Why Raptors' Scottie Barnes added 10-15 pounds of muscle during the offseason

Brian Macon, Scottie Barnes' basketball trainer, joined Amit Mann to reveal why Barnes put on 10-15lbs of muscle during his offseason preparation for next season. The full episode on Barnes' offseason development can be found on the 'Raptors Over Everything' podcast feed and on our Yahoo Sports Canada YouTube.

Video Transcript

AMIT MANN: I saw that he did add on a few more pounds, 10 to 15 pounds or so. And what impressed me about his rookie season is, like you said, he withstood the grind of that first season. And he actually got stronger as the year went on, which isn't common. That's not normally how it goes. Players tend to break down as the season goes on. But he got stronger and stronger, and so did the Raptors.

And then he had that late-season push for Rookie of the Year, which ultimately got it done. Why were the extra pounds necessary for him?

BRIAN MACON: I don't know. I think he's always wanted to put on weight, but he just hasn't been able to.

AMIT MANN: Yeah.

BRIAN MACON: A lot of that was his just understanding of nutrition. I think a lot of the times he's asked to play against fives. So he wanted to be a little bit bigger so he can guard fives a little bit better.

AMIT MANN: Sure.

BRIAN MACON: And I think just a natural, he's a 19-year-old kid. He's just going to keep putting-- he's so far from where he's going to be physically. He's just going to progressively continue to put on weight just because that's just how it works when you're working out and you're eating and you're freaking 6' 8", 220.

AMIT MANN: True.

BRIAN MACON: I think he'll probably cut a few pounds just when the season starts. But I think he just wanted to be able to just take the physical NBA season a little bit better.

AMIT MANN: Sure. That is true. I mean, I guess that earlier, he was the rim protector at times on the floor with their starting lineup. You got Pascal at the four. Scottie's at the five, OG, Gary Trent, Fred, so he is the de facto five in most cases if there's no switching and stuff like that happening. So I get it.

Grinding against some of those big dudes like Jokic, Embiid, and so forth, man, it's tough. It's not for the weak down there in the post. There's no question about that.