Exclusive: Inside Scottie Barnes' Offseason, 'He's Gonna Surprise a lot of People,' Trainer Says
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Brian Macon could barely hold in the "I told you so" he'd been waiting a year to deliver me.
It was a year ago today that the Toronto Raptors shocked the basketball world by selecting Scottie Barnes with the No. 4 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Back then, there were questions about Barnes, specifically on the offensive end. Sure, his defense would be a valuable NBA skill, but in a league so enthralled with shooting, could Barnes contribute?
To Macon, Barnes' personal trainer and childhood mentor, the questions were nonsense. Yes, Barnes would be able to contribute. Yes, Barnes was going to be special. And, yes, Barnes would be in the Rookie of the Year conversation.
He was right.
Now, after months of offseason training, Macon says Barnes is going to be even better next season. AllRaptors caught up with Macon on Friday morning to hear the latest about Barnes' offseason training.
(This interview has been edited for clarity)
What have you and Scottie been up to this summer?
We've just been refining his game, getting him better offensively in the half-court as far as giving him go-to moves to get to. Our main goal is just to get him to be a lot more efficient in the half-court and, of course, working on his jump shot. He's been progressing well. I think the first month after the season he made a big leap, like, he jumped right into it right after the season. So he made a big jump there.
What did he want to work on?
I sent him film on just his different touches as far as in transition, his ISOs, his ball screens, and all that. And he sent me a list of things that he wanted to work on, and it was along the same amount as what I was thinking already. So he's very aware of what he needs to work on. He's very aware of his game and he's very mature in that aspect. ... But it was an easy conversation, which, I mean, every conversation with Scottie is pretty easy.
I know you were optimistic about his rookie season last time we spoke...
Aaron, did I not tell you, bro? Did I not tell you? (Laughing)
Yes, you did. Did you think it would be that good?
Yes! I told you what it was going to be. I told you that he had a chance to win Rookie of the Year, that he’s gunna shock a lot of people. You was a little, I mean, of course, you didn’t really see it as nobody did, but I told you what it was gunna be.
How much better is he right now compared to a year ago at this time?
He's a completely different player. That's been who he is every single summer that we've worked out. He just gets better and better and better. So right now, he's way better. Like the workout that we had two days ago was the best workout that he's ever had with me.
How so?
He moves as efficiently on the basketball court through his moves as good as any guard in the NBA. My point of view is there's nobody his size that can move the way that he moves on the basketball court with the ball. His handles and footwork are like crazy, crazy, crazy. They're already really good, but now it's, like, it's amazing. His jump shot is really coming along. He's way more consistent with his jump shot. His mid-post turnarounds both ways, those are, like, he's gonna make a lot of those. Like, those are going to be like his money shots. Especially when he gets switches on smaller guys. So I think he'll just be able to get downhill a lot easier than he was and he put on like 10 pounds. So he's like 235 (pounds). He's like 235, 6% body fat. So he's a perfect, like, he looks like a created player.
What areas did you think he needed to improve in the most?
I think he's just got to continue to be more aggressive because you'll see times in the game where there may be like six or eight minutes where he doesn't make an attempt to try to score the ball. He's just such an unselfish player that he should always be aggressive because he's gonna draw two, he's gonna make that play. But then you'll see like there'll be spots in the game where he scores like eight straight points and then everybody's surprised but that's something that he can do on a regular (basis). But he's just got to continue to stay engaged and stay in that mode.
How has his shooting looked this summer?
His shooting has improved a ton. ... It's night and day as far as his shooting and I think he feels a lot more comfortable with it.
Did you have a favorite Scottie moment from last season?
Nah, I just think that he was just so consistent throughout the year and there weren't really many highs and lows, he always stayed around 13 to 18 points per game. So, I don't really have a highlight. I think one of the plays that I wish would have happened was when he tried to dunk on (Joel) Embiid that one game when they called that early foul. I mean, that would have been crazy. But, I mean, the playoffs, like, we talked about this the other day, like if he didn't get hurt that first game in the playoffs, he was gonna get a triple-double and to get a triple-double in your first playoff game, like that would have been crazy. You know what I mean? That would have been a crazy start and I think the series would have played out a lot differently if he didn't get hurt that early.
You told me he'd win Rookie of the Year last summer, so what's next for this season?
I just think he's gonna surprise a lot of people. ... Like, he's gonna be way better next year. He's not the guy, you know what I mean? Like he's not the main guy on the team. So he could average 12 assists a game, he could average 25 points a game, you really never know, like he's that unique. But I think he's gonna have a much better season. I think they're gonna make a deep playoff run and I think he's gonna be a major part of it. I think this year it’s going to translate more to winning games and winning games late. I think they had probably like 10 games that I watched that they probably should have won. But I think he’ll do a better job of helping the team win games down the stretch because he's had better experience. I don't know about accolades but I think he'll help the Raptors win more games late because he has that experience and he knows what it feels like.
Does he really love Toronto as much as it seems like he does?
He really enjoys it. No, Toronto is a great place. It's a great community where he has everything he needs and the community has really embraced him. It’s just a great place for a rookie to be. ... He really enjoys just how the city has embraced him and how everybody is just into this game and the sport. It’s different, being from South Florida and where we are, like, people show up at halftime to the Heat games, you know what I mean? Like it's totally different. It's like really a sports town. It's a great sports town. So he definitely loves.
Is there anything else Raptors fans should know?
He's getting better, like exponentially better. He's getting way better. Like, he looks really good. And there's still two months of the summer left. And to be that young, he's a really consistent hard worker. He's in the gym a lot. So he's gonna have a great season. I think the Raptors are gonna have a great season as well.
Further Reading
Raptors coach Nick Nurse says Precious Achiuwa is "on a mission" this summer
Raptors face roster crunch following Juancho Hernangomez signing
Former Raptor leaks 2018 playoff scouting report on LeBron James, John Wall, & Bradley Beal
