On Monday, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Toronto Raptors had signed All-Star forward Scottie Barnes to a five-year extension worth up to $270 million.

And as much money as that is, it's just sort of the cost of doing business in the NBA these days. When your first-round pick makes an All-Star team before his rookie contract is over, you almost have to sign him to a max to prevent him from signing elsewhere.

If Barnes was lost to free agency, there just aren't many options to replace him (most teams operate over the salary cap from year to year).

And in Barnes' case, there are plenty of numbers to justify the payday.

Barnes won Rookie of the Year in 2021-22 and then averaged 17.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks over the last two seasons.

Over the same stretch, the Raptors were plus-0.3 points per 100 possessions with Barnes on the floor and minus-5.9 when he was off.

Point forwards who stand 6'7", put up that kind of production before turning 23 and defend all over the floor don't come around often. Toronto had to secure him long-term.

Still, this isn't a true no-brainer. Over the years, a lot of the players about whom we've said, "just imagine if he could shoot" never really figured out how to shoot. And Barnes has been below average in both effective field-goal percentage and true shooting percentage in each of his three seasons.

There was some progress from three in 2023-24, but it's still an area of his game he'll need to focus on going forward.