'I love passing': Raptors' Scottie Barnes embracing chance to play more point guard

Scottie Barnes's chance to be the point guard he's long viewed himself as might have arrived.

With longtime point guard Fred VanVleet leaving for Houston in free agency, and new Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic looking to play selfless basketball while utilizing the skillset of his players more, the opportunity could be there.

"Definitely I could see Scottie playing on the ball much more," Rajakovic said when asked if Barnes would play the position, and even possibly start there, ahead of Raptors training camp this week.

"We're going to be calling in halfcourt sets, we're going to be calling plays for him to handle pick-and-roll, to set screens in pick-and-roll. He's such a unique player that we can use him in many different ways. But he's going to be used quite a bit."

His positional versatility on both ends of the court has helped the Raptors in different spots and against certain players. But his selflessness serves to mesh well with the style of basketball Rajakovic is looking to implement.

In addition to his size, of course. Barnes stands at six-foot-eight and has gained nine pounds of muscle this summer to weigh in at 240 pounds.

"I think there are a lot of advantages," Rajakovic said of Barnes's stature in pick-and-roll scenarios.

"First of all, he's a willing passer, so when you put him in pick-and-rolls, he can see the court really well and will try to move the court around the pick-and-roll quite a bit, especially when there are open passing lanes.

"I think he can be very good in pick-and-rolls when a small sets a pick-and-roll for him, as well as a big."

Scottie Barnes with the steal and touchdown pass to Trent Jr for the slam <a href="https://t.co/a0sNSDOdav">pic.twitter.com/a0sNSDOdav</a>

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