NBA Draft: Take A Step Back On The Scottie Barnes Hype
I’m not seeing it. I don’t understand the appeal of Scottie Barnes going within the top-10 of the NBA Draft. Scouts drool over his potential upside. I definitely see it. However, this isn’t a guy who’s going to be an impact guy at any point of his rookie year. Whoever drafts Barnes is going to need to invest in him for the long haul.
The trend in the NBA is drafting potential over someone who can provide immediate impact. Yes, it’s true that not every player coming into the league is ready to contribute (Giannis). However, these collegiate guys get a free pass. They aren’t unknown commodities from overseas. For that reason, I can’t fathom why Barnes and his 10 PPG/4 RPG/4 APG are intriguing enough for an NBA team to take him top-10.
Barnes had an incredible high school pedigree coming into college. He played with assumed top overall pick, Cade Cunningham, and another potential lottery selection, Day’Ron Sharpe. Not only was Barnes the ultimate teammate, seemingly sacrificing his stats to help the team, but he also showed he was a leader.
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By that sense, sacrificing your stats to help better your team, almost feels like Barnes did the same at Florida State. He played within the system rather than push his own agenda. However, that’s also a detriment to his draft stock. Barnes really did nothing to address his rather poor shooting, instead just stayed the same player throughout his time at Florida State.
Look at his stats, you’ll probably be amazed that he has a .565 two-point field goal percentage. That’s fools good, though, as Barnes isn’t much of a consistent shooter. He hardly takes shots (only averaged 6.4 two-point attempts per game), and most of the total was drives to the basket. He doesn’t feel comfortable shooting, at least that’s what it seems. His awful 3-point percentage is cause for concern, as is his free throw percentage.
There’s an NBA team out there who will draft Barnes based on his willingness to be an all-around player. He’s going to defend and will give 100% every possession. You just can’t convince me a guy who doesn’t trust his shooting will ever figure it out enough to be more than a utility guy off the bench.
As you dig deeper into the 1st round and 2nd round of the NBA Draft, you are looking for the players who might need some seasoning (diamonds in the rough).I understand not every player is going to have it figured out right away. But, Scottie Barnes is a lock to go top-8. It’s hard to see why any team wants to gamble on a guy who lacks and hasn’t shown any real improvement to, the most vital skill on a court, shooting.
In 3 years I may look like a fool for thinking Barnes is a wasted pick at his current draft projection. There’s just no way to convince me that his potential, or any high potential draftee, is worth a high pick when they’ve shown no growth in college. That’s just something scouts will have to live with.
Image Source: MATTHEW HAWLEY Tallahassee Democrat
Daniel is a guru of baseball and basketball prospects. He’s a very experienced Amusement Park traveler as well. Follow him and his hot takes on Insta @dgentleman9288
