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

[JRoy]

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.

Not at all.

RJB is flashy but lacks the impact of a guy like Jimmy Butler.

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.

[iLLmatic860]

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[RandlesCornrows]

Kid is carrying the Knicks. His game the last few weeks have been insane and efficient.

Thibs always had Randle as the #1 option and had RJ on the corner and obviously that’s not his game. Glad Thibs realized how RJ should be used

[DaGawd]

Omg just let the dude play without bringing unnecessary attention.. y’all know damn well goo his next game could easily look something like 18 points on 5/20 shooting.. let him sustain this stretch for a good while before bumping threads..

[mcfly1204]

For my money, Okoro has more of a Jimmy Butler vibe\potential than RJ.

[Scalabrine]

Kid is carrying the Knicks. His game the last few weeks have been insane and efficient.

Thibs always had Randle as the #1 option and had RJ on the corner and obviously that’s not his game. Glad Thibs realized how RJ should be used

Youre taking this too far. Over the past 7 he's shooting like 36% from 3 and 46% overall and 69% from FT. Thats not efficient.

I agree that he's taken a step back towards how he finished last season, and I'm obviously rooting for him to continue improving, but lets let him do that instead of overhyping him to a bunch of people that will only jump on him when he hits anotehr slump.

[NYKnickerbocker]

Man just let him play lol. Don’t bump no RJ threads

[Jcity08]

Im not a fan of putting comps on young guys in the NBA, there might be some parallels here and there but I like to give them their lane rather than building them up into something they might not necessarily be.

[Barcs]

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.

I like the Butler comparison, but I think he's more like a Dwayne Wade type, he's just gotta put it all together. I feel he's very close to becoming a complete player.

[Scalabrine]

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.

I like the Butler comparison, but I think he's more like a Dwayne Wade type, he's just gotta put it all together. I feel he's very close to becoming a complete player.

Come on dude! Wade is one of the best shooting guards of all time. Also if we're gonna go there, Wade was a mid-range master who barely shot the three and lived at the line. RJ is a 2/3 who shoots 3's and takes it to the hole and barely finds himself in the mid-range or at the line (where he's a terrible ft shooter).

Love RJ, but lets not compare him to all-time greats yet. He's not even close to that yet.

[mcfly1204]

As for RJ comps, I still like Danny Granger.

[Barcs]

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.

I like the Butler comparison, but I think he's more like a Dwayne Wade type, he's just gotta put it all together. I feel he's very close to becoming a complete player.

Come on dude! Wade is one of the best shooting guards of all time. Also if we're gonna go there, Wade was a mid-range master who barely shot the three and lived at the line. RJ is a 2/3 who shoots 3's and takes it to the hole and barely finds himself in the mid-range or at the line (where he's a terrible ft shooter).

Love RJ, but lets not compare him to all-time greats yet. He's not even close to that yet.

I wasn't suggesting his talent was anywhere near that level, but the way he drives to the net reminds me of Wade. I think Butler is an all time great as well.

[Wharton Alum 08]

I like the Butler comparison, but I think he's more like a Dwayne Wade type, he's just gotta put it all together. I feel he's very close to becoming a complete player.

Come on dude! Wade is one of the best shooting guards of all time. Also if we're gonna go there, Wade was a mid-range master who barely shot the three and lived at the line. RJ is a 2/3 who shoots 3's and takes it to the hole and barely finds himself in the mid-range or at the line (where he's a terrible ft shooter).

Love RJ, but lets not compare him to all-time greats yet. He's not even close to that yet.

I wasn't suggesting his talent was anywhere near that level, but the way he drives to the net reminds me of Wade. I think Butler is an all time great as well.

Wade was quick, shifty and explosive. I don't see much of that in RJ.

[matt6715]

I had much higher expectations of Barrett before he went to Duke and started to play against real competition. Now he just looks like another guy IMO.

[Hipster Doofus]

RJ Barrett? Jimmy Butler vibes? Awwww hell nawwwww.

