Official RJ Barrett Thread

[Steven1562]

He's in that Wiggins situation where he was drafted high and is paid to be the "the guy" but he isn't that player. Hopefully the Raptors can change his role and Barrett embraces that change and becomes a useful piece on the team.

[manjusaka]

RJB was so highly touted coming out of the college. He was obviously talented to get drafted at 3rd pick overall, but never improved since then. He is still young enough for improvement. Let’s see if he can finally get some real development with us.

[dTox]

Not a fan of his game, but I wish him well, we need him to be better.

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

[greekman]

now i don't have to be a knicks fan anymore

[bonjovi0308]

I really don't understand what people are crying about (for having RJ on our team), what do you expect of the return for a player who only has basically half a season left? Do you want OG to walk after this season ala FVV?

I'm happy with this deal, my only concern is I hope RJ understands that this is Scottie's team and not his, and their past rivalry won't sour the team chemistry moving forward

[Scase]

If you’re honestly comparing McDaniels to Barrett in any way shape or form I’m sorry man but I can’t trust your basketball evaluation skills. McDaniels was trash from the get go. Barrett was a top 3 pick for a reason. He has game. Has he reached his potential, no. But 10 times the player McDaniels is in his sleep. McDaniels is barely an nba player. Barrett actually has nba level skills.

I wasn't comparing their games, I was comparing the way people expected McDaniels to come in and be good. Same way people think that RJ is going to be a good addition to the team, and not like he's salary filler.

Rj is going to come in, shoot horrendously and be inefficient as he has every single year of his career, the dude AVERAGES a 51.8% TS%. People hated FVV, boy oh boy they are going to LOATHE him.

RJ is currently 167 out of 200 qualifying players for TS%.

Too many people commenting about his inclusion in the trade, and how he's going to be a "good running mate with Scottie" don't watch knicks/non raps games. And they are in for a rude awakening when they see him play.

RJ Barrett has started 296 games including on a playoff team last year. Acting like he is not going to come in and give us good minutes is just ridiculous.

No one is expecting him to be a superstar but sheesh, you act like he is a massive negative player. His contract might be an overpay, but he still will be at worst the 6th/7th best guy we got (Barnes - Siakam - Quickley - GTJ - Poeltl - Schroder - Barrett). We have been trotting out like 5 NBA caliber guys a game previously - RJ is an NBA rotational player.

He is damn near a negative in basically every single stat imaginable. Christ almighty you love to argue, RJ is not a good player.

Horrendous efficiency, a literal 0 in EPM, 158/200 in ws/48, negative BPM, negative VORP.

All I said was people expecting him to come in here and be a good player are going to be in for a rude awakening. I never said that in comparison to this **** sack of a roster he's bad, he's below average compared to the average NBA player. Who gives a rats ass if he was a starter for the Knicks. Schroder is a starter, Jak is a starter, GTJ is a starter, there are tons of starters in the league who aren't very good.

RJ is objectively not a good player, stop being such a god damn contrarian holy ****.

[greekman]

barrett will be a star in toronto. maybe we trade for zion too.

[greekman]

I wasn't comparing their games, I was comparing the way people expected McDaniels to come in and be good. Same way people think that RJ is going to be a good addition to the team, and not like he's salary filler.

Rj is going to come in, shoot horrendously and be inefficient as he has every single year of his career, the dude AVERAGES a 51.8% TS%. People hated FVV, boy oh boy they are going to LOATHE him.

RJ is currently 167 out of 200 qualifying players for TS%.

Too many people commenting about his inclusion in the trade, and how he's going to be a "good running mate with Scottie" don't watch knicks/non raps games. And they are in for a rude awakening when they see him play.

RJ Barrett has started 296 games including on a playoff team last year. Acting like he is not going to come in and give us good minutes is just ridiculous.

No one is expecting him to be a superstar but sheesh, you act like he is a massive negative player. His contract might be an overpay, but he still will be at worst the 6th/7th best guy we got (Barnes - Siakam - Quickley - GTJ - Poeltl - Schroder - Barrett). We have been trotting out like 5 NBA caliber guys a game previously - RJ is an NBA rotational player.

He is damn near a negative in basically every single stat imaginable. Christ almighty you love to argue, RJ is not a good player.

Horrendous efficiency, a literal 0 in EPM, 158/200 in ws/48, negative BPM, negative VORP.

