Getty RJ Barrett, New York Knicks
The New York Knicks might have missed out on landing Donovan Mitchell this summer, but that doesn’t mean they won’t have to navigate some potentially hurt feelings in the locker room.
After all, throughout the process of pursuing Mitchell, New York essentially put all of their young talents on the trade block, and while everybody understands the NBA is a business, that doesn’t stop people’s feelings from getting hurt.
Really good (per usual) summary/dot-connecting/deep dive here on everything from the Knicks’ perspective of the Mitchell deal, from @JCMacriNBA:
According to Jonathan Macri, in the September 5 edition of his Knicks Film School newsletter, the Knicks will need to be cognizant of the messaging they sent to RJ Barrett by continually placing him in trade talks – and that is that they don’t view him as a potential star in the NBA.
“All that being said: this isn’t a great look for the organization that has gone to insanely great lengths to appear player-friendly over the last several years. Regarding RJ, I can’t think of a higher profile player still on a rookie deal who was so obviously offered up in a trade, only for that trade to eventually fall through.
He can rationalize it any way he wants, but the reality is that he knows the people running the team don’t see him as someone destined for stardom. If they did, he’d never have been offered at all, let alone with several additional assets,” Macri wrote.
This type of concern is nothing new – just look at how the Boston Celtics fanbase has been sharing their concerns about Jaylen Brown being mentioned in trade talks for Kevin Durant as an example. However, if the Knicks can find a way to continue featuring Barrett as a primary scorer, and they begin to taste success together, there is a way for both parties to put this saga behind them.
Knicks ‘Didn’t Want to Pay RJ’
Despite Barrett recently signing a contract extension with the Knicks, rumors have surfaced that the front office was originally opposed to giving him an extension before getting the chance to evaluate him during training camp.
According to a source who spoke to Marc Berman of the New York Post, the Knicks’ reluctance to pay Barrett stemmed from their desire to include him in a deal to acquire Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz.
“They didn’t want to pay RJ now, they like RJ, but he’s not one of their guys. The preference was to trade him in a Donovan deal… If they got Donovan without Barrett in the deal, they weren’t going to pay RJ now.’ An NBA Source told Berman for his September 2 article.
Despite the Knicks’ reluctance to commit to their young star, it’s clear that he’s improving his overall game, and is clearly on track to start knocking on the door of a potential NBA All-Star appearance in the coming years.
This past season – Barrett’s third in the NBA – the Toronto native averaged 20 points, 5.8 rebounds, and three assists per game while shooting 34.2% from deep and 44.2% from two-point range. If Barrett can improve his consistency from the field, he will become a key cog in the resurgence the Knicks are so desperate for.
Knicks ‘Prefer’ Quentin Grimes
Another reason why the Knicks might have been reluctant to extend Barrett so quickly is that some members of the coaching team and front office staff see more upside in sophomore guard Quentin Grimes.
According to David Aldridge of The Atheltic, New York’s priority during negotiations with the Jazz was keeping Grimes rather than finding a way to secure Barrett’s future with the franchise.
“I had heard pretty strongly earlier in the summer that the Knicks weren’t actually all that convinced Barrett was worth a big extension and their priority was holding onto Quentin Grimes – whom this front office, of course, took late in the first round last year. (And, of course, this front office did not draft Barrett.) Well, they held onto Barrett and Grimes, and now they need to find another target for all of those future firsts,” Aldridge wrote on September 2.
It will be interesting to see how Barrett’s relationship with the Knicks front office evolves moving forward, as there’s a clear risk that their young star could be disgruntled by the way he is being viewed by some within the Knicks hierarchy – and given the Knicks are trying to improve their image around the league, this could be a PR disaster.