Official RJ Barrett Thread

[DreamTeam09]

Not sure why we keep focusing on what he can't do. He plays hard, is playing well, and loves playing for the Raptors. He's still so young so thinking he can improve in some areas is not irrational.

Of course he has his flaws, but if h didn't, he wouldn't have been available. He wouldn't be the first player, or last, to struggle after being an extremely high draft pick and getting a huge contract. Lucky for us, those things are irrelevant now, as they have nothing to do with the Raptors.

We have a 24-year old averaging 24/6/6 who only wants to play for us (one of maybe 5 guys in the league we can say that about) and people are still complaining. Just admit your preconceived notions were wrong. I had them also, because the few times I had seen him play I was not impressed, and because half the Knicks' fanbase hated him. There is some truth to some of the things they hated about him, but he's a really good player.

My issue isn’t with RJ - I like his game

It’s with people who think he’s gonna be a star

You’re setting yourself up for disappointment because he’s better suited as a #3 (and preferably a sixth man type)

lol why can't he be a star 3rd option? lol you've never heard or seen that before?

[tsherkin]

"doesn't really mean much"

"you're reading too much into this"

Pointless observation greeted with pointless response

Booker's awesome, though. He's one of those guys in the league who reminds us that mid-range play can still actually be quite efficient. He and SGA are both good examples of guys who can score with anyone using an older style of play while all the other cats are bombing away inconsistently in aggressive volume from 3. It's nice to see.

[mtcan]

My issue isn’t with RJ - I like his game

It’s with people who think he’s gonna be a star

You’re setting yourself up for disappointment because he’s better suited as a #3 (and preferably a sixth man type)

Masai at his end of year PC said twice that we need "another Scottie" and "another guy like him beside him" (paraphrasing). I don't think he is under any illusion about what we have with RJ and IQ.

The magic have Wagner and Paolo

Okc has Shai and Chet

We have Scottie and ?

A #3 pick overall just 5 years ago. He is playing efficiently as a Raptor and if we are redrafting from that class...I'd argue he is easily still a #3 pick or at worst top 5 from that draft class.

I said it in the other thread...if I'm redrafting the 2019 draft...it would be
1) Ja Morant
2) Darius Garland
3) RJ (honestly could have Herro here too but RJ's highs are higher than Herro's and Herro's missed more games over his career)
4) Zion (hasn't been healthy and really hasn't grown his game...still the same guy he was in college)
5) Herro (has been a consistent 20 ppg scorer but often injured and hasn't really taken over games)

Give RJ his flowers.

Dude is averaging 24 pts, 6 rebounds and 6 assists while keeping his team close in all of these games that should be blowouts due to the lack of our all-star and starting point guard.

Whatever we saw in NY...put it behind us and appreciate this new and improved RJ. He is finally justifying his draft position.

[James_Raptors]

"doesn't really mean much"

"you're reading too much into this"

Pointless observation greeted with pointless response

"Joke post greeted with serious response, detailed statistics, followed by feeble attempt at backtracking"

[Phezmo123]

Masai at his end of year PC said twice that we need "another Scottie" and "another guy like him beside him" (paraphrasing). I don't think he is under any illusion about what we have with RJ and IQ.

The magic have Wagner and Paolo

Okc has Shai and Chet

We have Scottie and ?

To be fair, I dont think Wagner or Chet is that high of a bar. In fact, RJ coudl easily be as good as Franz.

Edit: the real difference is if Scottie is as good as SGA one day. Not if our 2nd is as good as their 2nd.

i dont think RJ is our 2nd long term anyway - he'll either be a #3 and/or sixth man or traded like demar

only untouchable pieces we have are scottie and gradey

[Phezmo123]

Not sure why we keep focusing on what he can't do. He plays hard, is playing well, and loves playing for the Raptors. He's still so young so thinking he can improve in some areas is not irrational.

