Official RJ Barrett Thread

[Raps in 4]

Its weird to me that people are stuck on his NYK tenure as his median. First hes 23, but okay.

His transition numbers buoyed him as a NYK, and now its hurting him as a Rap. His SpotUp numbers were trash, he comes here and lights it up. But most importantly, hes not a good PnR guy, and instead of forcing 18% of his finishes as the Knicks did, hes doing more triple threat attacks, and less PnR here (7.9%). Hes more an ISO finisher/creator here, even if it is not alot of volume.

Hes shooting a career high % of FGAs within 3 ft. He shot 13.2% of his FGAs from 10ft to the 3PT line with the Knicks, with the Raps its 3.4%. Its not just finishes and spots on the floor that has changed with RJ either. Hes getting ~12 more touches per game with the Raps, but avging less seconds per touch, and less dribbles per touch.

Will he regress, probably, but I dont think anyone can argue thus far, hes a) being very productive/efficient, b) hes doing different things/roles.

Edit:

Spoiler:

As a Knick.


As a Rap.

VVV sighting sends the haters into shambles.

We need more of your wisdom in these divisive times.

[Vampirate]

I just want him to a) play better defense and b) pass the ball a bit more.

The defense definitely needs to improve, however if you have a guy who is at 55/42 for your team, why pass?

While not the best scorer on the team, he's atm, the most efficient.

If he starts reverting to NY Barrett, then yeah, pass the ball, but as long as he's at 50/40 he's pretty much the best option for what he does.

I really can't explain his FT shooting though, he was a 83% FT shooter in NY and a 57% for us.

Essentially we got the best in clock scorer version of Barrett but the worst FT version of him so far.

[billy_hoyle]

Its weird to me that people are stuck on his NYK tenure as his median. First hes 23, but okay.

His transition numbers buoyed him as a NYK, and now its hurting him as a Rap. His SpotUp numbers were trash, he comes here and lights it up. But most importantly, hes not a good PnR guy, and instead of forcing 18% of his finishes as the Knicks did, hes doing more triple threat attacks, and less PnR here (7.9%). Hes more an ISO finisher/creator here, even if it is not alot of volume.

Hes shooting a career high % of FGAs within 3 ft. He shot 13.2% of his FGAs from 10ft to the 3PT line with the Knicks, with the Raps its 3.4%. Its not just finishes and spots on the floor that has changed with RJ either. Hes getting ~12 more touches per game with the Raps, but avging less seconds per touch, and less dribbles per touch.

Will he regress, probably, but I dont think anyone can argue thus far, hes a) being very productive/efficient, b) hes doing different things/roles.

Edit:

Spoiler:

As a Knick.


As a Rap.

VVV sighting sends the haters into shambles.

We need more of your wisdom in these divisive times.

VVV would have been the first person to crap on RJ post trade. They post historical stats and not projections.

Everybody can see RJ has played much better than first anticipated. Using stats that are blatantly obvious shouldn't be a boon for any narrative.

[Thaddy]

He can likely be propped up and developed into a borderline 1x all star similar to Teague, Millsap, etc

[LoveMyRaps]

Read on Twitter

?s=19

Special player.

We got a bunch of guys that can score in a variety of ways, in a very efficient manner.

Scottie - Mid range/paint
IQ - 3pt
RJ - Rim finishing

Like I said before - this BBQ trio is PERFECT. They all complement each other so well. I can't wait for them to build some more chemistry next season.

Scottie = Duncan
IQ = Tony
RJ = Manu
.

You're right. I can't believe I didn't see this before.

Changing my outlook for next season to championship or bust.

[Raps in 4]

Special player.

We got a bunch of guys that can score in a variety of ways, in a very efficient manner.

Scottie - Mid range/paint
IQ - 3pt
RJ - Rim finishing

Like I said before - this BBQ trio is PERFECT. They all complement each other so well. I can't wait for them to build some more chemistry next season.

Scottie = Duncan
IQ = Tony
RJ = Manu
.

