RAPTORS BLOG: Scottie Barnes can make NBA rookie of year race tighter, plus a trade idea

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You knew Friday was going to be Scottie Barnes’ night when he took and won the opening tip against Washington.

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OK, maybe not. It wasn’t too long after that that Barnes was yanked by Nick Nurse, but the rookie responded like prospects with his monster potential tend to do, by returning to the game and being the best player on the floor from that point on.

Barnes simply beat up the Wizards inside (jump-hooking them to death, was how Fred VanVleet described it). The bounce was back in his step and with the other starters all playing well (other than a rusty Gary Trent, who still contributed throughout defensively and started off strong offensively), there were again flashes of what these Raptors could be.

We shouldn’t have been surprised by Barnes wanting to make a statement. It wasn’t even a week ago that he made it clear that the rookie of the year race means something to him. He knows Cleveland’s Evan Mobley will be hard to top (and that his other pal, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 pick, is starting to roll), but he’s going for it.

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” I would say it’s pretty close. A lot of rookies (have) just been hooping this year,” Barnes had said when the Raptors played in Miami.

“They have just been balling out on their teams, helping their teams out. I would say it’s important for me to just try and win Rookie of the Year, start my legacy off right. That’s just been a goal of mine since the start of the season.”

Bradley Beal called Barnes “special” post-game and said he can be a star.

Barnes is fourth amongst first-year players in points per game, third in assists, blocks and effective field goal percentage, fourth in steals, sixth in field goal percentage, fourth in true shooting percentage, and leads in minutes.

Mobley is the clear pick, but there’s still nearly half a season to go.

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With more performances like Friday, Barnes will make it tougher on the voters.

What’s Washington going to do? The good start is gone and the team is now .500. Beal is due a massive, massive new contract that could cripple the team’s cap for years to come. They’re nowhere close to competing to even make the conference final. They owe next year’s first round pick if they make the playoffs (with the protections lowering every year after). They have one elite star and then a bunch of solid veteran role players and a couple of intriguing young bigs in Rui Hachimura and Deni Avidja.

They also have three centres good enough to play 25 minutes each on pretty much any team now that Thomas Bryant is back. With Montrezl Harrell about to become a free agent it makes sense to deal him (and there’s no guarantee they re-sign Bryant, since he’s been injured and Daniel Gafford got a nice new deal).

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Not an ideal situation to be in for a franchise.

RANDOM TRADE IDEA:

Everyone loves random deal talk, so here’s an idea, now that Gary Harris seems to have remembered how to play basketball again (and gotten healthy).

In the spirit of old school Bill Simmons, who says know to this one?

Gary Harris and a second round pick to Toronto (from Dallas).

Goran Dragic to Dallas.

Malachi Flynn, Maxi Kleber, Reggie Bullock to Orlando.

Harris is exactly what Toronto’s bench needs. He’s a quality defender who can also space the floor with his shooting. Plus they’d have his Bird Rights and he’s only 27, so would be a decent reserve looking forward if he’d sign a reasonable deal (ie. half what he currently makes or so).

The Dragic-Dallas and Luka Doncic connection is obvious, and Orlando gives up a free agent to be for an out-of-favour but still intriguing prospect (though they already are deep at point guard with Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony).

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Once upon a time, sources told me the Raptors really liked Harris (as well as Tyler Ennis, who each went just before Bruno Caboclo). Would they have liked him enough to take him and not Bruno had he slipped? Not sure. Clint Capela was also in the mix. Magic boss Jeff Weltman was one of the leads in that draft room and knows Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster and Dan Tolzman are fans of Harris, or at least were before the injuries piled up.

The Raptors also have a solid relationship with his agents (one of whom happens to also represent Flynn, so they could gauge whether Harris would be interested in potentially sticking around.)

Anyway, just an idea as the trade deadline approaches.

FORMER RAPTOR OF THE NIGHT:

Stanley Johnson

Credit Johnson for working hard and heeding the advice of Masai Ujiri to get better to make it back to the league. He’s been a much-needed addition to the free-falling, drama-laden Lakers. Johnson is an excellent defender, but when he’s hitting outside shots, as he did Friday (3-of-4 from three), while also bringing it defensively, you remember why Detroit was intrigued enough to make him a Top 10 pick (and why the Raptors gave him two guaranteed years).

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(DeMar DeRozan easily could have been the pick again, but wanted to switch it up).

CANADIAN OF THE NIGHT:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

The Thunder is still a tire fire, but it’s not the fault of Hamilton’s finest. SGA had 29 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds in the team’s latest loss. Gilgeous-Alexander hit 8-of-9 free throw attempts and ranks 8th in the NBA in free throw attempts and 7th in makes per game. If he can improve his three-point shot (currently just 27%, by far the worst of his career and way below last year’s stunning 42% mark in 25 games) he’ll be a no-doubt all-star.

THREE STARS

1 Scottie Barnes

2 Bradley Beal

3 Fred VanVleet