the Raptors now and in the future on today’s show thanks so much for hanging you are locked on Raptors your daily Toronto Raptors podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every [Music] day hey hey what’s going on and welcome to another episode of Locked on Raptors part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day it is Tuesday June the 25th it is NBA Draft Eve and I’m your host Sean Woody I’ve been coming the Toronto Raptors now for 10 seasons on various platforms you can find all my work over on the hell website at Woodle Sean you can find the show on Instagram at lockon Raptors and of course you can join us in the lockon Raptors Discord server the link is in the description of the podcast it’s going to be the place to be on draft night we’re going to hang out do a little voice chat talk about the draft as it goes down should be tons of fun great little chance to hang out with the sickos for me and uh come be one of the sickos in our lockdown Raptors Discord again it’s free to join Link in the description of the podcast as always of course you can find the show for free wh wh get your podcast follow subscribe rate review tell a friend on the audio side of things you can also go and support the show on YouTube you can subscribe then hit the notification Bell and get a push notification every single time the show is about to Premiere or go live and going live could happen this week in reaction to big news so be ready hit that notification Bell stat today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel make every moment more uh as playoffs wind down the Sports Stop sportsing like we want them to but this summer FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily that’s right there’s something for everyone every day all summer long visit fanduel.com lockon to get started and we will get started here on your Tuesday episode of the show talking about the biggest news in the Toronto Raptor Universe today mohammadu Gay has been weighed from his two-way contract VC Jacob is here from Raptors and S and sportset here to talk about this groundbreaking news and also I guess Scotty Barnes signing a fiveyear up to $270 million Max extension big V Mohammad gay what’s up with that man man devastating devastating news on this Tuesday I don’t know how I’m gonna recover uh but it’s a bad day for Blake Murphy poor for pal Blake but this is the thing right this this is the Raptors being very aware of the situation being like hey we know there’s some devastating news coming but before we drop that we are gonna resign Scotty Barnes it’ll be okay remember when the Raptor just one step ahead chess not Checkers over here remember when uh kawhai left and then the Raptors were just like we’re signing Stanley Johnson it’s gonna be okay y yep yep this is the inverse this is the inverse yes um yes of course we’ll have a chance to talk about Mohammad ugay another time in summer league or something probably not we’re GNA talk about Scotty Barnes today who of course yesterday per Adrien wowski of ESPN uh signing a fiveyear up to $270 million Max contract with the Toronto Raptors they like to frame it with the biggest possible number it’s most likely it’s closer to five years 225 million unless of course he becomes eligible for the supermax by going and making an all inba team winning MVP I think Defensive Player of the Year as well is one of the the caveats which can get you uh you know access to that supermax so what we’re really looking at here is a deal that’s for five years it’s going to start around 38 39 million bucks in year one and round out to about 51 million in 2023 when notably a lot of stars around the NBA are going to be encroaching upon the 100 million dollar a year mark uh as the cap is set to go up exponentially or not exponentially I guess in definition but 10% every year for the next who knows how many years with the new TV deal and gambling money etc etc etc big V initial reaction to a deal that we all knew was coming we all knew was going to be something the Raptors just had to Pony up to do what were your initial thoughts on Scotty Barn signing his new deal to stick around in Toronto through the end of 2030 good for him good for the franchise uh it’s he’s obviously the centerpiece the face of the franchise moving forward and so you would like that security and knowing that he’s going to be around for the next while and that’s that’s the biggest thing to take away from it and now I think in some ways you could say this was the easy part uh and now you know we get into more of the difficult stuff right and building around him and building in the right way and getting the pieces that fit and so uh you know you look at the way the franchise has the front office the organization as a whole has talked about him um has cater to him obviously they see him um as a top tier player in this league and expect him to be that superstar that you can build around and so now the work begins it’s like hey okay you know what you’ve gotten this player you you know you have your own projection of what he’s going to be in this league and so can you build around him in the right way for sure uh eggs meet Scotty barnes’s basket that’s kind of the situation the Raptors are in now and I don’t think that’s a bad place to be you know I think there’s probably uh still you know not probably there’s a lot yet to be determined when it comes to the absolute ceiling of Scotty Barnes right the leap he took in year three was uh ridiculous it was all-encompassing he got better at basically