After the New York Knicks and Utah Jazz were unable to come to an agreement on a trade for Donovan Mitchell, New York’s front office opted to sign RJ Barrett to a four-year, $120 million extension. With Mitchell now on the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Knicks are moving forward under the direction of Barrett.
Barrett, who turned 22 in June, is entering his fourth season in the NBA. He’s steadily improved each year, and last season, he averaged 20 points in 70 contests. With New York signing Jalen Brunson in free agency, Barrett’s numbers are expected to improve now that an actual point guard will be running the team’s offense.
After the 2021-22 season came to an end, Barrett said that his goal for the upcoming season is to earn his first All-Star nod. There’s reason to believe that could happen, although being that RJ’s on the Knicks, many people are doubting him. However, New York fans know what Barrett’s capable of and expect to see him fully take over in 2022-23.
Ahead of the new season, 15 NBA executives were asked by Hoops-Hype to rank their top five players under the age of 25 to build around. Hoops-Hype used their responses to rank the top 14 players mentioned. Unsurprisingly, RJ wasn’t included on the list, but perhaps at the end of the 2022-23 season, those same executives will be rethinking their rankings.
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