Toronto made a series of trades through December and January that effectively made Barnes the face of the franchise and he was named to his first-ever NBA all-star game in February. The retooled Raptors started to click with Barnes at the centre of head coach Darko Rajakovic’s schemes, putting together a modest three-game win streak that put them within range of a play-in berth.
But then he had season-ending surgery to repair a broken hand on March 4 and a cascade of injuries to his teammates followed. Canadian swingman RJ Barrett and point guard Immanuel Quickley missed time to grieve the deaths of family members and the NBA launched an investigation into irregular betting patterns surrounding backup centre Jontay Porter.
Scottie Barnes will be tasked with bringing some good luck to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday afternoon.
The All-Star forward has been named the team’s representative for the on-stage portion of the NBA’s draft lottery scheduled for 3 p.m. ET, the league announced Saturday
Barnes was the product of some Raptors luck back in 2021 when Toronto jumped up from the No. 7 spot in the lottery to clinch the No. 4 pick in the 2021 NBA draft. Former Raptors guard Fred VanVleet was the representative for the team during the lottery via video chat.
It’ll be a potentially franchise-altering draft lottery for Toronto who has a 45.8% chance to keep its first-round pick this year. The Raptors need to land a top-six pick to avoid conveying the pick to the San Antonio Spurs as compensation for the Jakob Poeltl trade.
Toronto has a 37.2% chance to land a top-four pick and a 9% chance at the No. 1 spot.
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Raptors forward Scottie Barnes argues with an official
Raptors forward Scottie Barnes argues with an official / Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY
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Toronto Raptors
Scottie Barnes will be tasked with bringing some good luck to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday afternoon.
The All-Star forward has been named the team’s representative for the on-stage portion of the NBA’s draft lottery scheduled for 3 p.m. ET, the league announced Saturday.
Barnes was the product of some Raptors luck back in 2021 when Toronto jumped up from the No. 7 spot in the lottery to clinch the No. 4 pick in the 2021 NBA draft. Former Raptors guard Fred VanVleet was the representative for the team during the lottery via video chat.
It’ll be a potentially franchise-altering draft lottery for Toronto who has a 45.8% chance to keep its first-round pick this year. The Raptors need to land a top-six pick to avoid conveying the pick to the San Antonio Spurs as compensation for the Jakob Poeltl trade.
Toronto has a 37.2% chance to land a top-four pick and a 9% chance at the No. 1 spot.
Assistant General Manager Dan Tolzman will represent Toronto in the drawing room where the official draft lottery will take place.
San Antonio will be represented on stage by general manager Brian Wright. Brandon Leisbohn, the team’s senior manager of basketball strategy and legal affairs will be the Spurs’ representative in the drawing room.
Toronto entered last year’s draft lottery as the No. 13 team and remained at that pick, eventually selecting Gradey Dick in the first round.