everything over the course of you know his impact on the game and I don’t think it’s fair necessarily to expect an exact replica of the leap you just saw from year three to year four that said we just saw him do what he did he’s one rookie of the year he has flashed really tantalizing highlevel talent and a dominance and an ability to assert himself upon a game I think it’s a worthwhile bet for the Raptors to say hey this is our guy that the whole thing is going to be centered around let’s lock him in and now let’s get to what you just said is the hard part is figuring out how to build team around Scotty Barnes how to maximize it and sort of I think the we’ll get into this a little bit later on but the calculation of when to go all in when to be patient I think that’s a really fascinating thing here too with Scotty Barnes that again we’ll examine a little bit later on as we uh examine a little bit of a fake trade that I may have done in the lock on Raptors mock draft that could sort of indicate one possible way the Raptors could play this with Scotty Barnes but all told what he’s shown at age 22 28 and six with what 2.8 stocks per game uh on pretty reasonable League average uh efficiency you know took the step from three-point range the playmaking obviously the passing Talent he has maybe it hasn’t been totally realized playing within sort of strange contexts in a janky season last year with a constantly rotating cast of teammates but I do think you give him a roster going in this season that you know is going to be the team for at least a couple of years at least a core pieces and I think there’s plenty of Runway here for Scotty Barnes to improve upon the already exciting start to his NBA career um and you know the big question is whether or not he’s going to go and earn that super max as well let me ask you big V what if you just had to like put a number on it a percentage chance that Scotty Barnes goes out next year and is good enough to earn all-nba uh consideration probably not going to win an MVP but I guess we can leave that on the table as well Defensive Player of the Year feels like a stretch but did make big strides on that end last year um what would you sort of just set as the expectation the percentage chance that he does in fact make good on the requirements to earn that supermax going into the start of the contract in a year’s time if I had to put a number on it I’d probably say somewhere between 20 to 25% I I think a lot of that comes down to what I expect the team success to be next season totally and I think especially if you’re going to break through to make your first all NBA team I think the team success has to be there uh to a significant degree and I think uh you know I I think tyes halberton is a good example right the way Indiana kind of captured the imagination of people uh with whe whether it was the inseason tournament run and the way they their style of play and all of that um it was just impossible to ignore right and so I think to have that type of season the Raptors are going to have to have uh you know a lot more success than they did last season and I think that’s the tough part for me to project and then I think the thing that maybe improves his odds as well is just like the the uncertainty that we now have with the 65 game rule right where you might have guys who based on the numbers would be deserving Joel embiid right but all of a sudden they don’t meet that 65 gain threshold and that opens the door for someone else to get in right and soin you look at the guys who made all NBA this season specifically if you look at the forwards you look at Giannis you look at uh Tatum KD Ant Kawai LeBron you know those aren’t names that you’re expecting Scotty to beat out but uh especially with the 65 game rule I think it makes things more interesting yeah I’m with you there for sure I I think there’s a world in which the Raptors are one of like the surprise darling teams of the league that it’s not maybe the most likely outcome but it’s certainly there if Scotty Barnes takes the kind of jump that the Raptors seem to think he’s capable of if Emanuel quickly continues to settle into the lead guard role and gets more comfortable there and takes a jump himself like there’s an Avenue here for this team to be better than maybe the preseason and win total projections might suggest and if that happens that is an Avenue to getting yourself on an all NBA team people love the surprise darling team and if you’re the best player on a surprise darling team that’s going to put you in the all-nba conversation and look he was an All-Star last year an injury replacement sure but that already puts him in what like the top 30 35 of the league just as a a starting point going into this year obviously you got to get yourself to the top 15 or 20 depending on obviously injuries and eligibilities and all that to have a real shot at sniffing all NBA and it’s a hard thing to do but we’ve seen it before we’ve seen it with Raptors guys before on you know good teams sort of okay teams pretty decent teams like it doesn’t take 55 wins to make yourself all NBA worthy if the Raptors go out next year win 45 games with Scotty Barnes being the biggest reason why there’s a very real chance that becomes a super max deal which by the way would still be fine in the grand scheme of things we’re going to get into how the Raptor’s books are set up going forward and sort of what to expect here in the years to come with Scotty Barnes but I think one way or another whether it’s the regular Max or the super