Raptors' success hinges on budding relationship between Rajakovic, Barnes

BURNABY — When Darko Rajakovic was doing his deep dive on the Toronto Raptors while preparing for his head coaching interview, he spent a lot of time studying Scottie Barnes. 

Like most who have watched the powerful Raptors forward who is about to start his third NBA season, the newly hired first-year head coach came away impressed. 

“To me, he's an amazing talent like he can do so many things. He can play pick-and-roll, he can set screens in pick-and-rolls,” said Rajakovic. “He's really good in open court transition. His size is allowing him to see the court really well and find people and just his unselfishness. He really tries to make the play right play every single time down the court.”

As scouting reports go, it’s pretty glowing, though hardly inaccurate if not entirely complete. But in fairness, it would be highly unlikely that Rajakovic would have been elevated from his assistant position in Memphis to his first NBA head coaching job had he scoured clips of Barnes and saw only the flaws: a 22-year-old who struggles to finish anywhere outside the paint, who regressed as a shooter in his second season and has yet to show the ability to break defenders down of the dribble, especially if he is forced to his left hand. 

Rajakovic sees the best in Barnes because he hardly has a choice: the two are joined at the hip, in the professional sense, each holding the other’s futures in their respective hands. 

Since drafting Barnes fourth overall in 2021, the Raptors have been deeply invested in having the Florida State product burst through even the most optimistic views of what his ceiling can be which — you could argue — is some vague hybrid of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Draymond Green. A giant-sized ball-handler who can overwhelm the opposition with his physicality in transition, use his size and vision to pick apart match-ups in the half-court and bully smaller defenders at the rim when necessary. If you want to go back in time, think former Lakers star Lamar Odom only with more physical oomph.  

The potential is enticing. 

Indeed the consolation prize — or maybe even the benefit — of having Fred VanVleet leave in free agency this past summer is that the path towards Barnes becoming the team’s point guard is clear and Rajakovic has not done any hedging when it comes to what he sees Barnes’ role to be this season: the third-year pro is the man. 

Barnes was fourth among Raptors regulars last season in usage rate with just 20.3 percent of possessions used by him when he was on the floor last season — less than Gary Trent Jr. and fractionally ahead of O.G. Anunoby. The expectation is that this year, that number will increase compared to Barnes’ rate last season.

Accordingly, Barnes' production — 15.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists while shooting 45.6 per cent from the floor — should spike. The Raptors hope their team performance will also benefit. 

“I think when he rebounds the ball defensively – he’s a good defensive rebounder --  he will be expected to bring the ball up the floor,” said Rajakovic. “We’re going to run plays through him so he can get in the actions. Is that on-ball screens? Is it off-ball screens? Is that [dribble handoffs] or pick-and-rolls? [We’ll see] but we're gonna try to put the ball in his hands as much as possible for him to playmaker.”

Unsurprisingly, this is music to Barnes’ ears. Not that he was under-utilized by former Raptors head coach Nick Nurse – he started every game but one over two seasons and averaged 35 minutes a night – but the Raptors' offence ran first through VanVleet and Pascal Siakam. 

With VanVleet now in Houston and Siakam’s long-term future in Toronto in some doubt, it’s hard not to conclude that Barnes’ role will be soaking up a lot of those extra touches.

“They want to put me in those positions where I can be able to settle into my playmaking abilities, being able to go score, be able to just make those right reads on the floor, they trust me with that,” said Barnes after the Raptors second day of training camp. “So I think I'll be ready. I'm ready to be able to make those decisions with the ball. I feel like I'm great with the ball in my hands to make those decisions. I'm a smart player. I'm not a selfish player. So I'm able to, even when I'm the main ball handler, be able to find those situations. If Pascal has a mismatch on him, if OG [Anunoby] has a mismatch on him … I'm able to make those passes. So I'm a smart player. You know, even with the ball in my hands, without the ball in my hands, I'm able to find those mismatches where they are on the floor.”

It sounds fantastic. And if it all works out, even better. But there are some flaws in the plan.

For all the talent Barnes has packed in his six-foot-nine and now – after putting on nearly 10 pounds of muscle, he says — 240-pound frame, there are still some gaps.

For example, he shot just 30.4 per cent on attempts outside 10 feet last season, and while he handles the ball well for a player his size, he’s not shown the explosiveness or shiftiness to beat agile defenders off the dribble consistently. If he can’t bully them, he often runs out of options. 

Putting the ball in Barnes’ hands has great potential because of his floor vision and his willingness to make plays for others. But if opposition defences sag into the paint and challenge Barnes to make plays for himself — a reasonable strategy given the Raptors aren’t dripping with the kind of deep shooting threats that can punish teams who sell out too far in that direction — well, that’s when things get can get clunky. 

It's reasonable to take a wait-and-see approach in that respect, which is fine because Rajakovic and Barnes are committed for the long-term. 

The first-year head coach didn’t simply overlook Barnes’ flaws when he was studying all that film, it’s just that he sees them as fixable, and the talent as unlimited – which is what the Raptors front office needs to come to pass if the team as currently constructed can break out of the dreary middle of the Eastern Conference. 

 On Monday he mentioned Barnes’ left hand having been improved over the summer, which should give him more options attacking the basket, and made a point Wednesday of noting Barnes’ improved shooting and the need to do more. 

“He needs to continue improving his shot and working on his shot. I want him to take more open shots and shoot it with confidence,” said Rajakovic. “He’s doing great job in the gym every single day with assistant coaches, working on his form. It’s just a question of confidence and taking those in a game as well (and) if he’s not taking a shot, he needs to be playing to the role of our team … which is making quick decisions and finding the open man.

“(But) it’s a step in the process. I’m always going to look at the players and I just don’t look at the time they are in right now. I look where they can be down the road [and] Scottie is an all-star type of player. He is a guy who can do so many things … he should be the guy two, three years down the road, teams are really having a headache when they are preparing, scouting and they have multiple coverages on him. Because if you switch, he’s going to punish you; if you don’t switch he’s going to punish you with good decision-making. If you give him room, he’s going to knock down a shot, if you close out, he’s going to by you.

“We’re trying to make a complete player out of him.”

If it comes to pass it will be a beautiful case of one hand washing the other: Barnes becoming the star the Raptors have him projected to be will go a long way toward Rajakovic being a successful coach and the Raptors successfully transitioning from their post-championship doldrums to among the best teams in the conference. 

Barnes sounds up for it. He hit it off with Rajakovic in their first meeting and they haven’t looked back since. 

“I feel like we're gonna be on a long ride together. We're going to make amazing things happen.”

Raptors fans, Barnes, the front office and their first-year head coach can only hope.