While NBA fans still await the finalization of seven-time All-Star Kawhi Leonard's trade back to the Toronto Raptors, it’s time to shift focus to the offseason development of their other core players. With one of the youngest rosters in the league, head coach Darko Rajakovic has proven himself over his three seasons with the franchise by continuing to get the most talent out of his players. 

The young bench players like Collin Murray-Boyles, Ja’Kobe Walter, and Jamal Shead will have a bigger role this year, and their development will be necessary for a deep playoff run. The same goes for the expensive starters like Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, and Jakob Poeltl, who will need to show their worth early on, or else they may be moved before the midseason trade deadline.

As everyone should know at this point, Scottie Barnes will be the real driving force of this team moving forward. He has proven to have a higher ceiling than many realized when he was selected with the No. 4 pick in the 2021 NBA draft. Through five seasons, he has already earned a Rookie of the Year award, two All-Star appearances, and an All-Defensive Second-Team selection. The hype was built up to its highest point thus far in last year’s playoffs, when he did everything he could to help boost the Raptors past the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round, before ultimately falling in seven games.

Heading into next season, though, Barnes will be required to do even more if Toronto wants a chance at reaching the NBA Finals. In an Eastern Conference that has 12 teams who all expect to win games on a nightly basis, the Raptors will have their work cut out for them starting in the first game of the regular season against the Chicago Bulls on October 21st at 7:30 PM EST. 

There may not be much more you could ask of Barnes on the defensive end. He finished fifth in the Defensive Player of the Year voting last season due to his stellar versatility. His presence was overwhelming for opposing teams, no matter where he was on the floor; guarding the ball on the perimeter, defending the post, disrupting the passing lanes, or roaming the paint, he could easily do it all to help force turnovers and start the fast break in transition.

Offense needs to be a different story this season compared to last. On a team with two-time All-Star Brandon Ingram, Barnes didn’t need to be a primary scorer for the team to find success in most cases. Barrett’s continued development even further pushed this notion, allowing for Barnes to find his moments to attack the basket and operate more as a playmaker to help his team find the best looks on any given possession. 

One would think replacing Ingram with Leonard, who is coming off a career-high season in points per game (27.9), and the hope for Barrett’s continued development would allow Barnes to operate in a similar role as last season. That would be true if the Raptors maintained the same goal from 2026 to 2027, which was to make the playoffs and end the three-year drought. However, Toronto is very clearly pushing to contend for a championship now and in the immediate future by trading away substantial draft compensation for an aging superstar. 

If the Raptors expect to make a deep playoff run this season, Barnes has to be an extreme focal point of the offense when he’s on the floor. He can continue to be a playmaker as he was towards the end of last year, but he needs to be a threat to score at all times for the team to be at its highest potential. The best offensive players in the game force defenders to decide whether they want the superstar to be a scorer or facilitator; any time these players are given the opportunity to do both, the opposition has seemingly no chance to match the dynamic offense. 

It would be unreasonable to expect Barnes to become one of these players like LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, or Luka Doncic right away. But if he can improve to the point of being able to get to his spots in the paint or midrange and consistently hit jumpshots, he’ll only fall one step behind. He proved last season that he can make quick reads and be an effective distributor when the team needs him to, so if he can then become a guy that needs to be taken seriously as a two-level scorer on any possession, his pairing with Leonard will prove to be a nightmare for teams on both ends of the floor.