Yet another example of a Knicks fan who made a thread in October when the season had just started and the Knicks won several games in a row to get all hyped up and thought that his team was actually good...lol.

The Knicks is where NBA players' dreams go to heaven.

[danvato]

More important question Knick fans, this is his 3rd years, you're maxing him out or what?

[R-DAWG]

In my opinion what makes Jimmy Butler a great player is that he is good at everything while being great at nothing. He's a good shooter, not a great shooter. He's good at getting to the basket, but not great. Good but not great playmaker. Combine that with the size and athleticism to defend multiple positions, and the fact that he plays hard all the time and is an unbelievable competitor with grit who truly cares about winning and you have a great player. But, IMO, Butler isn't a #1 option on a championship team, he's probably good enough to be a #2, but with his skill set and versatility, he would be a great #3.

When I project out RJ Barrett, I see the same characteristics. As a Knick fan, I think RJ's ceiling is the #3 option on a contender. And from a strengths/weaknesses and body type/skill set perspective, there is a lot of Jimmy Butler in him. But he's got a long way to go to be on Jimmy Butler's level.

For what it's worth, Jimmy Butler also struggled in his 3rd season while being coached by Thibs.

[rate_]

In my opinion what makes Jimmy Butler a great player is that he is good at everything while being great at nothing. He's a good shooter, not a great shooter. He's good at getting to the basket, but not great. Good but not great playmaker. Combine that with the size and athleticism to defend multiple positions, and the fact that he plays hard all the time and is an unbelievable competitor with grit who truly cares about winning and you have a great player. But, IMO, Butler isn't a #1 option on a championship team, he's probably good enough to be a #2, but with his skill set and versatility, he would be a great #3.

When I project out RJ Barrett, I see the same characteristics. As a Knick fan, I think RJ's ceiling is the #3 option on a contender. And from a strengths/weaknesses and body type/skill set perspective, there is a lot of Jimmy Butler in him. But he's got a long way to go to be on Jimmy Butler's level.

For what it's worth, Jimmy Butler also struggled in his 3rd season while being coached by Thibs.

Jimmy Butler is way more skilled than RJ Barrett. They both have insane work ethic but that's about it for comparisons.

[R-DAWG]

In my opinion what makes Jimmy Butler a great player is that he is good at everything while being great at nothing. He's a good shooter, not a great shooter. He's good at getting to the basket, but not great. Good but not great playmaker. Combine that with the size and athleticism to defend multiple positions, and the fact that he plays hard all the time and is an unbelievable competitor with grit who truly cares about winning and you have a great player. But, IMO, Butler isn't a #1 option on a championship team, he's probably good enough to be a #2, but with his skill set and versatility, he would be a great #3.

When I project out RJ Barrett, I see the same characteristics. As a Knick fan, I think RJ's ceiling is the #3 option on a contender. And from a strengths/weaknesses and body type/skill set perspective, there is a lot of Jimmy Butler in him. But he's got a long way to go to be on Jimmy Butler's level.

For what it's worth, Jimmy Butler also struggled in his 3rd season while being coached by Thibs.

Jimmy Butler is way more skilled than RJ Barrett. They both have insane work ethic but that's about it for comparisons.

That's a false statement. They both have similar builds, and similar skill sets. Sure, Jimmy Butler, who is 10 years older, is more skilled. But at the same age, they had similar skill levels. Actually, RJ is probably more skilled than Butler was at the same point in his career.

[cgf]

I said before the season that if he could finish the year with similar production despite having to shoulder a much heavier load defensively, that I would be thrilled. RJ will need to finish strong to make that happen, but he's not all that far off atm...just ~1 ppg & ~.5apg off of last season's averages...despite not shooting as well as he did & the team struggling more around him than it did last year.

Next season is when we should get more of an idea about whether his off-the-dribble game has the potential to take the kind of steps that Butler or Middleton's have, and if he'll be able to turn his vision into a significant weapon with the gravity that would create.