max he ends up actually earning on his next deal he is going to be a a guy who sort of signed his deal just at the time that you want to sign new deals to if you’re a team right it’s GNA hurt the players they’re going to make less money as the cup goes up and he’s going to look around at his contemporaries by 2030 and say wow these guys are making like a full Max contract more than I am right now um but that’s just the way things are I think the way the Raptors have now set up their books going forward um with the certainty they have with the sort of size of the contracts they have that’s all going to uh play into this Scotty Barn’s experiment and how it all works out going forward too so one way or another super max or not an absolute home run and a thing that we knew had to happen was going to happen and now it has happened and we can all rest easy if we were ever not resting easy at all we will come back on the other side big V and get into what the realistic expectations should be for Scotty Barnes next season and going into the next few years as he enters his early Prime we will do that coming up in just one second Today’s Show is brought to you by our friends over at fanuel the number one sports book in North America I love sports I love them so much I never want them to stop and thankfully there’s plenty of sports going on even with the Stanley Cup Final being over and the NBA Finals now being wrapped up as well don’t worry you’ve got Copa America the Euros the WNBA is going strong the Olympics are coming up in just about a month as well all kinds of stuff for you to go in peruse over at FanDuel and even though the sports calendar is a little lighter than usual FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily this summer that’s right there’s there’s something in there for everyone every day all summer long so head over to fanduel.com logdon and start making the most out of your summer the summer really starts with the NBA Draft tomorrow and right now Zack Edy plus 30,000 to be the first overall pick in the NBA draft just put like a dollar down on Zack Edy being the first pick if Donovan kingan could be the first pick pick Zack EDI certainly could be the first pick it’s a weird draft try to capitalize on said weirdness and unpredictability in Smoke screens and subterfuge by just putting a single dollar down on Zach Edy and you just might be the lucky winner of some scratch if he is in fact the first name called on draft night go right now to fanduel.com lockon and make the most out of your summer FanDuel official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball and the locked on podcast Network back at it here with the Jacob from sportset and Raptors in seven as we continue to talk about Scotty Barnes inking a fat new deal with the Toronto Raptors 5 years 270 million at the high end probably five years 225 um all right next few years here big V this is something you wanted to talk about is sort of like realistic expectations for Scotty Barnes in the years to come um you know very clearly the Raptors have high expectations for for Scotty Barnes evidence by them giving him this contract and committing very much to him being the core of this team going into the future um what are you looking at as far as like a timeline here for Scotty Barnes to truly Ascend into being a no-brainer best player on a good team which I think is just kind of the goal for any core player that you have you know it’s nice to imagine them being the best player on a noou championship team there are like six guys like that in the entire world so you got to temper your expectations a little bit but Scotty Barnes being the best player on a playoff worthy team certainly something that it feels possible and maybe even so in the next few years here what are you looking at as a reasonable timeline for Scotty barnes’s Ascent yeah so I I think when Scotty what of one of the interesting things is obviously just his age right and being 22 and having that Runway to get better like we could look at his next contract and he at that point we’re talking about him you know being 26 like looking at you know another extension possibly and being like hey he still hasn’t reached you know his prime yet you know so we’re still looking at a pre-prime phase that could be really really good and I think for me you know in terms of setting the expectations of where he is now onetime Allstar you look at uh I’m not comparing them as players but in terms of banking on potential and what they can become Jason Tatum when he got his previous when he got his rookie extension that was when he was a onetime Allstar and onetime all nbaer yeah right and since then now he is a five-time All-Star a four time all NBA guy and an NBA champion it would be amazing if we can say that about Scotty going into I agree with you hot C and so what what does that path look like I think it it it looks like a guy who looks dominant on the defensive end that we’ve seen uh for significant stretches of this past season I think it’s a guy that continues to uh improve his post playay I think we’ve seen you know that touch around the basket uh and that soft feel that he has uh if he can you know extend that to like the 3 to 10 foot range I think that’s a big thing like if you look at his finishing right now last season um and pretty much for his career he’s over 70% uh but it’s that 3 to 10 foot range where in his rookie season where we were all captivated by it he was at 50% last season season he was down to 42% right and so I think that’s