(Cole Burston / The Canadian Press)
Not long ago, the Toronto Raptors were hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy around the streets of The 6, thanks to the likes of Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry, and Marc Gasol. Two years later, it’s a completely different scene in Toronto.
Kawhi?.. Gone… Lowry?.. Bye Bye… Gasol?.. Danny “Money” Green?… even Jeremy Lin?.. They said sayonara ages ago.
Following their championship in 2019, the Raps were still able to asemble a playoff team, but an aging roster without the likes of Kawhi to really give the team that extra punch, left them stranded against a hungry Boston Celtics team in the second round of the 2020 playoffs, dropping game seven at the hands of Jayson Tatum.
The 2020/21 season wasn’t much prettier… a 27-45 record… an exhausted, injured squad… and most importantly, playing on a “home” court 2,100km away from the city in which they originate due to border troubles brought on by the pandemic.
(Douglas P. DeFelice / Getty Images)
Screw going to Disney World, if you wanted to get on a rollercoaster you could have just driven to Tampa and buy Raptors’ tickets, calling that team a circus at the time was a vast understatement!
Come the offseason, changes were imminent. An aging Kyle Lowry made his farewell with the club and was shipped to the Miami Heat for young power forward, Precious Achiuwa, and European sharpshooter, Goran Dragic. That was the first step in a long line of work for the Raptors’ management team. Although, with a bit of luck in the NBA Draft Lottery, the Raps were able to pick up the fourth-overall selection in what was considered a real deep draft class.
With that pick, the Raptors selected Florida State freshman, Scottie Barnes, an electric small forward with a motor like no one else in his draft class. Barnes was not considered to be the best player available at four, but his playstyle was reminiscent of a guy like Kawhi, something that really intrigued team president, Masai Ujiri.
Entering the preseason, Barnes fit right into the Raptors’ puzzle, that piece they’ve been searching hours for, posting stats in each of the big-five categories and being a menace on each side of the court.
You already know the vibes @ScottBarnes561 pic.twitter.com/x2QSt6uNu0
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) October 4, 2021
Along with Barnes’ potent two way game, Precious Achiuwa has been a beast in the paint, Malachi Flynn has been an assassin from the arc, and team vets like Fred VanVleet… just having a field day.
Do I believe the Raptors have a shot at a chip this season?.. I highly doubt it, but this team has the potential to have a tremendous bounce-back season if the roster remains healthy. And although the crop of rookies this year is quite bountiful, I personally believe Barnes could be one hell of a dark horse for Rookie of the Year with his keen basketball sense at both ends of the court.