NBA Mock Draft: Wolves move up, Lakers get All-American

For several years, the Toronto Raptors have been at the top of the player development ladder leaguewide. They have always been able to take raw talent and mold them into high-level role players. We saw this with OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, and Fred VanVleet. Here, with a lottery pick, they take a shot on a lengthy, pass-first guard/forward in Scottie Barnes.

Barnes, standing at 6-foot-8, is a unique talent. At Florida State this past year, he came off of the bench as the sixth man, typically as the initiator. He averaged ten points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals per game.

NBA Mock Draft: Raptors take Barnes at No. 8

Barnes is a high-level passer and high-level defender – someone that is switchable enough to guard most players. If the shot comes around, he very well could end up being a top-5 player in this draft class (possibly better).

As a rookie, he can slot into Toronto as a backup point guard – someone that can come in and run an offense – while also guarding opposing 2s/3s/4s. Barnes allows the Raptors to hide worse players defensively – or, in essence, slide VanVleet up to the point guard spot defensively while maintaining an off-ball role on offense.

Last season, the Bulls selected Patrick Williams with the fourth overall pick – someone that is not immeadiately similar to Barnes – but was, in fact, the sixth man for a Florida State team just one year ago. Their play styles aren’t similar in the slightest, but both are high-upside forwards that look to add more value to their games later on.

The skinny on Barnes is this: If he can shoot well at the NBA level, there is no way he fails. If not, his facilitation and defensive ability has to make up for it, although those two skills alone are very valuable in today’s NBA.