RJ Barrett, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, has not quite lived up to expectations. While he had flashes of brilliance with the New York Knicks, inconsistency plagued him on both sides of the ball.
Since he joined the team, his fit has always been a questionable one. The Knicks used him for a majority of his minutes at small forward. While the NBA has become more positionless in recent years, the player combinations used around Barrett never enabled him to reach his full potential.
The same year Barrett was drafted by the Knicks, the team signed Julius Randle in free agency. Randle immediately became the No. 1 option for the team, blossoming into an All-Star and All-NBA performer in his second season in New York.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: RJ Barrett, New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors Updates
Barrett never reached that height, plagued partly by the Knicks’ lack of shooting in their lineup. Barrett, like Randle, needed the ball in his hands to succeed but he didn’t find the space necessary to turn those touches into positive production. It got even tougher when Jalen Brunson was signed in free agency to become the new starting point guard.
With Brunson and Randle locked in as the top two options, Barrett played a supporting role he was unfit for. He did make the most of it at the start of the 2023-24 season, looking as if he had turned a corner and was turning into the two-way player the Knicks needed him to be.
But, after he missed three games in November because of migraines, he was never the same. Around the NBA, Barrett was viewed as a toxic asset, as many thought the Knicks did a good job attaching him to Immanuel Quickley, sending the pair to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn.
Returning home to Canada, Barrett looks much more comfortable. Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic has been using him at the shooting guard spot, putting the ball in his more frequently and the results in the early going have been very positive.
In his time with the Raptors, Barrett looks more like the player from the first few weeks of the season. He is brimming with confidence, knocking down jump shots with regularity and getting more comfortable as a playmaker with the ball in his hands.
Toronto has a unique offensive game plan courtesy of running their offense through Scottie Barnes, who is having a breakout season of his own. Barrett is being put in positions to succeed, accentuating his strengths on the court and to this point, the results have been positive.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: RJ Barrett, New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors Updates
In five games, Barrett is averaging 21.4 points per game on an efficient .585/.500.769 shooting split. He has scored at least 14 points in each game and has been putting in work on the glass, something he lacked at times in New York.
Barrett is pulling down 7.2 rebounds per game, 1.0 per game on the offensive glass. The 3.4 assists per game would be a career-high as he is taking advantage of Rajakovic putting the ball in his hands as more than a spot-up shooter in the corner.
While many fans stood behind Barrett during his tenure with the Knicks, it wasn’t an ideal situation for him to develop and blossom in. The Raptors are providing him that chance and we are seeing the kind of player he can be with an adjustment to his role.
It is rare, but this trade between New York and Toronto looks to be one that both teams won. The Knicks have gone 5-0 since the deal, while the Raptors are 3-2. All of the players fit in well in their new surroundings and help elevate their respective teams.
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