Of course he has his flaws, but if h didn't, he wouldn't have been available. He wouldn't be the first player, or last, to struggle after being an extremely high draft pick and getting a huge contract. Lucky for us, those things are irrelevant now, as they have nothing to do with the Raptors.

We have a 24-year old averaging 24/6/6 who only wants to play for us (one of maybe 5 guys in the league we can say that about) and people are still complaining. Just admit your preconceived notions were wrong. I had them also, because the few times I had seen him play I was not impressed, and because half the Knicks' fanbase hated him. There is some truth to some of the things they hated about him, but he's a really good player.

My issue isn’t with RJ - I like his game

It’s with people who think he’s gonna be a star

You’re setting yourself up for disappointment because he’s better suited as a #3 (and preferably a sixth man type)

lol why can't he be a star 3rd option? lol you've never heard or seen that before?

there's no 3rd option "star" in the 2nd apron era

there can be 3rd option "all-star"

1. superstar (luka/shai/jokic)
2. star (donovan mitchell/brunson)
3. all-star (bam, randle)

[tsherkin]

"Joke post greeted with serious response, detailed statistics, followed by feeble attempt at backtracking"

Honestly, I just wanted to talk about Booker, that's why I bothered with the numbers. We all know RJ's strengths and weaknesses at this point, but Booker and SGA are throwbacks showing that it can still be done the old way, and I enjoy that.

[James_Raptors]

"Joke post greeted with serious response, detailed statistics, followed by feeble attempt at backtracking"

Honestly, I just wanted to talk about Booker, that's why I bothered with the numbers. We all know RJ's strengths and weaknesses at this point, but Booker and SGA are throwbacks showing that it can still be done the old way, and I enjoy that.

Even if SGA wasn't Canadian, he'd be one of my favorite players in the league. Plays both ends of the court (I'm a huge defensive stan), keeps his lips shut, does his job as a professional among the elite in his sport. He's a legit #1. I'm not as high on Devin but that's not really a slight on him. He's simply not a legit #1/alpha and not as good on the defensive end of the ball. But as a sharpshooter , Booker is capable of putting up 40 or 50 on a given night and very few players have that threat quality.

Both need to step up their 3pt game though; 33%-35% in today's NBA...

[MEDIC]

Chris Kaman was an all-star too. Jeff Teague too. Wally Szerbiak also. Or Theo Ratliff. Mehmet Okur. What does this mean ? Nothing. Let's talk again when he's in the All-NBA discussion. Which will never happen. Unbelievable that some posters still think being a all star means the world and means having a "superstar" lol.

Those masai fanboys really get on my nerves.

Wait, so you can only be excited about a player if he’s an all nba player?

What a stupid argument

Well, I care about team success more than popularity awards awards.

All NBA/Defense/MVP/DPOY players are more valued, because most of them nominees had success with their team and are actual great players with an unique skillset to help winning games. While a All Star appearance is nothing more than pure popularity, every idiot can be a all star, tre mann can be a all star just because he's the coolest dude with his y2k AI3 swagger.
An All star selection never had any real meaning to me. Sure, i was happy for every raptor player, and will be when RJ would get one, that's good for him personally, for the ego of every player, meaning he has the attention of the fans.

I glorified the all star game as a young fan, as a child, I found it fun and entertaining to see all these highlighting & entertaining names on the floor. But, as i got older, i came to the conclusion, that's it's nothing more than what it actually is (i mean the nba is changing the asg system again, to make it more pupular, imo cancel this ****, and let them rest for 2 weeks for hells sake). ALL NBA Awards are more positive and a signal for a team that they have something special on their roster to compete.

What is your definition of success? RJ making an allstar team is both personal & team success of some kind. Why even follow a team in the
1st year of rebuild if you only care about all NBA honors?

Just enjoy the journey.