something that needs to level up um if we’re talking about that all NBA caliber type of player and then of course there’s the three-point shot right we saw a really nice start first couple months for Scotty and then it just steadily tailed off from there and hopefully that’s something that you know the same way he came into uh this past off season going back to you know 2023 saying hey I really want to work on my conditioning and we’ve seen sort of that guy who uh had a lot to give in the fourth quarter and we’re wondering why you know it doesn’t happen and then he talks about his conditioning the same way you know he starts to understand hey if I’m going to have legs to take threes all season I’ve got to really uh be ready for something like that right and do the work in the off season and that’s where I think we’ve seen um a cleaner stroke and so it’s not necessarily the uh shooting stroke that I’m worried about at this point it’s more so just having the legs to take threes all season um and take and make those above the break threes and so I think if those components are together that’s where at 25 26 you could be looking at you know a guy who’s going to be a perennial and all NBA you know top 10 player in the league that type of guy for sure it does feel like the scoring is probably the thing that’s got to put him over the top right and I’m not saying that Scotty Barn’s got to go be some 28 point a night guy right you know it would be nice that’s the it’ be wonderful for anyone to be that but I do think with the way he kind of impacts things across the board and the way they seem to be building the team around him with guys who can go get their offense in Emanuel quickley and RJ Barrett guys who can score off of the attention that Scotty Barnes himself generates and the passing that he obviously has in his repertoire like I don’t think this has to be a team build where it necessitates Scotty Barnes being a 28 point a game guy 24 25 to go along with his defense and his playmaking and his rebounding like absolutely that’s what you want to eventually see him get to and I do really love that Jason Tatum comp I’ve been thinking about this a little bit um through the lens of Scotty not just during these playoffs but for kind of like the last year or two just sort of thinking about okay like try to find comparison points guys who had similar sort of hot starts and you know maybe petered out a little bit and then kind of found their groove and Jason Tatum’s a great example of that right he was incredible as a rookie took a couple of years to kind of figure things out the inefficiency the bad shot selection which is still a thing for him but uh you know he’s come a long way obviously as sort of just like an all-encompassing player and I don’t think anyone would say Jason Tatum is one of the sort of five or six best players in the NBA I I think he’s very close to that he’s kind of On The Fringe and I do think realistically speaking that’s probably the range you’re hoping Scotty Barnes gets to where he is you know on the sort of Fringe of first team all-nba certainly in the conversation for all-nba year in year out whether it’s second or third teams and has ideally a Supporting Cast around him that helps kind of lift the whole boat even though you don’t have a Luca donic uh you know jannis TMO Nicole yic level this guy makes you an instant Contender just by walking on the floor type of guy I I think that’s a pretty interesting comp and look it took Jason Tatum five six seven years to become the guy he is today Scotty Barnes is going into year four I think it’s fair to now that he’s got this contract to expect and hope that even by the time he’s through year one of his new deal so his fifth season in the league that he’s already kind of knocking on the door of that perennial all NBA status I think that’s kind of the fair expectation here um you know not to say he has to go and be all NBA no doubter in year five but if he’s in the conversation if he’s averaging 23 24 and has kind of found the scoring side of things a little bit the three-point shot is at the least League average like I think that’s all stuff you can realistically say hey we need Scotty Barnes to be this otherwise this whole thing kind of crumbles is that a fair like it’s a lot to put on a guy but look I’m sorry you give a guy 27 million potentially and there’s a weight and a burden that comes with that I I don’t think that’s super unrealistic to say yeah no absolutely I I think even you know you go back to last season and once Pascal was traded it was it was also on him to be more of a leader right um and and I think uh when we criticize certain moments of that whether it was you know leaving the San Antonio game the way things ended in OKC in that game um you know now you get that magnifying glass and you get uh looked at a certain way and you get judged a certain way and so I think uh you know going back to the Billy Jean King quote pressure is a privilege he has earned that microscope and I think uh the Raptors believe he can be that type of player he believes he can be that type of player and so it’s not about you know uh you know trying to be too hard on him or whatever it is it’s just hey this is kind of the expectation now and that’s what you’re measured up against and as Dwayne Casey says uh you know once you tell on yourself you gotta keep doing it right and and you gotta uh you can be kind of a victim of your own success in that way and and I think it’s just about having a positive mindset about it and embracing that