Does Scottie Barnes want the keys to the Raptors now?

Amit Mann is joined by Seerat Sohi of The Ringer to discuss whether Scottie Barnes wants to become the vocal leader on the Raptors and if he's ready for all the responsibilities that come with it. Listen to the full episode on the 'Raptors Over Everything' podcast feed or watch on our YouTube channel.

Video Transcript

AMIT MANN: Speaking of all that stuff, do you think he wants the keys to the Raptors like right now? Like tomorrow? Or do you think he knows that he should just wait a season or two and let it come to him?

SEERAT SOHI: I don't know. I don't know. There's obviously a hierarchy on the Raptors right now.

AMIT MANN: That could change in a week. But yeah.

SEERAT SOHI: That could change very, very quickly. That could change any second really.

AMIT MANN: Checks phone.

SEERAT SOHI: That's a tough-- yeah. Yeah, right. That's a tough question to answer. I think that he wants the keys eventually. Like Thad Young basically said he's being groomed for leadership. Like everyone knows he's being groomed for leadership. I think there are times on the court where you see him pressing, and clapping, and like he really wants the ball from like Fred, or Siakam, or OG. And I feel like there are some moments where they're like, yeah. No. That's not happening right now. Either like maybe they want to do their own thing. Or maybe there's another play they want to run. I don't know what it is.

But I do think that he's still figuring out so much about his own game that it's just a lot to put on him. I don't know if he wants it. But I don't think that it's a good idea to give it all to him right now. I think eventually he is like-- and there's a ton of really great leadership stories. And in my story as well. Just think moments that he just has like he has very high emotional intelligence. He is just someone who really cares about everybody else around him. He wants everyone else to be good.

But at the same time, I think everything starts with yourself. He has to figure out what he's supposed to be doing at the end of the day. That has to come first. His role needs to be a little bit more solidified. He needs to figure out what he's supposed to be working on on a daily basis. Like what his role is going to be. And then from there, you can start thinking about what other people need.

And not to say that you can't do both those things at the same time. But to have that be a responsibility for a 21-year-old, who is still figuring out so much about himself at the same time, it's just not necessarily something that's going to make sense on a team with a bunch of veterans on it that have been in the league. That have won a championship. As much as he definitely has leadership potential, I think if anything he should be soaking in what he can from those guys. And it seems like with Pascal he definitely seems to have that relationship where he really--

AMIT MANN: That's his favorite player. Right?

SEERAT SOHI: Yeah. Exactly. Right. His favorite player. Yeah and he just seems to really respect, and idolize, and want to emulate Pascal. So I think continuing to do things like that is probably the best move for him right now.

AMIT MANN: Growing pains is definitely part of his--

SEERAT SOHI: All growing pains. Yeah.

AMIT MANN: Especially when it comes to losing and the way the season has gone. I'm sure he's learned a lot about himself as well. A few weeks ago, there was that Thad and Scottie Barnes thing that happened. Right. Where they were in each other's face. I got some information from a few people about what exactly happened. But in the end, it was just about Scottie being receptive to critique. Criticism. Fair criticism. Honest from teammates. That's going to be happening in the NBA. If you want to be a good leader, then you've got to be able to take it too. You can't just be giving it all the time. It has to be a two way street. And for him, it's part of his maturation as a basketball player, as an adult. Right?

And that's why his relationship with the media I find is interesting. I've been in plenty of press conferences with him where at times he looks uncomfortable. And then you can see him warm up over time. But it depends almost on like who's talking to him and how they approach him. I asked them a question about-- I got a great answer actually about that game where he went off against the Milwaukee Bucks late in the fourth quarter and early overtime. And he gave me a great answer about what he's looking for when he is in the short role situations, and why he was being so passive earlier in the game, and what he's trying to look for. And it was a great answer.

Then I asked him like, what's your favorite Subway sub? Right. And he really just like warmed up. And other people were asking him questions. That's the same day that he was asked about Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk. And like why does he fit so well with the Raptors. And he's like, you know, I like Svi. He was cool. He does a great job of meshing with-- and he was like pointing. Like how do I say-- essentially he was saying that he meshes well with Black people as a white person.

SEERAT SOHI: Oh, yeah. That was really funny.

AMIT MANN: Yeah. It was hysterical. But even then, he didn't want to say. He's like I don't think I should say this, but then he said it.

SEERAT SOHI: Yeah.

AMIT MANN: Anyways. I think that's a pretty good spot right there where as we see him develop there, his confidence speaking to media members, and he's able to give clear, concise, fair answers. And he's not always like so sheltered or scared at times to give answers. I think we're going to see like those leadership qualities really come through because that's part of it too. Handling the media and being that face of it. Fred VanVleet, win or loss, he is facing the media. He never shies away, and he gives good clear answers. He'll fire back.

SEERAT SOHI: Brutally honest.

AMIT MANN: Yeah. He'll fire back. If he needs to. But that's the man that gets it done. He knows how to do it. That is something for Scottie to try to emulate.

SEERAT SOHI: Yeah, absolutely. I will say that the version of him that I got talking to him one on one was incredibly just articulate. There's like I don't know. You talk to certain players, and they're not necessarily listening. He was listening. He was curious. He wanted to answer the questions. He seemed very giving with his time. All that stuff.

I think that there is a level at which like if it's one on one, and maybe it's different. But yeah. That's something to get used to. Being in front of a bunch of microphones, and being the spokesman of a team is very different than talking to somebody one on one.

AMIT MANN: Think about players who entered.