Just-In: Toronto Raptors finally trade Scottie Barnes for $285 Million’s… Read More…
The Toronto Raptors and Scottie Barnes will be continuing their partnership for a very long time. On Monday, it was announced that the two sides have worked out a massive long-term extension.
According to ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski , the Toronto Raptors and Scottie Barnes have agreed to a five-year, rookie scale supermax worth $270 million. The deal was worked out between Bill Duffy of WME and Raptors’ executives Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster.
On July 6th, when the league’s moratorium ends, Scottie Barnes intends to sign the lucrative extension. The deal will make Barnes the highest-paid player in Raptors history and guarantees him at least $225 million.
Should the Florida State product make an All-NBA Team, All-Defensive Team or receive MVP honors, his contract would escalate to the supermax. If it wasn’t clear before, this contract shows that the Toronto Raptors believe in Scottie Barnes as he face of the franchise moving forward.
He will be part of their core alongside Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett. The young duo was acquired from the New York Knicks in the blockbuster trade during the 2023-24 season centered around OG Anunoby.
Quickley has yet to receive a new contract from the team, but that is likely on the horizon. Now that things are squared away with Scottie Barnes, the focus will shift to long-term negotiations with the scoring guard, who is set to be a restricted free agent.
Barnes, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, is set to turn 23 years old in August. He made his first All-Star team last season, averaging 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists.
His versatility on the defensive end is what makes him such a solid building block for the Toronto Raptors. Along with his burgeoning offensive game, he averaged 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.
The only other player to average at least one in all five stats last season was former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks. That is elite company to be with, as Scottie Barnes is accomplishing things no Toronto Raptors player has since Chris Bosh.