you know going back to that list he had as a rookie right of all the things he wanted to be in the NBA and all the things he wanted to accomplish right and it’s just like being proactive and being positive about hey these are the things I said I wanted to accomplish I’ve accomplished a good chunk of those things already um after just three seasons in the NBA and so I think that now to put yourself in this position where you can be looked at this way and judge this way I think that’s just something he should be embracing and I think he will Embrace for sure and I the Raptors are going to empower him too right like I think that’s kind of been dark or yakov’s whole thing is empowering his guys and no one to be more empowered or no one you want to empower more than the guy upon whom the entire thing hangs right like I I think it is uh it’s it’s huge it’s like he’s the highest paid player in Toronto Raptor history like there’s a certain uh level of expectation that’s going to come with that um just I guess sort of scale of 1 to 10 how confident do you feel it’s all going to sort of pay off for the Raptor here like they’ll be Vindicated and giving him this the you know putting again all of their eggs into the Scotty Barnes basket I would probably put it at an eight like I feel very good about him as a player and what he’ll be in this league and you know I think as you see this Con like this steady rise of the youth against like the Aging superstars of the league um and kind of the Turning of the tide I do think Scotty Barnes uh can be one of those players that you look at and say he going to you know help take this league forward I honestly believe that and and so yeah I feel very confident about it like I’ll never when I say eight like I will add that I will never say 10 for anyone just because you never know injuries or whatever it might be right yeah and so maybe Wy but uh that’s yeah yeah like wem’s as close as it is and I’ll I’ll still put him at like a nine or n and a half just cuz again you never know with the guy his size his frame like what what could happen you never want to think of those things you never want to you know even put that out into the universe but uh there is always that element of uncertainty with with an athlete no doubt uh I’m I’m with you seven and a half eight if you had asked me a year ago I probably would have been around a five honestly I was uh notably that idiot who was like trading for Daman Lillard who cares uh yeah glad they didn’t do that that would have been silly uh either way uh coming up next more trade ideas from yours truly and also a look at how the Toronto Raptors can go build building around their franchise Cornerstone they’ve already started the process obviously but how can they finish the build we will get into that coming up in just one second all right rounding at the show here uh just before we get into the challenge that is building around Scotty Barnes going forward a reminder locked on sports today 247 is our all day streaming Channel over on locked on lock on sports today the YouTube channel you can go check it out it’s wonderful subscribe and it’s 247 content covering all the biggest stories and sports from our local experts covering it the only way uh the only only the way that we can locked on of course the Stanley Cup finals concluded dramatically last night locked on Panthers locked on Oilers must be checked out today they’ll be running over there uh and of course all sorts of great stuff covering all you know the draft on the NBA NHL side baseball season and so on and so forth over there locked on sports today 247 all right big V building around Scotty Barnes I I think we’ve seen the very beginning of it obviously Emanuel quickly I think was pinpointed by the Raptors as a guy who fit and melded with the skill set that Scotty Barnes has we’ get to see the chemistry really flourish but I think it’s on its way with a full season playing together I think those two guys are just too good and they’re skill sets are too complimentary for it to not work um RJ Barrett obviously figures in here we know Grady dick uh you know the sort of three-point shooting the movement shooting threat that he figures to be down the line that figures to be a really nice compliment to what Scotty Barnes does as well they’ve started the process here of building a Scotty Barnes friendly basketball team it’s not perfect by any means you maybe want more of a spacing threat at the five you obviously want some Wing defense to allow Scotty to play more in his natural defensive position as a low helpman and and rim protector and things like that sort of a a mess cleaner on on defense if you will um and I think there are multiple ways the Raptors can go about this I think the sort of the standard chalk answer is ah just tank next year and go find yourself a player in the draft which is an option certainly like if things don’t go well next season it starts off poorly they’re not you know looking like one of those darling teams they certainly will have an escape hatch to go and tank down in the in the draft order um you know how how far you need tank ask the Pistons how valuable it is to actually be number one in the lottery odds it doesn’t always help it’s a flatten Lottery odds world and all of that um but that’s one way to go about it there’s the other way that says hey you got Scotty Barnes now why don’t you go and supplement the roster with guys who can help today we’ll get into an idea I have for that that I performed in the lock down Raptors mock draft