Official RJ Barrett Thread

[Airmiess]

Its funny because people downplayed his athleticism but to be a pure finisher/slasher on good efficiency in the modern era you have to be decently athletic. Thats been his role so far on the raps.

He's not super athletic but finish above the rim way more than Trent who had a 39.5 in max very at draft combine. Trent lost all his athleticism

different subcategories of athleticism. Ive seen Trent do some east bays with ease, but his coordination is terrible so he can’t utilize his ups during live ball.

[KingSebastian]

RJ dominates at shooting guard.
We need to build a lineup that keeps him there so our targets should be a small forward or power forward because Scotty is interchangeable but it all costs keep RJ at shooting guard.
He's bigger and stronger than most shooting guards but he's just as fast so he attacks the basket at ease and can finish without any issue. It sucks that we've had to start Gary Trent Jr which pushes RJ to small forward. New York had him at small forward and he was nowhere near as productive.

Our first few games on the road trip we saw what happens when RG is at shooting guard. Unfortunately Poeltl got injured and Pascal got traded and now he's forced back into the wrong position for maximum output.

Keep RJ at shooting card trade for a small forward or a power forward, preferably a defensive small forward so Scotty isn't forced to be primary defender on the league's best.

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[billy_hoyle]

RJ dominates at shooting guard.
We need to build a lineup that keeps him there so our targets should be a small forward or power forward because Scotty is interchangeable but it all costs keep RJ at shooting guard.
He's bigger and stronger than most shooting guards but he's just as fast so he attacks the basket at ease and can finish without any issue. It sucks that we've had to start Gary Trent Jr which pushes RJ to small forward. New York had him at small forward and he was nowhere near as productive.

Our first few games on the road trip we saw what happens when RG is at shooting guard. Unfortunately Poeltl got injured and Pascal got traded and now he's forced back into the wrong position for maximum output.

Keep RJ at shooting card trade for a small forward or a power forward, preferably a defensive small forward so Scotty isn't forced to be primary defender on the league's best.

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I 100% agree with this take.

Draft has a bunch of SF/PF at the top.

Williams, Risacher, Buzelis, Holland and Salaun all push RJ to the 2.

Also has a bunch of stretch 5s. Seems perfect for our needs.

Trade targets should be: Herb/TM3, AJ Griffin
Free agent targets: OG, Pat Williams, Bridges

[Basketball_Jones]

Core piece of this team going forward. I see him and Scottie as the 1-2 guys already. IQ seems like a perfect third option guy too but he’s struggling defensively right now playing starter minutes and being undersized.

[ForeverTFC]

RJ love is so weird. You all were begging for 3 point shooters around Scottie but are now slotting a 33% 3pt shooter as our SG of the future?

[dTox]

RJ love is so weird. You all were begging for 3 point shooters around Scottie but are now slotting a 33% 3pt shooter as our SG of the future?

It's cause he's Canadian, let's call a spade a spade

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[sofargone]

Read on Twitter

[-Blitz-]

I just wish his jump shot was more consistent. That's the main thing holding him back IMO.

[LoveMyRaps]

RJ love is so weird. You all were begging for 3 point shooters around Scottie but are now slotting a 33% 3pt shooter as our SG of the future?

RJ hate is more weird. Guy is putting up 21ppg while shooting 56% from the field, and 38% from deep. (63%TS) - Yet here you are complaining.

He's been great on both ends of the floor and has been ultra-efficient. What more can you ask for?

Also most have him slotted as our starting SF which seems like his natural position. No one is asking to be our SG of the future.
Ideally we want to see a backcourt of Barnes-Quickly for years to come.

[hyper316]

RJ love is so weird. You all were begging for 3 point shooters around Scottie but are now slotting a 33% 3pt shooter as our SG of the future?

RJ hate is more weird. Guy is putting up 21ppg while shooting 56% from the field, and 38% from deep. (63%TS) - Yet here you are complaining.

He's been great on both ends of the floor and has been ultra-efficient. What more can you ask for?

Also most have him slotted as our starting SF which seems like his natural position. No one is asking to be our SG of the future.
Ideally we want to see a backcourt of Barnes-Quickly for years to come.

