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Each year in the NBA there seem to be a few young players ready to make a jump.
No player is ever at their best in the first two seasons of their career, but year three is where players usually ascend.
That seems to be what is happening in Toronto with Scottie Barnes.
The former fourth-overall pick is off to a hot start in his third NBA season.
Barnes is averaging 21.5 points and 10.4 rebounds through the first eight games of the year.
But Austin Rivers thinks Barnes would be best served in a Scottie Pippen-type role.
Pippen was a Hall of Fame player but never seen as the go-to guy on his team.
Rivers mentioned that Barnes is capable of leading a team but would like to see him as an elite second option.
Austin Rivers wants Scottie Barnes to be a “Pippen” player to somebody else and compares it to Aaron Gordon Orlando/Nuggets situation
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Pippen never got the credit he deserved because he was always playing with Michael Jordan.
But Pippen is in the Hall of Fame for a reason.
The future of the Raptors will be built around Barnes.
He is a guy that should excite the whole front office and the city of Toronto.
But if Barnes is going to be their “Pippen” that means they need to find a true number one.
Number one options are rarely available on the open market.
The Raptors did seem to be interested in Damian Lillard over the offseason but were unwilling to meet the asking price.
Maybe the Raptors will give Barnes the chance to show he can be a number-one option.
It is better to find out sooner than later if he is capable of that.
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