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RJ Barrett and his NBA skills trainer Drew Hanlen shifted their focus this summer as the New York Knicks‘ starting wing enters the first of his $107 million (could go up to $120 million), four-year extension.
They departed from their previous workout sessions focusing on improving Barrett’s weakness — his shiftiness — and shifted to harnessing his strength instead.
“We spent time on his shiftiness. But just naturally, he’s not a shifty player,” Hanlen said on the Big Knick Energy podcast. “Some players are stiffer than others, but what he is [that] he’s really, really strong and he’s really good with his hand swipes.”
“And so this summer, instead of spending time on shiftiness, which just hasn’t clicked over the last year and a half-ish of trying to implement that in some of his workouts, we really spend more time on getting outside defenders’ hips so that he can use his strength to get through defenders, instead of naturally shifting [past] them,” Hanlen added.
Barrett started slowly last season before picking up steam toward the end, especially in the playoffs. He was the Knicks’ second-best player next to Jalen Brunson in the playoffs, save for his struggles in the first two games against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Game 6 against the Miami Heat in the second round.
But overall, Barrett showed plenty of promise averaging 19.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists with a 49.5% effective field goal percentage throughout the Knicks’ playoff run.
RJ Barrett Listed as 2nd Most Overrated NBA Player
Despite his strong finish to the season, it did not help Barrett from being labeled as the second-most overrated NBA player over the last five years.
According to Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey, Barrett “has been one of the worst shooters in basketball over the course of his career.”
“And his overall impact on plus-minus has been absolutely dreadful for the New York Knicks,” Bailey wrote. “And regarding that plus-minus impact, the Knicks are minus-1.9 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor over his four seasons, compared to plus-3.9 without him.”
Immanuel Quickley as Raptors’ Starting PG?
An anonymous league executive views the Toronto Raptors as the perfect situation for Immanuel Quickley should the Knicks trade him because of their crowded backcourt and a looming expensive extension.
“The Raptors would be a really good fit for (Quickley),” the exec told Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney. “And the Knicks would be a really good fit for (OG) Anunoby. He’s just a monster defender. Things have been pretty quiet in Toronto, but there is still a feeling that they’re going to make another move here after what happened with Fred. Maybe they will stick with what they have but that roster is missing a lot.”
Quickley would welcome the opportunity to start after Fred VanVleet left the Raptors in free agency for more money in Houston. The Raptors only have Dennis Schroder and Malachi Flynn competing to fill VanVleet’s void.
However, the Raptors have set a high price for Anunoby, which indicates they are only ready to move on from him if they get blown away by his returning package.
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