Anyone get Jimmy Butler vibes when it comes to RJ Barrett?

RandlesCornrows · Post #1 » by **RandlesCornrows** » Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:27 pm

Jimmy came out of college after what his Jr or Senior year right? Jimmy didn’t really become who he was until he was what 25-26? And now he’s one of the best 2-way players in the game. Essentially the best 2nd option you can have on a championship team.

Now RJ came into the league at 19. Obviously his first year was pretty meh, but last year he established himself as a elite corner 3% shooter, at 40%. I took RJ as solid defender, but I never really took RJ as an elite defender, until this year.

He spoke about his goal being on an all defense team. And you can tell he’s taking his role on defense VERY seriously. He puts his effort more so on defense and it’s pretty amazing to see, especially with having a coach like Thibs. He started off slow offensively like his first two years. But you know he’ll be alright and develop into a solid 20 ppg scorer. Especially the older he gets, he’ll just become a more confident and developed offensive player. He’s establishing himself at a much younger age than Jimmy, since he was still in college at 21.

Already he’s getting into guys like Tatum, Beal (we saw in pre season), DeRozen, and making impact on other forwards/guards. Making it extremely difficult for forwards trying to score on him.

Just like Thibs unlocking Jimmy Butler. It seems like Thibs has unlocked RJ Barrett. And it’s a comp I’ve said since day 1. He’s reminds me so much of Jimmy Butler.

rate_ · Post #2 » by **rate_** » Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:29 pm

HELL NO

RJ is nowhere near a one on one talent. RJ is very limited as a ball handler and playmaker. He is strictly 3 and D. Jimmy is an offensive hub. And Herro > RJ. 65.4% of RJ's FG makes are assisted.

AbC? · Post #3 » by **AbC?** » Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:33 pm

Not at all

RandlesCornrows · Post #4 » by **RandlesCornrows** » Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:35 pm

rate_ wrote:HELL NO

RJ is nowhere near a one on one talent. RJ is very limited as a ball handler and playmaker. He is strictly 3 and D. Jimmy is an offensive hub. And Herro > RJ. 65.4% of RJ's FG makes are assisted.

Like I said, comped f RJ at 21 and Butler at 21 years old, RJ is 10x the player. You think RJ won’t develop by the time Butler came into the league he won’t have develop a much better offensive game? Jimmy was barley averaging 13 ppg in his third season at 24 years old.

I know you’re a Heat fan but man sheesh :lol:

there a lot going for RJ just in his third season

j-ragg · Post #5 » by **j-ragg** » Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:36 pm

Not really.

celticfan42487 · Post #6 » by **celticfan42487** » Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:37 pm

Not in the slightest

Post #7 » by **bisme37** » Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:39 pm

OP, it's early in the season and most fans are focused on their own teams, so most of us likely haven't even seen RJ play much yet. Also, Butler is balling out right now so the timing of this thread is bad in that regard too.

If Barrett is indeed playing like Butler, give it some time for people to see it for themselves and then bring it up later in the season or something. Right now people are just going to roll their eyes, fairly or not.

RandlesCornrows · Post #8 » by **RandlesCornrows** » Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:40 pm

celticfan42487 wrote:Not in the slightest

so you’re telling me a player that broke out at 25. Who averaged around 22 ppg with elite defense is out of the question for a 21 year old when last year at 20 he averaged nearly 18 a game? The man had no offensive game until he was 25 years old :lol:

the disrespect RJ gets is amazing

azcatz11 · Post #9 » by **azcatz11** » Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:42 pm

RandlesCornrows wrote:
rate_ wrote:HELL NO

RJ is nowhere near a one on one talent. RJ is very limited as a ball handler and playmaker. He is strictly 3 and D. Jimmy is an offensive hub. And Herro > RJ. 65.4% of RJ's FG makes are assisted.
Like I said, comped f RJ at 21 and Butler at 21 years old, RJ is 10x the player. You think RJ won’t develop by the time Butler came into the league he won’t have develop a much better offensive game? Jimmy was barley averaging 13 ppg in his third season at 24 years old.

I know you’re a Heat fan but man sheesh there a lot going for RJ just in his third season

Yeah and guess what butler did after that season - spent the entire summer in Houston with no AC and no Wi-Fi and practiced 24/7

RandlesCornrows · Post #10 » by **RandlesCornrows** » Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:43 pm

bisme37 wrote:OP, it's early in the season and most fans are focused on their own teams, so most of us likely haven't even seen RJ play much yet. Also, Butler is balling out right now so the timing of this thread is bad in that regard too.

If Barrett is indeed playing like Butler, give it some time for people to see it for themselves and then bring it up later in the season or something. Right now people are just going to roll their eyes, fairly or not.

Roll their eyes because a third overall pick is one of the best players on a very very good team at 21 years old? Its just a comparison of a third overall pick to a star player, who is showing out especially when Barrett is one of the most disrespected player in the league.

Post #11 » by **bisme37** » Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:44 pm

RandlesCornrows wrote:
bisme37 wrote:OP, it's early in the season and most fans are focused on their own teams, so most of us likely haven't even seen RJ play much yet. Also, Butler is balling out right now so the timing of this thread is bad in that regard too.

