Raptors: Why Scottie Barnes needs to be a ‘Pippen,’ per Austin Rivers
Former NBA player Austin Rivers recently had an interesting historical comparison for Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes.
Scottie Barnes has enjoyed a breakout start to the 2023-24 season for the Toronto Raptors. Although Toronto has been in and out of the win column so far this season, Barnes has established himself as an early candidate for the Most Improved Player of the Year Award, showing growth in virtually every aspect of the game this season.
Still, despite this, at least one NBA veteran believes that Barnes is not a viable threat as a number one option and is instead better suited as a number two.
“I would like for Scottie Barnes to be the [Scottie] Pippen to somebody else,” said former NBA player Austin Rivers, per The Ringer (via Basketball on X). “…It’s like, in Orlando, they wanted Aaron Gordon to be such a scorer that he went into each game trying to be this scorer, trying to be this, trying to do that… they were trying to make him into something he kind of wasn’t. [Now] he accepted who he was and how he can have a huge impact on a team, and now he’s one of the most vital pieces of arguably the best team in the league.”
Of course, Austin Rivers’ argument is a bit flawed in that Scottie Pippen was the clear number two with the Chicago Bulls, while Aaron Gordon is more like the third or fourth option with the Denver Nuggets. Also, in order to be a Scottie Pippen, you need a Michael Jordan, and it’s unclear who that is for the Raptors
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