Raptors media caught in embarrassing hot mic moment mocking Scottie Barnes and Jonathan Mogbo at year-end presser

The Toronto Raptors' season is officially over. With a 30-52 record, they concluded their season as the No. 11 seed and couldn't make it to the Play-In Tournament. However, their lowest point of the season came not on the court but in the media room.

Following Scottie Barnes's exit interview, two unnamed reporters in the press room were caught bad-mouthing him and Jonathan Mogbo.

They started talking negative things about Barnes as soon as he walked out of the presser, not realizing that the mics were still on. First, they discussed Barnes' attitude and his struggles in articulating his words.

"It's not just his enunciation, which like, was super bad, especially last year. But even the attitude. Just the attitude like he's having fun up there. First year or even before, he just kept getting worse and worse every year," one media member said.

Then, they flat-out insulted Jonathan Mogbo, stating how shocking it was that the team drafted him in the first place:

"When I first interviewed Mogbo when he was drafted, I was shocked 'cause he was so dumb," the Raptors reporter added.

Shortly after, another unnamed member of the media let them know that the mics were on and they had been saying some pretty rough things about the players.

The media team reportedly deleted the clips, but it was too late already.

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Scottie Barnes is excited about the Raptors

Despite how those members of the media feel, Barnes is actually optimistic about the Raptors' future.

He thinks the team is far ahead of schedule in their rebuild, and he foresees them going back to the playoffs as early as next season:

“I expect us to be really good. For sure, getting into the playoffs and make a great run. With the team that we have, there are no excuses. We should be in the playoffs and make a good run,” Barnes said.

The Raptors caught some tough breaks with injuries this season, but their roster is better than one would judge from their record. R.J. Barrett, Scottie Barnes, and Brandon Ingram, can be special together, and Jakob Poeltl has always been a serviceable big man.

Landing the right player in the NBA Draft will also be crucial to their aspirations. Despite how tough things were this season, there are more than enough reasons to be optimistic about this team going forward.