Toronto Raptors Free Agency: Scottie Barnes expected to sign 5-year Contract Extension

Woj reports Scottie Barnes is expected to sign a 5-year contract extension worth upwards of $270 million dollars.

The Toronto Raptors have secured their guy.

With Scottie Barnes heading into his fourth NBA season, the conversation of his contract has started to pop up. Rookies sign three year contracts with a fourth year team option, and obviously the Toronto Raptors opted into Scottie’s fourth year as soon as they could.

Now as we approach free agency next week, Scottie will be allowed to sign a contract extension. Again, the Raptors wasted no time negotiating with their “franchise cornerstone” when in-team negotiations opened up after the NBA Finals ended.

The team has been all-in on Scottie Barnes after drafting him fourth overall in 2021. Barnes has gone on to win Rookie of the Year and even made his first All-Star appearance in 2024. He’s improved significantly in his three season and Toronto has been adamant and vocal about their intention to build the franchise around him.

So, it’s no surprise that they threw the bag at him. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Barnes is expected to sign a 5-year contract extension worth upwards of $270 million dollars total. He will become the highest paid player in Toronto Raptors franchise history with this contract.

This means that Barnes will be under contract with the Raptors now until the end of the 2029-2030 NBA season. That does not sound like a real year, honestly.

The “upwards of $270 million” part just means that there are bonuses and incentives involved. The base contract will likely be in the range of $225 million total over the five years, with a bonus if he makes an All-NBA team next season before the contract officially kicks in.

Barnes averaged 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game while shooting 47.5% from the field in the 2023-24 season before suffering a season ending injury on March 1st. His three-point shooting percentage rose to 34.1% this season compared to the 28.1% accuracy he recorded the year before.

He also matured quite a lot off the court this year as well, having to step into his role as a leader more. With the constant turnover the Raptors roster experienced over the season, Scottie was consistent, vocal, and positive. He seemed to get along with Darko Rajaković quite well and had lots of praise for his head coach at the end of the season.

Now, the Raptors have the comfort of knowing they have the commitment from their leader for the next six years at least. Lots of time to turn the ship around and get back to winning ways.

With this big news out of the way, the Toronto Raptors front office can focus their free agency efforts on resigning Immanuel Quickley, shopping the market a bit, and perhaps making a decision on players like Bruce Brown and Gary Trent Jr.

NBA teams are currently able to negotiate with free agents on their own teams, and can start negotiating outside of that starting June 30th. Contracts can start being signing on July 6th.