All I said was people expecting him to come in here and be a good player are going to be in for a rude awakening. I never said that in comparison to this **** sack of a roster he's bad, he's below average compared to the average NBA player. Who gives a rats ass if he was a starter for the Knicks. Schroder is a starter, Jak is a starter, GTJ is a starter, there are tons of starters in the league who aren't very good.

RJ is objectively not a good player, stop being such a god damn contrarian holy ****.

raptors fans used to say the same thing about derozan

[Scase]

If you’re honestly comparing McDaniels to Barrett in any way shape or form I’m sorry man but I can’t trust your basketball evaluation skills. McDaniels was trash from the get go. Barrett was a top 3 pick for a reason. He has game. Has he reached his potential, no. But 10 times the player McDaniels is in his sleep. McDaniels is barely an nba player. Barrett actually has nba level skills.

I wasn't comparing their games, I was comparing the way people expected McDaniels to come in and be good. Same way people think that RJ is going to be a good addition to the team, and not like he's salary filler.

Rj is going to come in, shoot horrendously and be inefficient as he has every single year of his career, the dude AVERAGES a 51.8% TS%. People hated FVV, boy oh boy they are going to LOATHE him.

RJ is currently 167 out of 200 qualifying players for TS%.

Too many people commenting about his inclusion in the trade, and how he's going to be a "good running mate with Scottie" don't watch knicks/non raps games. And they are in for a rude awakening when they see him play.

If you love TS% then man you must love Poetl. What a steal for us lol.

Jak is a center who is never more than 3 inches away from the rim lol.

[Scase]

RJ Barrett has started 296 games including on a playoff team last year. Acting like he is not going to come in and give us good minutes is just ridiculous.

No one is expecting him to be a superstar but sheesh, you act like he is a massive negative player. His contract might be an overpay, but he still will be at worst the 6th/7th best guy we got (Barnes - Siakam - Quickley - GTJ - Poeltl - Schroder - Barrett). We have been trotting out like 5 NBA caliber guys a game previously - RJ is an NBA rotational player.

He is damn near a negative in basically every single stat imaginable. Christ almighty you love to argue, RJ is not a good player.

Horrendous efficiency, a literal 0 in EPM, 158/200 in ws/48, negative BPM, negative VORP.

All I said was people expecting him to come in here and be a good player are going to be in for a rude awakening. I never said that in comparison to this **** sack of a roster he's bad, he's below average compared to the average NBA player. Who gives a rats ass if he was a starter for the Knicks. Schroder is a starter, Jak is a starter, GTJ is a starter, there are tons of starters in the league who aren't very good.

RJ is objectively not a good player, stop being such a god damn contrarian holy ****.

raptors fans used to say the same thing about derozan

Except DD is WAY better, some of DDs worst seasons would rival the best RJ has done thus far. This is a horrific comparison.

[Boogie!]

Again I don’t understand how people go nuts over limited players who are 23 but then starting **** on other players with actual potential who are also 23. How is it that for some people age means that player will get better or sure but for others it’s meaningless and we should immediately dump on them and call them horrible basketball players…

At some point to me it comes down to an inability to evaluate basketnall skills…

[Stromile12]

Not a fan of how much he forces it (tunnel vision.) I love the passion he plays with on the court but I have routinely been disappointed over the years watching him try and be the hero. I hope that he will embrace less usage and become a better decision maker.

[YogurtProducer]

He is damn near a negative in basically every single stat imaginable. Christ almighty you love to argue, RJ is not a good player.

Horrendous efficiency, a literal 0 in EPM, 158/200 in ws/48, negative BPM, negative VORP.

All I said was people expecting him to come in here and be a good player are going to be in for a rude awakening. I never said that in comparison to this **** sack of a roster he's bad, he's below average compared to the average NBA player. Who gives a rats ass if he was a starter for the Knicks. Schroder is a starter, Jak is a starter, GTJ is a starter, there are tons of starters in the league who aren't very good.

RJ is objectively not a good player, stop being such a god damn contrarian holy ****.

raptors fans used to say the same thing about derozan

Except DD is WAY better, some of DDs worst seasons would rival the best RJ has done thus far. This is a horrific comparison.

What about DD up to age 23 vs RJ?

Come on man. If Barrett was suxh a negative he wouldn’t be playing 32mpg and starting every game on a team trying to win.