You're right. I can't believe I didn't see this before.

Changing my outlook for next season to championship or bust.

It's not just going to be one.

[PushDaRock]

Read on Twitter

?s=19

Special player.

We got a bunch of guys that can score in a variety of ways, in a very efficient manner.

Scottie - Mid range/paint
IQ - 3pt
RJ - Rim finishing

Like I said before - this BBQ trio is PERFECT. They all complement each other so well. I can't wait for them to build some more chemistry next season.

Scottie = Duncan
IQ = Tony
RJ = Manu

People keep saying we should convey the pick this season and then pick worry-free in the top-5 next season. I don't know what games people are watching. There is no way this core is a bottom-feeder next season after an off-season of development. They're winning 40+ games next year. Haters can quote me.

The time to tank is now because there won't be another opportunity.

Even if that were case, it's debatable whether the 6th pick this year is better than the 15th pick next year.

[LoveMyRaps]

Scottie = Duncan
IQ = Tony
RJ = Manu
.

You're right. I can't believe I didn't see this before.

Changing my outlook for next season to championship or bust.

It's not just going to be one.

[vini_vidi_vici]

VVV sighting sends the haters into shambles.

We need more of your wisdom in these divisive times.

VVV would have been the first person to crap on RJ post trade. They post historical stats and not projections.

Everybody can see RJ has played much better than first anticipated. Using stats that are blatantly obvious shouldn't be a boon for any narrative.

VVV liked the trade, and getting RJ. This place is weird.

[vini_vidi_vici]

I just want him to a) play better defense and b) pass the ball a bit more.

The defense definitely needs to improve, however if you have a guy who is at 55/42 for your team, why pass?

While not the best scorer on the team, he's atm, the most efficient.

If he starts reverting to NY Barrett, then yeah, pass the ball, but as long as he's at 50/40 he's pretty much the best option for what he does.

I really can't explain his FT shooting though, he was a 83% FT shooter in NY and a 57% for us.

Essentially we got the best in clock scorer version of Barrett but the worst FT version of him so far.

Yea if he hit his FTs, his TS% would be wild. Limit some of the bad TOVs too.

Also hes been a sneaky good facilitator, he went from 3.9 potential ASTs, to 6.7 with the Raps. So its just more signs of growth hopefully.

Some other things I like is hes good going both right and left for different reasons, he gets to the line alot more going left, but going right he can just get buckets.

He wasnt bad with NYK, 68th percentile, but he fell apart here. Some of it is bad luck though...

Spoiler:

Hes good as a point of attack guy, in PostUps/ISOs, but hes getting killed in SPotUps and PnR. To be fair, the entire PnR ball D is awful, and id talk about the bigs but I digress, to me its strategy but RJ has been trash.

The SpotUps though, hes guarding more than unguarded C&Ss against. but in both scenarios giving up unreal #s. The dribble J, usually inefficient, is not vs RJ. That is likely to improve both as the year ends and next yr. If Darko can patch up the PnR D as a whole it could only help him too, even if only marginally. Those alone could get him to a good/plus defender.

[niQ]

I just want him to a) play better defense and b) pass the ball a bit more.

Hitting his free throws would be lovely.

[YogurtProducer]

VVV sighting sends the haters into shambles.

We need more of your wisdom in these divisive times.

VVV would have been the first person to crap on RJ post trade. They post historical stats and not projections.

Everybody can see RJ has played much better than first anticipated. Using stats that are blatantly obvious shouldn't be a boon for any narrative.

VVV liked the trade, and getting RJ. This place is weird.

And even if you didn’t, heaven forbid a guy turn his game around and in return you start to like a player.

[ArthurVandelay]

RJ is 7-8 months older than some of the guys people are talking about in the draft thread.

Crazy how young he still is despite being in the league for 5 years.

[Tofubeque]

Teams are just playing good free throw defense against RJ. He'll develop a counter and start swishing them

[deeps6x]

Special player.

We got a bunch of guys that can score in a variety of ways, in a very efficient manner.

