The Toronto Raptors and Scottie Barnes are inching closer to a 5 year, rookie maximum extension which could be worth as much as $270M according to reports.
Adrian Wojnarowski noted that “Barnes’ agent, Bill Duffy of WME, met with Toronto executives Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster on Sunday, and the sides intend to have a signed deal when the league’s moratorium ends on July 6”.
Once signed, it would officially make Barnes the highest paid Raptor in franchise history, and would come with $225M in guaranteed money. If the 22 year old were to make an All-NBA, All-Defensive Team, or win and MVP during that time, the new pact would escalate to a supermax deal.
Barnes posted a 19.9pts/8.2reb/6.1ast/1.3stl/1.5blk statline in 2023-24 before being shut down due to a left hand injury. The injury, which cost him the final 22 games of the season, didn’t prevent him from leading the 25-57 Raptors in most statistical categories including: points, rebounds, assists, and blocks.
The 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year is largely viewed as a franchise cornerstone by the Toronto front office, one which they hope to build around with the likes of R.J. Barrett, and Gradey Dick.
The Raptors missed out on the postseason for the 3rd time in 4 years, and held a mid-season firesale which saw franchise staples Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby dealt prior to the trade deadline. Despite their poor finish, the Raptors were forced to pass along their 1st round selection in the upcoming NBA Draft to the San Antonio Spurs as part of the ill fated Jakob Poeltl trade.
Toronto will now select 19th overall on Wednesday June 26th.
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.