Even though RJ is naturally slotted as SF size and skill wise, his play style (driving to the rim) gives him an advantage when a smaller player is covering him. So Id argue it's good to slot him as SG by adding a good sized SF to play the 3&D POA role. Need a 6'7" - 6'8" wing to round out the starting lineup

I think Tari Eason is a low buy that would fit the role when given the opportunity. Houston has some interest in Bruce Brown

[brownbobcat]

RJ dominates at shooting guard.
We need to build a lineup that keeps him there so our targets should be a small forward or power forward because Scotty is interchangeable but it all costs keep RJ at shooting guard.
He's bigger and stronger than most shooting guards but he's just as fast so he attacks the basket at ease and can finish without any issue. It sucks that we've had to start Gary Trent Jr which pushes RJ to small forward. New York had him at small forward and he was nowhere near as productive.

Our first few games on the road trip we saw what happens when RG is at shooting guard. Unfortunately Poeltl got injured and Pascal got traded and now he's forced back into the wrong position for maximum output.

Keep RJ at shooting card trade for a small forward or a power forward, preferably a defensive small forward so Scotty isn't forced to be primary defender on the league's best.

Sent from my SM-S908W using RealGM mobile app

I'm not convinced RJ is a core guy yet - meaning that you try to fit pieces around him.

This team is a better fit for him than NY because their dearth of guard play allows him the leeway to utilize his skillset - but let's be honest, it's still not a very good team right now. Being the best slashing wing on a team with no other slashing wings doesn't mean you're elite. He's done well in being opportunistic, but doesn't create a ton of opportunities and space at a high level. When he doesn't have the size advantage, finishing is much tougher for him. Defensively, I'm not impressed. He competes, but looks a step slow to my eye and his positioning needs work. Having said that, he's all of 23 - there's a lot of potential there to hone his footwork and jumper.

[HKBOY]

RJ is definitely a core piece going forward, hometown kid who is a good scorer already. He is just a consistent 3 away from being a 25ppg guy on good efficiency.

I think Scottie will still be the best player on this team but RJ will be the best scorer, kind of like Lowry and DD.

[LoveMyRaps]

RJ is definitely a core piece going forward, hometown kid who is a good scorer already. He is just a consistent 3 away from being a 25ppg guy on good efficiency.

I think Scottie will still be the best player on this team but RJ will be the best scorer, kind of like Lowry and DD.

Even when he does well, people write him off.
Damn shame.

He's a career 34% shooter. He's only 23. It's not farfetched that he can be a 37% 3pt shooter which would be very solid. Heck, he's had a season where he played a career high 72 games and knocked down 40% of his threes.

[RoteSchroder]

RJ is definitely a core piece going forward, hometown kid who is a good scorer already. He is just a consistent 3 away from being a 25ppg guy on good efficiency.

I think Scottie will still be the best player on this team but RJ will be the best scorer, kind of like Lowry and DD.

Even when he does well, people write him off.
Damn shame.

He's a career 34% shooter. He's only 23. It's not farfetched that he can be a 37% 3pt shooter which would be very solid. Heck, he's had a season where he played a career high 72 games and knocked down 40% of his threes.

basically needs to polish up his all-round shooting (step back, off screens, etc.) then study Paul Pierce

[Thaddy]

He is our best player right now and one of the youngest on the team. The contract looks good it's funny how it was labelled toxic.

[KillaSham23]

Rj been my favorite raptor since the trade. He may be inconsistent at times but he's been legit.

[ForeverTFC]

RJ love is so weird. You all were begging for 3 point shooters around Scottie but are now slotting a 33% 3pt shooter as our SG of the future?

RJ hate is more weird. Guy is putting up 21ppg while shooting 56% from the field, and 38% from deep. (63%TS) - Yet here you are complaining.

He's been great on both ends of the floor and has been ultra-efficient. What more can you ask for?

Also most have him slotted as our starting SF which seems like his natural position. No one is asking to be our SG of the future.
Ideally we want to see a backcourt of Barnes-Quickly for years to come.

To build a sustainable team in today's NBA requires 2 core high salary guys and complementary players slotted around them. I think we all agree Scottie is 1 of the 2 moving forward. IQ is the archetype of who you need beside Barnes as the other big salary guy and we'll see if he becomes that.

So does RJ fit the complementary role player type that you need beside Scottie and IQ? He can't shoot the 3 very well. He is not a great defender, not big enough to slide down and not fast enough to slide up. He needs the ball to be effective and is taking more usage than IQ and the same usage as Scottie - not ideal. I just don't see any long term path for him if we are moving forward with Scottie and a lead guard as our 2 guys - unless he becomes a very different player than he has been so far.

We're in rebuild mode. We have to look long term. If we do look long term, RJ makes little sense. It's not hate, it's understanding the context of the situation we're currently in.

[billy_hoyle]

RJ love is so weird. You all were begging for 3 point shooters around Scottie but are now slotting a 33% 3pt shooter as our SG of the future?