but in general big V you’re the Raptor’s front office you’re kind of sitting there right now you’ve just signed Scotty Barnes to this massive New Deal what is your sort of thought process on the types of players that need to be brought in to still supplement this roster and the Avenues by which they can go about doing it well I think uh legitimate 3 and D guys are going to be at the top of my list I think when you look at uh players to compliment him obviously Scotty’s going to be handling the ball A Lot quickly is going to be handling the ball a lot uh and so what are the type of players you want around that uh you said if there’s a spacing big out there that you can work towards uh then sure but you know yako purle is a good option for right now I think the pressing need is at that 3 andd right and do um obviously you’ve got a big name that you’re gonna mention but I think if you were to look at hey what’s a team that’s maybe feeling the squeeze of the cap a little bit and you look at uh the Pelicans with their situation with you know Trey Murphy and Herb Jones and Naji Marshall and like is there some give there and and who who might potentially be available I think that’s kind of the type of player that you’re looking for um and sort of uh The Avenues that you’re looking for to maybe you know improve the roster here and now um without really having to give up too much right yeah for sure right like I I think you know the sort of hope you get the next guy to help out in the draft idea next year is is fine I also think it’s fraught with all of the uncertainty that the draft typically is and hey maybe you get the fifth pick and you get a Thomas Robinson level fifth pick and not a very good sort of readymade guy to go s slot into your core going forward pick right the draft is never as certain as it feels like it’s going to be even if you really believe in your scouting process and everything it’s a hard thing to get right the watery balls go the way they will go and you have no control over it and I do think you know know we keep people keep on saying it’s a rebuild they’re rebuilding like it’s not a classic rebuild I’m sorry like they all of their most important players are either soon to be on second contracts or already are on second contracts going into this year it’s a different situation than a an Orlando Magic who have spent a long time in the wilderness got some young guys on cheap contracts and now have salary cap space to go and supplement those cheap contracts before they can then go and add there’s a real case to be made that this summer a summer where the Raptor have some cap flexibility whether to use to absorb contract and trade or go assign a free agent which feels less sexy now that Malik Monk’s not out there and the free agent crop looks pretty Grim um but like there’s an argument to be made that this is the last summer for the Raptors to really go and choose their guy to add to this core they can go and you know hope the draft thing works out but again as we’ve talked about it tends to take three four five years for guys to really come into their own in the NBA and anyone you take in the 2025 draft you’re lucky if he’s really contri contributing to winning basketball by 2027 or 2028 like it this the time ticks quickly when you have a player as good as Scotty Barnes and you got to start getting things in place right now I think and so for me I think there’s a case to be made that this summer it doesn’t seem like it’s likely to happen but I do think there’s a case to be made for the Raptors to kind of go and make a big ballsy trade somewhat similar to what the Wolves did with Rudy goar where they said hey we have Anthony Edwards we think this guy is going to be a superstar we think this guy is worth betting on with our future asset Capital to go and get a player in now who compliments him who we can go and run with I think there’s a case for the Raptors to be thinking through that lens as well and a thing I did and look I do this all the time in the annual Lockton NBA Mock Draft I like to mess it up with dumb big stupid trades because it’s fun and it’s a fake exercise anyway but I did pull off a trade in our lockedown NBA mock draft and I’m not saying the Raptors should go do this specific trade I’m not saying I didn’t overpay but I think it’s illustrative of what the Raptors could go and and theoretically try to do this summer to really bolster the Scotty Barnes team and I’ll get into the reasons why I think it’s a decent idea in a sec but let me show you here first I pulled off a trade with the Brooklyn Nets in the locked NBA Mock Draft the Raptors get maau Bridges and drron sharp who’s a good nice cheap backup big man and they send out Bruce Browns contract Brady dick oai abaji sorry Big v he’s your boy I know uh and then this year’s first round pi pick so 19th overall the Pacers pick from 2026 and then the Raptors unprotected or sorry top three protected picks in 2027 and 2029 out the door for Bridges and sharp and people may look at it and say four first round picks two of them weren’t even really the Raptors to begin with and it’s kind of a completion of the Pascal SE yakum string of transactions to me uh thoughts on this am I totally out to lunch I just think a deal like this maau Bridges Nob brainer excellent fit on this Raptor team Dron sharp a nice bit of depth as well and Ma bridge is like if you were to just sort of think up in a lab a player who would fit perfectly on a team with RJ Barrett Emanuel quickley Scotty Barnes and yakob purle maau bridges is