Second season brings even higher hopes for Barnes

It was his versatility, so vital for the very best players in the NBA in these times, that set Scottie Barnes apart from every other rookie last season.

Ball handling and athleticism, post play and exploiting wing mismatches, the ability to guard multiple positions and an effervescent personality that was at times contagious formed a unique package that the Raptors used to their best advantage.

Fans loved him — it’s hard to think of another rookie in franchise history not named Vince Carter who captured their attention as quickly and as much. Teammates were willing to overlook the odd rookie mental blip, and there were several, because they saw something special in the 21-year-old.

And now, as the team prepares for its first training camp practice Tuesday in Victoria, one of the great truisms of pro sports comes to mind regarding Barnes: “What have you done for us lately?”

For as good as he was and as promising as his future looks after a grand total of 74 games and 2,617 minutes, he will be central to the biggest pressing question facing

coach Nick Nurse in the three week run-up to the regular season.

If he doesn’t evolve — if his game isn’t any deeper, more nuanced and advanced — it could throw a wrench into plans to build on the big, athletic, non-positional style that set them apart last season.

The attribute that makes this iteration of the Raptors unique, and may eventually make them special, is versatility — the somewhat unorthodox lineups they can trot out. Barnes now looks like the fulcrum on which that pivots.

One of Nurse’s biggest tasks in training camp at the University of Victoria, after Monday’s media day, will be working out the starting five. For all the discussion last season about the Raptors being a collection of long, six-foot-seven to sixfoot-10 forwards who scrambled on defence, switched everything and were among the NBA leaders in deflections — and, anecdotally, disruption — they started a traditional group.

They had a typical point guard in Fred VanVleet, a traditional shooting guard in Gary Trent Jr. and a “normal” frontcourt. But a subtle shift — starting Barnes in Trent’s place along with VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa — would make the Raptors bigger and more versatile, and it’s something Nurse should experiment with.

It will depend on how Barnes evolves: if his outside shooting is consistent enough to make him a legitimate threat, and if he can cover opposing starting shooting guards. What he did last season, however surprising it might have been for a 20-year-old rookie, has given the Raptors reason to think it might work better in his second year and allow them to get off to a better start. That they eventually won 48 games after a pedestrian 6-6 start is proof of that.

“I think when we started last year we didn’t know who we were at all,” Nurse said in the summer. “Picked (to finish) 11th or 12th in the league, we had no idea. We came out playing like we didn’t know who we were or what we were, and all of a sudden we got pretty good.”

Going into camp — the Raptors will be in Victoria for five days before opening a five-game pre-season schedule on Oct. 2, in Edmonton against the Utah Jazz — they just need to figure out who’ll fit where in a rotation that’s deep and a bit unsettled.

After figuring out the starters, discovering which group of backups works best is the next big question. There are a ton of possibilities, but none seem to stand out and Nurse will be experimenting. If Barnes can join a big starting lineup that allows Trent to thrive as a first scoring and shooting option off the bench — and that’s where he likely fits on a very good team — Nurse will have many options, and depth to deal with the inevitable issues that will arise.

“I think the health of a couple of guys, if it gets a little better, we could see marked improvement in our team,” he said.

“I think Thad Young now is actually acclimated and will be more of a factor. I think the Otto Porter signing is excellent. Then I think there are some guys that are really coming. Chris Boucher is one of them. He continues to come on. Precious is a guy — and you guys have already heard me say it this summer — who is incredibly driven, intense and focused this summer, so I’m expecting a big, big leap forward from him.”

The Raptors have come through a typical summer where they all took a break, slowly ramped up their workouts and the entire team — minus Juancho Hernangómez, tied up playing for Spain’s EuroBasket champions — took part in one of two weeklong voluntary off-season camps.

Everyone was in good shape, shot it well and seemed explosive by all accounts — although the next time a coach, teammate or source says “Oh, it looks like Player X spent a month eating bonbons and cheesies on the couch” it’ll be earthshattering news.

“I don’t want to go too far here, but I see a little specialness with this group,” Nurse said during a midsummer stop in Toronto after a visit with players in California. “So, we’ve seen some really good signs for some cohesion and some belief and building.”