Levenberg: The Toronto Raptors missed an opportunity to send an important message to young leader Scotty Barnes

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TORONTO – The Raptors didn't trade away their veteran star, allowing Scotty Barnes to become the undisputed face of the franchise, because they thought he was ready for it.


That wouldn't be a fair expectation for a 22-year-old who is still figuring out what it means to be a leader on and off the field.


They did this because they needed to start preparing him for responsibility and all that would entail. It takes time and there are bound to be growing pains and hard lessons along the way.


Some of those lessons came from Monday night's tough loss.


Barnes and the Raptors were on the wrong end of a stunning performance by the San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembayama. The leggy rookie sensation showed why he's a generational superstar in the making with a 27-point triple-double that included 10 blocks (Barnes had three) as the last-place 11-game Spurs led by 31 points. scores points on the way to a dominant victory.


With the exception of a double-overtime loss in Oklahoma City earlier this month, this is exactly what Barnes has looked like in his otherwise impressive third NBA season. Backed by San Antonio's top quarterback, sophomore Jeremy Sochan, Barnes was held scoreless in the first half, committing four of his five turnovers. Although he finished with nine assists and nine rebounds, he scored just seven points — one more than a season low and four points shy of the Spurs' own turnover.


His frustration was evident throughout the game. Body language in general was not good. Made at least one or two bad passes, hung his head and didn't get back on defense. Then, with four seconds left in the game, the team's broadcast showed Barnes walking off the court alone and into the locker room first.


To put things in perspective, this isn't some gross sin or anything like that, but it has raised eyebrows inside and outside the organization. Think of it as an unwritten rule in team sports – you win as a unit and you lose as a unit. Leaving the bench early doesn't sit well with any player, not even the leader of a young team.


It's significant that the Raptors felt they had to deal with a very similar situation a few years ago. It was early in the 2020-21 season, when the Raptors were playing in Tampa Bay due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, when Pascal Siakam fouled out in a game against Philadelphia and immediately went to the locker room with 26 seconds left. Team president Masai Ujiri and former head coach Nick Nurse decided to sit him out for the next game against New York.


Siakam, 26 at the time, didn't take well to his benching, but it got him noticed. It wasn't technically a suspension that would have cost him a missed game, but it sent a message and set a precedent.


“We want to do things a certain way,” said the nurse. “And everybody has to be a part of that. It's that simple.”


On Tuesday, first-year head coach Darko Rajakovic said Barnes would not face disciplinary action, which did not surprise those around the club.


“Not likely,” said one league source familiar with team dynamics when asked about the possibility of Barnes missing the game as a result of Monday's incident. “Not a chance.”


The idea that there was a fundamental rift between Toronto's former veteran players and Barnes was overblown. It wasn't animosity between them, but there was a sense that the team's former fourth-overall pick and Rookie of the Year was treated differently than other key players. There has been dissension in the dressing room over the past two seasons. That certainly doesn't help dispel the notion that Barnes is a nuisance in an organization that has often struggled to keep star players happy in its nearly three-decade history.


They could have at least corrected their story on Tuesday.


Rajakovic didn't notice Barnes leaving the game early, saying he confused San Antonio's late-game shot clock violation with the final buzzer.


Did Barnes realize what had happened?


“There were two or three seconds (left) and I was out of the game,” he explained.


Rajakovic said he met with Barnes before practice and they talked about the need to be more aware in those moments and manage his emotions during the game.


Barnes said of that meeting: “We didn't talk about that. … We talked about the game, but that was really the main thing.”


Rajakovic said Barnes was remorseful and held accountable, but that wasn't exactly reflected in his awkward and barely audible five-minute media availability.


“I think it was a bad look,” he said after the third question. “If it affected (my teammates) in any way, it was my mistake.”


After Monday's game, Barnes will no doubt be on the receiving end of strong words from Rajakovic and Ujiri. Still, it's hard to shake the feeling that this was a missed opportunity to send a clear message, just as the organization did with Siakam three years ago.

Do you want to be “the guy”? This is what it looks like. It's all part of the gig: being at the top of the other team's scouting report and facing the opponent's best quarterback every night, reporting and media obligations after bad games, and setting a good example and being a good leader through it all.


He's done that for most of the season, earning him a well-deserved spot in next week's All-Star Game, the first of many career selections to come. He did just that on Saturday, recording his fourth career triple-double and third of the year in a loss to Cleveland, then earning rave reviews from his coaches and teammates for his leadership. Whenever Barnes came out of the game, he would stand by the bench and direct the defense. He sounds like he's on the edge.


“I think everyone in the arena could hear him calling the shots and helping his teammates,” Rajakovic said. “He does a really good job in groups, especially talking to the new guys and trying to explain what they need to do, how they need to position themselves and all that. I think he's got leadership skills and I think they're where they need to be for a 22-year-old. I think it's just going to keep getting better.”


Just four years ago, Barnes was coming off the bench at Florida State. Even during his perfect rookie season with the Raptors, the nurse and trainers didn't call him plays; he was the third or fourth option on the floor at best. Until recently, he used Siakam to delay the attack, O.G. Anunoby had to take on the toughest defensive assignment and Fred VanVleet had to defend him against the media multiple times in a blue moon.


It's a new position for him, one that players his age don't often find himself in, and it will take some patience as he grows into the role.


But no matter how down-to-earth Barnes is, how selfless he is as a player, or how many times he's proven right that there's only one leader in the room, this is his team, now and for the foreseeable future. This means there is nowhere to hide. No nights off.

He doesn't play well every game, and that's fine, especially at this point in his career. He can't always control whether shots go in or out, but he can control things like effort, focus, and the way he carries himself.


“He's learning how he affects the team, his teammates and everybody,” Rajakovic said. “He's going through this, being the face of a franchise for the first time in his life, and he's emotional, but he's got to learn how to channel his emotions.”


“This is another great learning opportunity for him. That's not to say that it will never happen again, but I believe that in the future these situations will be dealt with less and better.”