probably that guy you’ll have to overpay because there’s going to be a bidding war for his services this summer if he’s available one would think so you got to probably get uncomfortable with it no doubt about that but as we’ve seen with the Wolves if you overpay for the right guy and you blend him with a rising star who’s coming into his Zone you can feel pretty good about that and in this trade the Raptors only give up two of their future picks and it’s down the line they keep 2025 they keep their own 2026 so there’s still stuff to work with and to add to the team with in the next couple Seasons again not saying this is going to happen or should happen or will happen but just an example of what the Raptors could be thinking of when it comes to bolstering Scotty Barnes now making the Anthony Edwards bet what do you think of that concept big Fe I like the concept A lot I think again you know in tying together what I said about needing a three and D guy if you he went and got or hypothetically got the best three andd guy out there uh that you can get on this roster and you know I think Bridges would be a phenomenal fit uh next to Scotty and quickly and I think when you look at the future of that core it would be amazing but uh do I think Brooklyn right after hiring Jordi Fernandez is leading towards uh going in that direction I’m not so sure but they should be by the way the closer maau Bridges gets to getting paid and walking in free agency the less they’re going to get back for him and the Nets are going nowhere fast with him as it currently stands yeah yeah which was basically my sort of uh putting down uh and sort of belittling Adam arre of lockon Net’s pitch to make that trade happen yeah yeah uh I think the other element of this is probably you know hey how open are the Raptors to kind of emptying the cabinet of first round picks right after they went through a stretch where you know picks were pretty hard to come by sure I think that’s the other element of this but again coming back to just your uh concept of you know hey we’re in the here and now like can we accelerate this is there a path is there a player uh that’s out there that uh a team is looking to move or a player is looking to move away from a team if is if that scenario presents itself we know the Raptors are not shy uh about asking for that player and so especially with a fit like ma Bridges I think that could be excellent uh so yeah in terms of the concept I’m all for it I just think and again Bridges he’s only making 20 something million bucks for the next couple Seasons before he gets expensive so it’s a bit of a different thing but he’ll get expensive at a time the cap has gone up a couple of times in all of that um but I do think you know the second apron is a thing and the way the league is going to operate is going to change and I think considering they’re already probably going to have Scotty Barnes on what’s going to be considered a bargain contract by the time he’s in year two three four of his deal just based on what everyone else is going to be making as the market explodes as the cap goes up 10% year-over-year they’re going to be in a position where like they can probably hoard some like 20 $30 million contracts maybe not go the full sort of Scotty plus another Max guy or two model but if you can go and build a team with Scotty Barnes on a Max and then a bunch of very good 20 to30 million players I think that’s an Avenue to be successful in the sort of new landscape of the NBA they have to be good players obviously and maybe one of those guys ends up becoming a Max guy down the line but I think considering you’re probably going to have a manual quickly on a deal that will age super well in addition to Scotty Barnes as we know RJ Barrett’s under contract for three more years at sub 30 million bucks a year that’s going to age pretty well um like I think there’s a way here for them to stack their books with just like a lot of good players around a guy who is going to be by definition underpaid in Scotty Barnes and I think you know a guy like Mel Bridges could really help them go and do that right someone who for two more years is making 20s something million bucks maybe you give him a submax OG an anobi level contract um when he’s up for a new deal but even then like I think that’s going to fit in just fine to the books as the cap goes up I I think there’s just we’ve yet to really understand the way the second apron is going to change things here V and I I think we’re I mean we’re going to start to understand it this week I think we’ll see with the second round picks that I think a lot of teams are going to Value because it’s sort of one of the only things the second apron teams and really expensive teams can use to improve their teams we might see the value of that when it comes to a guy like Bruce Brown and all of that in the 31st pick etc etc um I I just the Raptors I think are in a good spot one way or another with how their books are set up right now but I do think even bolstering it with a big move this Summer that maybe comes out of left field to add to that collection of very interesting players on reasonable contracts could be kind of the way for them to really set the Scotty Barnes era up for success I know I’m the big freak who likes to get rid of all the picks and trade for good players for some reason that makes me a pariah but um that’s kind of where I’m at on this any last thoughts on the challenge ahead here for the Raptors to build a proper team around Scotty Barnes I think just the