Getty RJ Barrett #9 (L) and Immanuel Quickley #5 of the Toronto Raptors interact before the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Scotiabank Arena.
The consensus is that the New York Knicks won the OG Anunoby–RJ Barrett/Immanuel Quickley trade.
ESPN’s Kevin Pelton graded the trade A- for the Knicks. Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey gave the Knicks a B+.
But the most validating opinion that shines a light on this current Knicks front office’s shrewdness is the damning opinion of the rest of the NBA about Barrett.
“I’ve always said if there’s a continuum of RJ Barrett optimism and pessimism—and over here on the pessimistic side is like, ‘He just stinks, he’s a toxic asset.’ And that is a word that got thrown around yesterday in my conversations with front office people and coaches—toxic asset. Like you’re swallowing his contract,” ESPN’s Zach Lowe revealed during the January 1 episode of “The Lowe Post” podcast.
Lowe said Barrett is a “jack of all trades but a master of none” which he likes. But it’s for the same reason that also made him a “toxic asset” relative to his $107 million, four-year extension.
The Raptors had to swallow Barrett’s contract to get Quickley, potentially the best player of the deal in the long term. The Canadian ties helped the Knicks’ cause to get rid of the “toxic asset” without attaching one of their eight tradable first-round picks.
‘I’m Back Home, Baby!’
The 23-year-old Barrett, the highest pick at no. 3 among all the central figures of the trade, has the opportunity to reshape his reputation back in his hometown.
The sellout crowd of 19,800 lustily cheered for the Toronto-born Barrett during the player’s introductions.
“This was special,” Barrett told reporters. “Way better than any other time I’ve played here. This was a special one that I’ll always appreciate.”
“[The crowd reaction] meant a lot. I’m the hometown kid and just coming in and trying to get a win for the fans, trying to win for the country, it felt great.”
Barrett had a winning debut with the Raptors, draining clutch free throws in a 124-121 win over Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 1.
Yet the box scores painted a mixed result.
Barrett finished one short of a double-double (19 points and 9 rebounds) but only had 1 assist against 5 turnovers. He was a team-worst minus-7.
Fortunately, Barrett, whose free throw shooting is one of his weaknesses, drained two with seven seconds left to seal the win.
“I’m back home, baby,” Barrett said afterward. “I’m back home!”
Immanuel Quickley Finally Gets His Wish
Quickley finally got his chance to be the lead guard in Toronto, something that will never happen in New York with Jalen Brunson in town.
Quickley immediately contributed to winning in an expanded role with the Raptors. The 6-foot-3 former Knicks’ Sixth Man had the best plus-minus among all Raptors starters with plus-7. He finished with 14 points, six rebounds, 3 assists without a turnover and 2 steals in 28 minutes.
[The coaches told me to] just be myself,” Quickley said. “They wanted me here for a reason. I’m going to take full advantage of it, day-to-day, and continue to get better.
“It’s almost like playing pick-up [basketball] a little bit, but if you’re playing with great players, it makes your job a lot easier, so credit to guys they made it easy for me.”