LAS VEGAS—In a handful of quick conversations here this week, there was one prevalent thought about and the contract extension he signed that could .). “That’s a lot of money.
” “A big investment.” “Is he going to be worth it?” You get the gist. The chatter around the league is about the maximum value and whether or not Barnes will live up to it.
The Raptors are convinced it will end up being a wise financial investment on the court. They have . But the Barnes talk this week went in a different direction as well, one that might not be as important as his on-court development but one that’s significant, too.
Can he emerge as the public face of the team, the spokesman for the roster, the player who does all the media willingly and well? It’s a legitimate question and all those close to Barnes — Raptors officials, his representation, his teammates — know he has to succeed. As one person close to the situation put it this week, Barnes has to recapture the personality, the joy, the effervescence and show it on an almost daily basis once the season begins. Those who are working with him, with advice and support, are convinced he gets it now.
They know an engaged Barnes can be interesting and likeable, and that will go a long way to enhance his reputation with fans and the media. He was certainly more engaging and expansive at the Monday news conference to It was a step on his trip to becoming the true face and spokesman for the roster. There had always been one.
Damon Stoudamire, Vince Carter, Chris Bosh, DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet all accepted that responsibility and grew into it. It was good for them, it was good for the franchise. It will be good for Barnes, too, and people high up in the organization know it.
They say his personality is going to come up a bit more, that his natural maturity and the place on the roster bestowed him will make it happen. Everyone understands that Barnes is capable of. Now the other side of the coin, the true public leader, has to match it.
The Raptors were spectators on the , very much by design, and are settled on the group they’re ready to start with at training camp. Even a resolution to the saga would only open one end-of-the-roster spot, if he leaves. (Vezenkov wants out, there’s been no negotiation toward that, and he’s going to forfeit every dime of NBA money owed if he wants any chance to leave for Greece.
) Toronto is creeping within a couple of million dollars of the luxury tax and management is quite willing to let a young roster percolate. There was no free agent who came close to usurping what the Raptors are doing. It may not fit with the ideas of some fans but team president Masai Ujiri keeps telling anyone who will listen that this is going to be a time-consuming process.
To add a veteran who might be a marginal talent upgrade would not help what the Raptors want to accomplish. It’s not that the Raptors don’t think Gary Trent Jr. is an NBA talent but their internal discussions ended with them deciding to move in a .
Trent is being squeezed by the economics of the time. That’s a tough break. The expectation of people I’ve talked to do is that he will get a short-term, not-too-lucrative deal and set himself up to be a free agent again when there’s more money in the system, thanks to the .
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