[nuggett]

It's probably somewhere in this thread, but my goodness his contract looks like a steal now, and it doesn't expire until 2027! By that time it will be like minimum wage lol

[LastNameEver]

It's probably somewhere in this thread, but my goodness his contract looks like a steal now, and it doesn't expire until 2027! By that time it will be like minimum wage lol

Extremely hard working 24 yo putting up 26,6,6 for peanuts till 2027 and people are groaning lol

[DreamTeam09]

My issue isn’t with RJ - I like his game

It’s with people who think he’s gonna be a star

You’re setting yourself up for disappointment because he’s better suited as a #3 (and preferably a sixth man type)

lol why can't he be a star 3rd option? lol you've never heard or seen that before?

there's no 3rd option "star" in the 2nd apron era

there can be 3rd option "all-star"

1. superstar (luka/shai/jokic)
2. star (donovan mitchell/brunson)
3. all-star (bam, randle)

your arbitrary classifications are useless because they're arbitrary tho. Donovon Mitchell and Brunson are superstars for their respective organizations. By your own metric they're only 3-7 superstars regardless, so every other "star" or all-star is supposed to be a 6th man somewhere?

[tsherkin]

Even if SGA wasn't Canadian, he'd be one of my favorite players in the league. Plays both ends of the court (I'm a huge defensive stan), keeps his lips shut, does his job as a professional among the elite in his sport. He's a legit #1. I'm not as high on Devin but that's not really a slight on him. He's simply not a legit #1/alpha and not as good on the defensive end of the ball. But as a sharpshooter , Booker is capable of putting up 40 or 50 on a given night and very few players have that threat quality.

I'm with that. SGA > Booker for sure, but I enjoy watching both, especially on offense.

Both need to step up their 3pt game though; 33%-35% in today's NBA...

I am inclined to disagree. I think they have enough of a 3 that it opens up the rest of their game, and that's all they really need with the skillset they typically employ. Overmphasis on the 3 is a hallmark of this era, IMHO. Obviously, shooting better from there is better than not, but it doesn't seem to be any sort of limitation to their gameplan, nor to their efficiency.

[Phezmo123]

lol why can't he be a star 3rd option? lol you've never heard or seen that before?

there's no 3rd option "star" in the 2nd apron era

there can be 3rd option "all-star"

1. superstar (luka/shai/jokic)
2. star (donovan mitchell/brunson)
3. all-star (bam, randle)

your arbitrary classifications are useless because they're arbitrary tho. Donovon Mitchell and Brunson are superstars for their respective organizations. By your own metric they're only 3-7 superstars regardless, so every other "star" or all-star is supposed to be a 6th man somewhere?

not necessarily, but RJ right now does not have a 3 point game or is a net positive defender

so by letting him lead the bench you can hide his weaknesses and highlight his strengths

he could still be a starter - not saying he can't, but a "star" is a bit of a stretch and people needa relax

and btw these arent arbitrary classifcations. they're a staple of the game at this point. it's why nba media has used these terms for decades.

[YogurtProducer]

The magic have Wagner and Paolo

Okc has Shai and Chet

We have Scottie and ?

To be fair, I dont think Wagner or Chet is that high of a bar. In fact, RJ coudl easily be as good as Franz.

Edit: the real difference is if Scottie is as good as SGA one day. Not if our 2nd is as good as their 2nd.

i dont think RJ is our 2nd long term anyway - he'll either be a #3 and/or sixth man or traded like demar

only untouchable pieces we have are scottie and gradey

lol dick isn’t untouchable.

[tsherkin]

To be fair, I dont think Wagner or Chet is that high of a bar. In fact, RJ coudl easily be as good as Franz.

Edit: the real difference is if Scottie is as good as SGA one day. Not if our 2nd is as good as their 2nd.

i dont think RJ is our 2nd long term anyway - he'll either be a #3 and/or sixth man or traded like demar

only untouchable pieces we have are scottie and gradey

lol dick isn’t untouchable.

