The Toronto Raptors pulled off one of the biggest offseason moves in re-acquiring superstar wing Kawhi Leonard from the LA Clippers. Leonard was the centerpiece of the Raptors lone championship team in 2019, and he’s still playing at an elite level. However, Leonard is ready to pass the torch to Raptors’ budding young star Scottie Barnes, a notion that Barnes hasn’t quite wrapped his head around just yet, as per Omer Osman of Raptors Updates.
“I don’t know. It’s gonna be our team for sure,” Barnes said. “It’s gonna be our team. Just got to do things the right way, which we are. We’re gonna set the tone, and everybody else is gonna follow.”
The No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Scottie Barnes has emerged as a franchise cornerstone for the Raptors. He’s coming off his second career All-Star appearance, and he finished fifth in the Defensive Player of the Year voting while being selected to his first All-Defensive team.
Article Continues BelowBarnes appeared in a career-high 80 games last season at a little over 33 minutes per game. He averaged 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.5 blocked shots with splits of 50.7 percent shooting from the field, 30.4 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 81.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
The only road to go is up for Barnes, and it will help to have another offensive creator like Kawhi Leonard beside him. Leonard is coming off one of his healthiest seasons in recent memory, appearing in 65 games and averaging a career-best 27.9 points on 50.5 percent shooting from the field and 38.7 percent shooting from the 3-point line.