If Barrett is indeed playing like Butler, give it some time for people to see it for themselves and then bring it up later in the season or something. Right now people are just going to roll their eyes, fairly or not.
Roll their eyes because a third overall pick is one of the best players on a very very good team at 21 years old? Its just a comparison of a third overall pick to a star player, who is showing out especially when Barrett is one of the most disrespected player in the league.

I like RJ quite a bit. I'm not trying to hate, I'm trying to help you do a better job of hyping your guy. It's not going to land the way you want it to right now. Just my opinion based on experience with the forum. This would be a good thing to talk about on the Knicks board right now and then roll out to the masses later imo.

rate_ · Post #12 » by **rate_** » Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:45 pm

RandlesCornrows wrote:
celticfan42487 wrote:Not in the slightest
so you’re telling me a player that broke out at 25. Who averaged around 22 ppg with elite defense is out of the question for a 21 year old when last year at 20 he averaged nearly 18 a game? The man had no offensive game until he was 25 years old the disrespect RJ gets is amazing

Disrespect? Why should be "respect" RJ to where he's being compared to Jimmy freaking Butler?

14/5/2
-6.0 BPM
-3.7 rTS
10.3 PER
.043 WS/48

in his 3rd NBA season on a solid Knicks team. He isn't a rookie anymore and still playing like a replacement player offensively yet you want to compare him to an early MVP candidate? :lol:

GSWFan1994 · Post #13 » by **GSWFan1994** » Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:45 pm

Actually I think it's a pretty good comparison and I think the OP did it well. Kudos to you.

Barrett indeed has to improve his ballhandling and playmaking, but the potential is there for sure.

I envision him improving in timely jumps, production-wise, and eventually becoming an All-NBA kind of player (= borderline top 15) by his 5th or 6th season, a place where he will stay for the better part of this decade.

PhilBlackson · Post #14 » by **PhilBlackson** » Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:46 pm

Not seeing it...at least not yet.

rate_ · Post #15 » by **rate_** » Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:48 pm

Reminds me of how Heat fans were delusional about Justise Winslow becoming the next Kawhi.

RandlesCornrows · Post #16 » by **RandlesCornrows** » Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:49 pm

GSWFan1994 wrote:Actually I think it's a pretty good comparison and I think the OP did it well. Kudos to you.

Barrett indeed has to improve his ballhandling and playmaking, but the potential is there for sure.

I envision him improving in timely jumps, production-wise, and eventually becoming an All-NBA kind of player (= borderline top 15) by his 5th or 6th season, a place where he will stay for the better part of this decade.

Yeah the handles right now is what’s limiting his offensive game. By the time RJ is 23-25, I think he’ll be a much more experienced, developed player. He’s already made massive strides with his right hand being a lefty, last year with his ability to shoot. But if he can work on his handles, he’s easily a 20+ ppg scorer.

BugginOut · Post #17 » by **BugginOut** » Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:53 pm

RJ has a good chance to make an all defense team this year if he keeps up the defensive intensity. Too early to say he will be Butler, but he is definitely following his developmental career path. Even playing the same Role Thibs had Jimmy playing in his 3rd season.

RandlesCornrows · Post #18 » by **RandlesCornrows** » Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:54 pm

rate_ wrote:Reminds me of how Heat fans were delusional about Justise Winslow becoming the next Kawhi.

:lol: come on now. RJ is the 2nd or 3rd best player on a playoff team. He wasn’t far off from averaging 20 ppg last season at 20 years old :lol:

Winslow? Please Thats delusional :lol:

GSWFan1994 · Post #19 » by **GSWFan1994** » Sat Oct 30, 2021 6:00 pm

RandlesCornrows wrote:Yeah the handles right now is what’s limiting his offensive game. By the time RJ is 23-25, I think he’ll be a much more experienced, developed player. He’s already made massive strides with his right hand being a lefty, last year with his ability to shoot. But if he can work on his handles, he’s easily a 20+ ppg scorer.

Exactly.

For a lot of wings, improving ballhandling is what unlocks their full potential.

I remember Paul George before he won the MIP award, back in Indiana. I remember saying to a friend that if he improved his ballhandling he would have quite a jump. And he did.

And the same happened to Miles Bridges this season, amongst other players throughout NBA's history.

Post #20 » by **DOT** » Sat Oct 30, 2021 6:04 pm

I compared him more to Middleton last year

Cause if you look at it, yeah he's not really creating for himself yet, especially from 3. Middleton was pretty exclusively c&s from 3 really until 2019. He took some pull-up 3s, but not a significant amount until then. Now, at the same time, Middleton's mid range shooting off the bounce was there for most of that time, but I would argue it wasn't until 2015 at the earliest that he was able to do it consistently, maybe even 2016. Now, RJ is better at getting to the rim (though Middleton was a more efficient finisher), so him being able to pull up from mid is gonna be more of a shot to keep defenses honest where I think Middleton used it as a primary scoring option

But with all that said, I think you can compare him pretty favorably to Middleton pre-2016 breakout. He's primarily a c&s guy right now, but he's working on getting his shot creation to the NBA level. I say he compares favorably to Middleton because he's basically the same age Middleton was in his rookie year, and he just is a better player than Middleton at that same age. Plus he's a very hard worker and is clearly trying to improve himself, so he should be able to take the same leap Middleton did around age 24-26

I think Butler is a bit of a stretch, a more theoretical max ceiling for him. I think Middleton is a reasonable ceiling if he keeps working on his game.