Raptors' Scottie Barnes to sign maximum extension worth up to ...

The Toronto Raptors are prepared to make star Scottie Barnes the highest paid player in franchise history with a maximum five-year, $270-million US extension, according to reports.

ESPN was the first to report the expected contract extension. The Toronto Star is reporting Barnes will sign the extension shorty after the league's signing moratorium is lifted July 6.

CBC Sports has not independently confirmed the reports.

The new deal would begin in the 2025-26 season, with a starting salary of about $39 million and reaching about $51 million in 2029-30, unless he qualifies for a supermax contract next season, and then the numbers would get even higher.

Barnes will make about $10 million this coming season, the last of his rookie deal.

He clearly is the player that the Raptors will build around over the coming years.

The 22-year-old is coming off his first all-star appearance after earning rookie of the year honours in 2021-22.

He averaged a career-high 19.9 points per game in 60 starts this past season, missing the final 22 games with a fractured hand. He also averaged 8.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game, also career highs.

The six-foot-seven wing is averaging 16.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 211 career games (210 starts) since being selected No. 4 overall in the 2021