Achi news desk-
TORONTO – This was supposed to be Scottie Barnes’ season.
Toronto made a series of trades through December and January that effectively made Barnes the face of the franchise and he was named to his first ever NBA all-star game in February. The retooled Raptors began to click with Barnes at the center of head coach Darko Rajakovic’s plans, putting together a modest three-game winning streak that put them within range of a play-in berth.
But then he had season-ending surgery to repair a broken hand on March 4 and a cascade of injuries to his teammates followed. Canadian swingman RJ Barrett and point guard Immanuel Quickley missed time to mourn the deaths of family members and the NBA launched an investigation into irregular betting patterns surrounding backup center Jontay Porter.
All that misfortune sent Toronto into a 15-game losing skid, the second-longest losing skid in franchise history, and the Raptors finished 12th in the Eastern Conference with a 25-57 record.
“I wasn’t really frustrated, it was an accident and God has a plan for me,” said Barnes, a scar visible on his hand. “But the last month I’ve been hurt, these last 20 games, that’s been frustrating, watching us lose and not being able to be out on the floor with the guys and try to help us win .
“But I don’t take it for granted. It’s still a blessing. I see it as just being able to grow as a leader.”
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That positive reframing was a theme Monday as the Raptors held end-of-season news conferences after cleaning out their lockers and had exit interviews with Rajakovic and Toronto’s front office staff. Barnes said that while his shooting has improved — averaging 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists on 47.5 percent field goal shooting over 60 games this season — it’s his personal growth that he appreciates.
“For me, just being a great teammate, who was there throughout the season, just being able to cheer, lead, talk, be positive,” Barnes said. “It wasn’t a great season with the record, but we enjoyed each other’s presence and tried to stay positive about it all.
“We were all communicating, talking and having fun with it all.”
Starting center Jakob Poeltl was the first domino to fall after Barnes’ injury. The veteran had season-ending surgery to repair a torn ligament in his finger, a day after Barnes had surgery to repair his hand.
Poeltl agreed that the Raptors worked in the compact window when all the trades were done and everyone was healthy.
“I don’t think those moments are strangers,” Poeltl said. “It was more that almost all of the losses were more of the outliers than when we were actually performing.
“That gives you a lot of confidence. That gives me a lot of hope looking forward to next season.”
Barrett, from Mississauga, Ont., was traded to Toronto on Dec. 30 along with Quickley from the New York Knicks in exchange for OG Anunoby, in the first trade that began to reshape the team. He missed nine games to mourn the death of his younger brother Nathan Barrett.
The Canadian guard said that although it was a challenging season for him and his Raptors teammates, he believes the adversity will make them stronger next season.
“If you look at all the trades and everything that happened this year, I think it would be hard for any team to be able to put it together that quickly, right?” Barrett said, adding that he had a hard time adjusting to the constant changes in the lineup before the Feb. 8 trade deadline. a good training camp and we’ll be on the same page and it’s going to be huge.”
Center Kelly Olynyk from Kamloops, BC, was added to the team at the deadline along with forward Ochai Agbaji in a deal with the Utah Jazz. Olynyk and Barrett will represent Canada at the Paris Olympics this summer, but he was already looking forward to playing with a fully healthy Raptors team next fall.
“It was a tough time there,” said Olynyk, who started at center in Poeltl’s absence. “But I think when we had our guys in the lineup we played well together, we were tough, scored the basketball.”
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This report was first published by The Canadian Press on April 15, 2024.