RJ hate is more weird. Guy is putting up 21ppg while shooting 56% from the field, and 38% from deep. (63%TS) - Yet here you are complaining.

He's been great on both ends of the floor and has been ultra-efficient. What more can you ask for?

Also most have him slotted as our starting SF which seems like his natural position. No one is asking to be our SG of the future.
Ideally we want to see a backcourt of Barnes-Quickly for years to come.

To build a sustainable team in today's NBA requires 2 core high salary guys and complementary players slotted around them. I think we all agree Scottie is 1 of the 2 moving forward. IQ is the archetype of who you need beside Barnes as the other big salary guy and we'll see if he becomes that.

So does RJ fit the complementary role player type that you need beside Scottie and IQ? He can't shoot the 3 very well. He is not a great defender, not big enough to slide down and not fast enough to slide up. He needs the ball to be effective and is taking more usage than IQ and the same usage as Scottie - not ideal. I just don't see any long term path for him if we are moving forward with Scottie and a lead guard as our 2 guys - unless he becomes a very different player than he has been so far.

We're in rebuild mode. We have to look long term. If we do look long term, RJ makes little sense. It's not hate, it's understanding the context of the situation we're currently in.

From watching the games it looks like IQ is the ideal complimentary piece at ~$20-25m dollars.

I have no idea how you see RJ play much better, be younger and call him the complimentary player only, if anything he's shown more. That said both look like complimentary players.

I think we are still missing our second star, they will be a SF/PF/stretch 5.

We keep IQ and RJ to see what type of chemistry and stylistic need we have once we discover who that second star is.

[StopitLeo]

RJ is definitely a core piece going forward, hometown kid who is a good scorer already. He is just a consistent 3 away from being a 25ppg guy on good efficiency.

I think Scottie will still be the best player on this team but RJ will be the best scorer, kind of like Lowry and DD.

Even when he does well, people write him off.
Damn shame.

He's a career 34% shooter. He's only 23. It's not farfetched that he can be a 37% 3pt shooter which would be very solid. Heck, he's had a season where he played a career high 72 games and knocked down 40% of his threes.

RJ only has to be a threat from deep so guys can’t sit back on him. He really doesn’t need to be an above-average 3 point shooter to be effective.

That being said, RJ is shooting 38.5% from the corners this year and 35.6% on catch and shoot 3PA.

The team hasn’t even had a chance to really optimize the types of shots guys get either. If RJ focuses on being a slasher he is going to end up getting the exact 3P shots he is best at.

[ForeverTFC]

RJ hate is more weird. Guy is putting up 21ppg while shooting 56% from the field, and 38% from deep. (63%TS) - Yet here you are complaining.

He's been great on both ends of the floor and has been ultra-efficient. What more can you ask for?

Also most have him slotted as our starting SF which seems like his natural position. No one is asking to be our SG of the future.
Ideally we want to see a backcourt of Barnes-Quickly for years to come.

To build a sustainable team in today's NBA requires 2 core high salary guys and complementary players slotted around them. I think we all agree Scottie is 1 of the 2 moving forward. IQ is the archetype of who you need beside Barnes as the other big salary guy and we'll see if he becomes that.

So does RJ fit the complementary role player type that you need beside Scottie and IQ? He can't shoot the 3 very well. He is not a great defender, not big enough to slide down and not fast enough to slide up. He needs the ball to be effective and is taking more usage than IQ and the same usage as Scottie - not ideal. I just don't see any long term path for him if we are moving forward with Scottie and a lead guard as our 2 guys - unless he becomes a very different player than he has been so far.

We're in rebuild mode. We have to look long term. If we do look long term, RJ makes little sense. It's not hate, it's understanding the context of the situation we're currently in.

From watching the games it looks like IQ is the ideal complimentary piece at ~$20-25m dollars.

I have no idea how you see RJ play much better, be younger and call him the complimentary player only, if anything he's shown more. That said both look like complimentary players.

I think we are still missing our second star, they will be a SF/PF/stretch 5.

We keep IQ and RJ to see what type of chemistry and stylistic need we have once we discover who that second star is.

I didn't say IQ is the 2nd player, I said his archetype is what you want beside Barnes. If one of your guys is Barnes, your 2nd one can't be a weirdly sized wing that can't shoot 3s and has limited shot creation ability beyond driving to the rim against smaller defenders. There is no world where Barret makes sense as a number 2 and a slightly higher chance he turns out being a player that first with Barnes and the IQ archetype.