Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes is about to get paid.
According to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Barnes “intends to sign a five-year maximum rookie extension that could be worth up to $270 million.”
ESPN Sources: Toronto Raptors All-Star guard Scottie Barnes intends to sign a five-year maximum rookie extension that could be worth up to $270 million. Barnes is the franchise cornerstone and will become the highest paid player in Raptors history. pic.twitter.com/c5efNmNl4a
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 24, 2024
Wojnarowski added in a follow-up post that the deal would officially be announced on July 6, per the NBA’s signing rules.
The deal would be the Raptors’ biggest in team history.
Barnes averaged 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 6.1 assists in 60 games this season and made the All-Star team for the first time in his career. The fourth overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Barnes is the only player from his draft class to have made an All-Star Game so far.
In May, Barnes made a simple proclamation in an Instagram carousel after Toronto had one of their worst seasons in recent memory.
“I promise we will be better,” Barnes captioned the post while sharing a series of pictures from the 2023-24 season.
Barnes himself suffered a hand injury in early March that sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
Toronto went 25-57 on the year, finishing 12th in the Eastern Conference and well out of the postseason race. It was a transitional year for the franchise, which traded away team centrepieces like Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby shortly after losing Fred VanVleet in free agency to Houston the summer prior.
“I think the most difficult thing to do when you do things like this is finding the Scottie Barneses of the world, and we’re lucky to have a really good young player like this to build around,” Toronto president Masai Ujiri said at his end of season press availability.
The NBA Draft is set for Wednesday and Thursday this week, with Toronto holding the 19th and 31st picks this year.