Ostensibly, neither of them should be untouchable because neither are superstars. Gradey's nice and all, but I agree: there's no real reason he should be labeled untouchable on the back of what is, at the moment, 16 games of < 20 ppg on below league-average efficiency. He has shown potential, we're waiting to see how he adapts to the greater defensive attention, all kinds of positives, la la la. Not intending to crap on Gradey. But he isn't the type of player onto whom one should slap an untouchable label just because he's looking like he might be Rip Hamilton Plus in the making.

[manjusaka]

i dont think RJ is our 2nd long term anyway - he'll either be a #3 and/or sixth man or traded like demar

only untouchable pieces we have are scottie and gradey

lol dick isn’t untouchable.

Ostensibly, neither of them should be untouchable because neither are superstars. Gradey's nice and all, but I agree: there's no real reason he should be labeled untouchable on the back of what is, at the moment, 16 games of < 20 ppg on below league-average efficiency. He has shown potential, we're waiting to see how he adapts to the greater defensive attention, all kinds of positives, la la la. Not intending to crap on Gradey. But he isn't the type of player onto whom one should slap an untouchable label just because he's looking like he might be Rip Hamilton Plus in the making.

We don’t have a superstar, there is only handful of them in the league. No one on this team should be untouchable including SB.

[Phezmo123]

lol dick isn’t untouchable.

Ostensibly, neither of them should be untouchable because neither are superstars. Gradey's nice and all, but I agree: there's no real reason he should be labeled untouchable on the back of what is, at the moment, 16 games of < 20 ppg on below league-average efficiency. He has shown potential, we're waiting to see how he adapts to the greater defensive attention, all kinds of positives, la la la. Not intending to crap on Gradey. But he isn't the type of player onto whom one should slap an untouchable label just because he's looking like he might be Rip Hamilton Plus in the making.

We don’t have a superstar, there is only handful of them in the league. No one on this team should be untouchable including SB.

right but the only two that have shown superstar potential on our team are gradey and scottie and thats why they're untouchable

most superstars in the game are in their prime (except for maybe shai/luka who are 1-2 years away), so it's unfair to say they're not untouchable because they arent superstars today. it's about projections. it's all a projection game.

[manjusaka]

Ostensibly, neither of them should be untouchable because neither are superstars. Gradey's nice and all, but I agree: there's no real reason he should be labeled untouchable on the back of what is, at the moment, 16 games of < 20 ppg on below league-average efficiency. He has shown potential, we're waiting to see how he adapts to the greater defensive attention, all kinds of positives, la la la. Not intending to crap on Gradey. But he isn't the type of player onto whom one should slap an untouchable label just because he's looking like he might be Rip Hamilton Plus in the making.

We don’t have a superstar, there is only handful of them in the league. No one on this team should be untouchable including SB.

right but the only two that have shown superstar potential on our team are gradey and scottie and thats why they're untouchable

most superstars in the game are in their prime (except for maybe shai/luka who are 1-2 years away), so it's unfair to say they're not untouchable because they arent superstars today. it's about projections. it's all a projection game.

Superstar is MVP calibre player like SGA, Giannis, Joker today. Or LBJ, Curry, KD in previous generation. I won’t put Klay in that category, so Gradey isn’t superstar talent. Would you trade both SB and Gradey for a player like a prime 25 years old LBJ? That answer is very simple.

[Phezmo123]

We don’t have a superstar, there is only handful of them in the league. No one on this team should be untouchable including SB.

right but the only two that have shown superstar potential on our team are gradey and scottie and thats why they're untouchable

most superstars in the game are in their prime (except for maybe shai/luka who are 1-2 years away), so it's unfair to say they're not untouchable because they arent superstars today. it's about projections. it's all a projection game.

Superstar is MVP calibre player like SGA, Giannis, Joker today. Or LBJ, Curry, KD in previous generation. I won’t put Klay in that category, so Gradey isn’t superstar talent. Would you trade both SB and Gradey for a player like a prime 25 years old LBJ? That answer is very simple.

depends how far u stretch superstar (i.e. top 10-15 in the league vs. top 3)

i considered brunson a superstar last year in the playoffs