last thing I’ll say to tie in with the points that you’ve been making here and your concept of like trying to act now is like in terms of that second apron it’s part of why the franchise was ready to move on from Pascal SE yakum right and I think the evaluation was just hey if you’re paying that much money to a player it better be the absolute perfect fit and they didn’t see it that way and so if you get that 3 andd prototype because you need some of that volume shooting then I think you’re more willing to Fork up that kind of money for uh the right fit sure yeah and I think there’s also a case to be made that you make your two picks in this year’s draft and you don’t go crazy this summer maybe you wait a year to really go make that swing move and you see you know how did the guys you took this year figure into the long-term plans after a year are they projecting to be rotation pieces for you is there untapped star upside with one of the guys you take I think that can be a reasonable course here but I don’t think they could really afford to wait around too much longer right it’s just it’s not a typical rebuild these guys are under contract the clock is ticking and um I do think that with some internal growth they could be a surprising team in a sort of weird and strange and influx Eastern Conference next season and maybe that informs their next big move as well we’ll see but either way Scotty Barnes Raptor for a while it’s exciting times big V anything you want to promote for the good people out there uh usual stuff sportset Raptors in seven if you want to read more about you know the Jason Tatum Scotty Barnes uh career trajectory parallels you can you can head over to Raptors and seven for my latest post and uh kind of just looking at the long-term Outlook of the Scotty deal awesome everyone go do that everyone go find V on on the bat website at vicm Jacob you can find me at Woodley Sean you can find the show on Instagram at locked on Raptors you can join us in the Discord again come hang out for our little voice chat hangout we’ll do tomorrow during the draft and uh you know again subscribe to the YouTube channel hit the notification Bell so you never miss shows this week as all the breaking news is going down for agency is like two days after the draft there’s no break whatsoever it’s just going to be uh scrolling social media looking for agent speak from various Insiders all the live long week that’ll be fun either way thank you so much for for rocking with us we’ll be back again tomorrow hoping to have a pretty fun little draft exercise on the day of the draft I’m looking forward to that I’m not going to spoil too much because we’re still working on scheduling with a very very busy draft expert who’s been on the show recently um but either way if that to look forward to tomorrow and then of course we’ll be doing instant reactions re breaking down hopeful Bruce Brown trades etc etc over the course of the next many days uh hell we could have like seven podcasts in the book by the time Sunday rolls around either way love you all thanks for hanging out and we will talk to you again on Wednesday with another episode of lockon raptors thanks for hanging byebye

In Episode 1664, Sean Woodley is joined by Vivek Jacob (Sportsnet, Raptors in 7) to talk about the Toronto Raptors signing franchise cornerstone Scottie Barnes to a rookie max extension for 5-years and up to $270 million. Off the top, Sean and Vivek discuss their initial reactions to the deal and why this is a big win for the Raptors franchise even if it was very much predicted, before discussing whether or not they envision Barnes clearing the qualifications (All-NBA, MVP or DPOY) to earn the full super max with his play next season. Next, they get into the realistic expecations for Barnes has be becomes the highest-paid player in Raptors history, and why the career arc of Jayson Tatum might be an informative one to keep an eye on as Barnes moves into his early prime. Lastly, patience vs. boldness; should the Raptors look to bolster the core around Scottie Barnes with a big move this summer while they have cap flexibility, or should they wait it out a bit and see what next season, the 2025 Draft and another year of information about the current core bring? Sean pitches the idea of making the Anthony Edwards bed on Scottie this summer with a big swing trade for someone like Mikal Bridges of the Brooklyn Nets.

Join us on the Locked On Raptors Discord server! https://discord.gg/7YXtXECt

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LORaptors?sid=YouTube

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!

eBay MotorsFrom brakes to exhaust kits and beyond, eBay Motors has over 122 million parts to keep your ride-or-die alive. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to bring home that big win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers.

PrizePicksGo to https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNBA and use code lockedonnba for a first deposit match up to $100!

GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.

FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. As playoffs wind down, the sports stop sporting like we want them to. But this summer, FanDuel is hooking up ALL CUSTOMERS with a boost or a bonus, DAILY!That’s right, there’s something for everyone, every day, all summer long! Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDONand add a big win to your summer bucket list!

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

#NBA #Raptors #TorontoRaptors