How Good is Scottie Barnes?

Toronto Raptors selected Florida State forward Scottie Barnes fourth overall from the 2021 NBA Draft.

Almost a week ago today (2021 - 08 - 05), Raptors decided to draft 20 year old forward Scottie Barnes. A few months before the draft, many Raptors fans had different rumors on who Raptors were going to draft, primarily because Raptors were having a disappointing season and were projected to miss the playoffs. Many were saying that we were going to draft the number 1 pick Cade Cunningham, but my personal opinion was that we were going to draft Jalen Green or Jalen Suggs, due to the fact that I thought those players were going to place 4th or 5th in the NBA Draft, a more realistic pick Raptors may land on.

After when Raptors decided to draft Scottie Barnes at 4th pick, most did not expect Raptors to pass up Jalen Suggs. Since Raptors drafted Scottie Barnes, this blog is explaining and analyzing how much good of a player Scottie Barnes really is. 

First off, lets examine Scottie Barnes Freshman College Statistics:

10.3 PPG , 4.0 RPG , 4.1 APG, 24.7 Minutes Per Game

Considering that this is Scottie Barnes Freshman College Stats, and he played around 24 minutes per game, these statistics are competent and good. The APG is pretty good for a 6'8 forward, and the RPG is good as well. 

If you look at Scottie Barnes Highlights, you can tell that although he is a 6'8 beast, he plays legitimately like a point guard. he contains elite playmaking abilities, and in my opinion he is very versatile on all positions on offense and defense. It is very rare to see a 6'8 forward running plays and implement passes on plays like what Scottie Barnes possesses. 

Scottie Barnes is also very good at navigating screens and getting his teammates open, the abilities that a good point guard possesses. Additionally, he strives in transition, finding open teammates running to the baskets. 

Overall, he thinks about this teammates, thrives on teamwork, has high IQ in plays, and elite versatile defense. If he develops a better jumpshot, we could easily see Scottie Barnes being a super star in the upcoming years.