[Phish Tank]

For those that watch a lot of Knick’s games could somebody give a more detailed breakdown of his game.

I'll give it to you:

1) Currently, his MO is driving into the paint at full will. If you want to know his go-to move, it's a pistol action that leads to RJ mostly getting a strong side layup. It's not a surefire success, but it's the best outcome.

2) The second-best (or arguably the first) is getting to the free throw line. Now I don't know how the refs will officiate him now outside of NY, but he likes to get into the paint and draw fouls. In the past, he wasn't a great FT shooter, but has significantly improved this year. He did have a bad game from the line on Friday, so keep that in mind in case he does regress in January.

3) The problem I had with RJ's drives to the paint is that he did it under the premise that Mitchell Robinson would grab the offensive rebound and either have a putback dunk or a kickout for an open 3. Therefore, it was an unintended hockey assist of sorts that kills his efficiency. He hadn't had that luxury with Mitch out and his efficiency cratered. Funny enough, he's really poor at finishing in traffic. Far too many plays in transition out on the break where he simply can't finish strong. He gets his shot blocked a lot, largely due to his mediocre athleticism and the fact that he stupidly added unnecessary bulk to his frame over the past 2 offseasons. He's quite slow, at least compared to a lot of comparable wings. He needs to spend time losing weight and working on that conditioning of his. I also question his diet. He felt like the 2nd slowest guy on the Knicks, which isn't good because he was the 2nd youngest Knick.

4) His perimeter shot is a mystery. There are days where it goes in and days where he's literally 20% on wide open shots. I don't think the work he's doing with Hanlen has translated. He needs to find a new shot doctor and work with Steve Nash over the summer because his mechanics are just off. Whereas a lot of star players can hit the wide open jumpshot, RJ simply cannot. That's a major problem.

5) Hopefully someone teaches him to get out of tunnel vision.

6) On the opposite end, he's not a bad defender if and when focused. He doesn't have an OG-like wingspan, but can hold his own at times. Now, you can't ask him to guard Bron or Giannis, but he can take on Jimmy a bit. Sometimes is prone to carelessness, and it's even worse with the boneheaded turnovers.

7) If Darko can get him to embrace a more limited role at the onset, that will be the best for the team and for RJ. However, if RJ tries to become Maple Mamba at the jump, prepare to be disappointed. The biggest mistake in RJ's development is the lack of adversity he's faced throughout the start. He's always been the "guy" whether in Canada, HS, and even in Duke playing alongside Zion. That has negatively impacted his development.

[gbball]

I like his intangibles and seriousness. Our team could use someone with his intensity...but never been a fan of his game. His game is just too ineffective.

[WuTang_CMB]

His family settled in Mississauga, Ontario in 2008, when his father left professional basketball.[4] While growing up, he was also involved in football, 100 metres sprinting, and the high jump.[6] At age 12, after struggling in a basketball game and coming home crying, Barrett began focusing on basketball instead of football to avoid missing tournaments.[2][6] At that age, he told his father that he wanted to be an NBA All-Star and make the Basketball Hall of Fame.[4] He sometimes trained with Steve Nash, his godfather and father's friend.[7]

[Ell Curry]

He's horribly inefficient, so unless his shot improves I don't really see him becoming a particularly good player, but I think he could be pretty good off the bench. We still need a stretch 5. Maybe Thad and a future 2nd (not the good one we just got) for Olynyk to save Utah some money.

Olynyk-Poeltl
Siakam-Boucher
Barnes-Barrett
Trent-Dick
Quickley-Schroeder

3 shooters in the starting lineup around Barnes and Siakam, and more talent than a typical NBA bench.

Or we move Siakam for help at center and SG (picks, young players, who knows) and start Barrett at the 3. My wild guess is that we extend Siakam, we can always trade him in the future.

[ItsDanger]

My take on RJ is his offhand development has been terrible, needs to be proficient at 15' floater and baseline jumper, not sure why he appears sluggish. Watch HS video, looks like a different person. At least his FT% improvement provides optimism. But his usage must drop down to 20% range.

[Raps in 4]

He may suck now, but he's still only 23. I'm hopeful our staff can still salvage his development.

[Harcore Fenton Mun]

RJ's putting up more points than DeRozan at the same age, 23. 18.1 vs 18.2