Raptors’ Barnes to sign 5-year max rookie extension

By Eric Koreen, Lauren Merola and David Aldridge

Scottie Barnes, the Toronto Raptors All-Star guard, is signing a five-year maximum rookie extension, a league source confirmed.

This deal was only a matter of time for both the Raptors and Barnes. With Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby traded elsewhere in the Eastern Conference, Barnes was the last — and youngest — versatile forward left in Toronto. With the Raptors moving to a more future-oriented focus, getting the 22-year-old under contract was an obvious move.

For the Raptors, it’s a calculated risk that Barnes will continue to grow. He improved his 3-point shooting and playmaking last year, but still has a way to go as a scorer in order to optimize his game. The Raptors added shooters such as Gradey Dick, Immanuel Quickley and Kelly Olynyk around him over the last year, and they will need to continue to do that if Barnes is going to have the ball in his hands so often. Barnes finished with 24 percent usage, behind both Siakam (before his trade) and RJ Barrett, but well beyond his 20.3 percent usage from a year prior.

Barnes could qualify for a designated rookie extension should he make an All-NBA team this coming season. That would put him in line for a starting salary at 30 percent of the salary cap in 2025-26. Otherwise, it will be 25 percent of the cap.

Next up for the Raptors’ offseason: deciding if they want to pick up Bruce Brown’s $23 million team option and using the rest of the pre-free agency negotiating window to see if they can come to terms on a new deal for Gary Trent Jr. Quickley is also a restricted free agent.

Barnes averaged 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game during the 2023-24 season. He added a career-high 1.5 blocks per game. The Raptors’ top selection in the 2021 NBA Draft, Barnes has emerged as a cornerstone of Toronto’s future, playing his most productive game this season en route to making his first All-Star team.

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(Photo: Cole Burston / Getty Images)