Is it worth averaging less than 20 points per game and getting 270 million in 5 years?

It's only about basketball

2024-06-30 11:10Creators in the field of sports

While Scottie Barnes and the Raptors signed a contract extension were no surprises, it was shocking enough when the five-year $270 million figure popped up. Barnes signed the Raptors with a designated rookie clause that would allow him to sign up to a five-year, $270 million contract.

Of course, the $270 million trigger is conditional on Barnes being on the All-Star team next season, just like Haliburton and Hanako this season. If Barnes doesn't make the All-NBA team next season, the contract will be reduced to five years and $227 million, which is more than enough.

In addition to finishing to the All-Star team, Barnes can also trigger a super-cap salary by getting a DPOY and MVP. Of course, compared to these two awards, the difficulty of getting into the best team is obviously the lowest.

This contract also became the largest contract in the history of the Raptors, and although the salary cap will skyrocket in the next few years, this record is expected to be surpassed by the Raptors in the short term. After the Raptors sold Siakam and OG-Anunoby respectively last season, they officially began to build around Barnes.

So there's no question of whether this contract is worth it for the Raptors, Barnes won the Rookie of the Year in his rookie season, has been steadily improving for three years, and was an All-Star last season. If the Raptors' record can be better, Barnes should be a three-team star.

Barnes played in 60 games last season, averaging 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks in 34.9 minutes per game while shooting 47.5 percent from the field, 34.1 percent from three-point range and 78.1 percent from the free throw line.

Compared with the previous two seasons without three points at all, Barnes averaged 1.7 three-pointers per game last season, which can be said to be a step by step practice of mid-range shooting. In fact, Barnes' three-point shooting percentage was even higher in the first half of the season, but with Siakam and OG being traded, Barnes' on-line and defensive tasks increased, and his shooting percentage went down.

He started his career in the direction of all-around, and defense became a cornerstone in his third season. Averaged 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per game and finally failed to select the best defensive team, or the Raptors are still a little transparent in the league, if Barnes is in a team with a lot of exposure, the reputation will be far better than now.

Last season, Barnes combined with 1,191 points, 494 rebounds, 363 assists and 88 blocks, both of which were first on the team. He was also the only player in the league who led the team in points, rebounds, assists, and blocks last season.

Only four players in the league had at least 30 points, three blocks and three steals in a single game last season, and in addition to Barnes, the other three were Anthony Davis, Alexander and Wembanyama.

I think Brother Alphabet will be a good template for Barnes to improve, and the potential shown by Barnes in the third year is no worse than that of Brother Alphabet back then. Barnes may never have the same impact as Brother Alphabet, but in terms of polishing the technical details, Barnes's ceiling may be even higher than that of Brother Alphabet.

Of course, Barnes is still in his formative years, and the key factor that really determines whether Barnes can transform is how much he can improve his ball-handling skills. His ability to find misalignments, his ability to connect teammates with low post threats has improved a lot over the last season, and his better shooting has helped him face different defences.

But at the end of the day, if you don't have enough ball-handling ability, you're not destined to carry the team far. On another note, the Raptors would also better not let Barnes stay at the No. 5 spot for a long time, which is not a good thing for his development.

The rookies of the 21st class now seem to have a chance to get a super cap salary only the No. 4 pick Barnes and the top pick Cunningham, regardless of how many consecutive losses the Pistons lost last season, but the value of CC is there, and if the cap salary is not given to CC, will it be given to Ivey?

The rest of the same class, Mobley and Suggs are gradually blue-collar, Kuminga is having a hard time getting too much contract with the Warriors, Giddey has been waived by the Thunder, and the Rockets' duo Jalen and Shin Kyung are not quite able to get the maximum salary.

Thinking back to the draft three years ago, this recognized draft year, who would have thought that Barnes, who was not favored at the time, could become the strongest man three years later?

View original image 70K

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•