Scottie - Mid range/paint
IQ - 3pt
RJ - Rim finishing

Like I said before - this BBQ trio is PERFECT. They all complement each other so well. I can't wait for them to build some more chemistry next season.

Scottie = Duncan
IQ = Tony
RJ = Manu

People keep saying we should convey the pick this season and then pick worry-free in the top-5 next season. I don't know what games people are watching. There is no way this core is a bottom-feeder next season after an off-season of development. They're winning 40+ games next year. Haters can quote me.

The time to tank is now because there won't be another opportunity.

Even if that were case, it's debatable whether the 6th pick this year is better than the 15th pick next year.

No, it isn't. Just because there isn't a top two consensus that are heads and shoulders above everyone else, in this draft, doesn't mean the 4-8 picks are any worse then last draft's 4-8 or the 2025 draft's 4-8.

If we can get a top six pick now, we'd damn well better rest the appropriate players and make it happen. We should be looking much better next season, once our young core has more time to develop together. Plus we'll have cap space to lure another quality player.

[YogurtProducer]

No, it isn't. Just because there isn't a top two consensus that are heads and shoulders above everyone else, in this draft, doesn't mean the 4-8 picks are any worse then last draft's 4-8 or the 2025 draft's 4-8.

I mean, it also does not mean they are the same or better either

The fact 2024 picks are so devalued across the league in all areas of the draft should signal this draft is more than just "a lack of top end talent".

[Scase]

Read on Twitter

?s=19

Special player.

We got a bunch of guys that can score in a variety of ways, in a very efficient manner.

Scottie - Mid range/paint
IQ - 3pt
RJ - Rim finishing

Like I said before - this BBQ trio is PERFECT. They all complement each other so well. I can't wait for them to build some more chemistry next season.

Except RJs game is the easiest to shut down. Scottie can bully, pass, midrange (depending on the night ), and hit 3's. IQ has a good drive and kick game, and crazy range.

RJ has rim play, that's it. Back off him, or have ample help defence and his efficacy drops dramatically. He needs to develop a reliable mid range shot to open up the floor, and dear god, take the horse blinders off. He drives into 3 defenders like he's FVV sometimes lol.

He's very 1 dimensional, unless he really develops other parts of his game in a short period of time, I don't think he's a long term solution for anything. He's in his 5th year, substantial improvement is not a given, just because he's young.

I see the long term core as Scottie/Gradey/IQ at the 1/2/3 (or 4).

[ForeverTFC]

I don't think anyone is disputing that RJ is playing well. I think the question of his fit on a team with Scottie and IQ still remains. Even without IQ, Barrett and Barnes are a weird fit together.

With that said, I hope he continues to play well and develop his game. He may be the trade piece that gets us the missing piece down the line. He's definitely not the the negative value contract many made him out to be when the trade happened to this point.

[deck]

I don't think anyone is disputing that RJ is playing well. I think the question of his fit on a team with Scottie and IQ still remains. Even without IQ, Barrett and Barnes are a weird fit together.

With that said, I hope he continues to play well and develop his game. He may be the trade piece that gets us the missing piece down the line. He's definitely not the the negative value contract many made him out to be when the trade happened to this point.

Interesting, I actually think RJ fits quite well with Barnes. We've been desperately missing a slashing wing. I'm less confident RJ keeps shooting 3s at the rate he is, but that has also been a good complement next to Barnes.

Much less obvious, but I also think Barnes needs someone to help be a leader within the team. We've seen flashes of this with both IQ and RJ, and I think it will help tremendously if it is not Barnes taking the brunt of the media onslaught every time we loose a game. We also need someone to help keep focus on the court, and I think RJ has also been helping with that.

[YogurtProducer]

He's very 1 dimensional, unless he really develops other parts of his game in a short period of time, I don't think he's a long term solution for anything. He's in his 5th year, substantial improvement is not a given, just because he's young.

Substantial improvement such as going from 18/4/2 54TS% to 21/6/4 62TS% post-trade to TO?