One of the biggest bright spots from the Toronto Raptors 2023-24 season was Scottie Barnes taking a leap and becoming an NBA All-Star.

There were big expectations on Barnes’ third year coming into the season and he exceeded all of them.

He took his game to new heights and showed the Raptors front office that he is the guy to build around going forward.

And that is what the Raptors did as the team officially entered a rebuild. Toronto made it clear that Barnes is the cornerstone of the franchise for the foreseeable future.

Barnes said that the biggest challenge for him this season was not dealing with hand surgery, but it was dealing with all the trades that happened, per TSN’s Josh Lewenberg:

“I think that was the hardest, just getting through it and managing my emotions through it, growing from it… Those were the guys I came into the league with.”

Barnes was able to adjust to his new role of being the focal point of the offense. In 60 games for Toronto this season, Barnes averaged 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.2 steals on 47.5 percent shooting from the field and 34.1 percent from three, all career-highs.

Unfortunately, Barnes’ season was cut short. He suffered a hand injury on March 1 against the Golden State Warriors that required surgery. The surgery was successful and Barnes said his left hand feels great right now, per Lewenberg.

He was seen getting shots up last week, but the Raptors were not going to rush him back for the final week of play.

Barnes is now focused on the summer and wants to see improvement next season via Lewenberg:

“I feel like we saw some growth this season. Obviously it takes time for us to blend with each other…We’ve got a long summer ahead of us to get better. Next year we want to see improvement. That’s what we’re striving for.”

Barnes is going to be the key to the Raptors’ success.

Gary Trent Jr. opens up about unrestricted free agency

It is going to be a busy summer for the Raptors. They have a critical 2024 NBA Draft and then they have some important decisions to make in free agency.

One of them is will the team bring back Gary Trent Jr.? Trent Jr. recently opened up about his upcoming unrestricted free agency.