As soon as I walked in, I saw clipboards, iPads, and people meticulously diagramming plays in front of me. We were all trying to soak up hoops knowledge from the Raptors' coaching fountain and apply it to our own teams, clinics, and communities.Darko referred to this open house (it's also free) as the only one of its kind in the NBA.
Even before it landed Kevin Durant, Houston had embraced a surprising strategy for escaping the depths of despair. It paid above market value for NBA champion point guard Fred VanVleet, invested in a veteran wing in Dillon Brooks, and prioritized size and versatility from thereon out-ultimately resulting in 52 wins and the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
After a year of offensive experimentation, where Barnes tested his limits as a scorer, his role heading into this season will be much different. But this is something he's used to. Over the course of his four-year career, Barnes has had to wear a variety of hats, first for a fledgling team trying to make the playoffs and then for a rebuilding group that oriented around him.