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New York Knicks: Revisiting RJ Barrett’s Rookie of the Year odds

By Christian Kim

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 18: RJ Barrett #9 of the New York Knicks handles the ball against the New Orleans Pelicans during a pre-season game on October 18, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 18: RJ Barrett #9 of the New York Knicks handles the ball against the New Orleans Pelicans during a pre-season game on October 18, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /

RJ Barrett

RJ Barrett finds himself in a weird situation on the Knicks. While the team is not the most talented, hence the high draft pick, there is plenty of depth. There seem to be a plethora of young players and veterans that “deserve” minutes. While Barrett is already one of the top performers of the team, it’s hard to see him averaging 37 minutes per game as he did during the preseason.

His per-36 numbers for the four preseason games are as follows:

  • 15.2 PPG
  • 6.6 RPG
  • 3.2 APG

His usage percentage of 18.1 percent is decent because he likes to run the offense as well but the volume is far less than what Ja Morant will be handling.

Through Summer League and the preseason, RJ has shown the team that he can play with the starters. While he has shown that he can run with the best of them, his play still isn’t at the level where he leaves Marcus Morris, Reggie Bullock, Damyean Dotson, Wayne Ellington, Kevin Knox just on the bench. With the current roster, it will be difficult for Barrett to put up numbers that will be better than Williamson or Morant. There’s simply not enough touches.

Now I’m not saying he is Darko Milicic on the 2004 Pistons because Milicic wasn’t getting playing time over Ben Wallace. While the chasm between Barrett and the rest of the Knicks’ shooting guard and small forward talent pool isn’t as vast as the one between Milicicand Wallace, Fizdale will not be able to ignore the veteran players that will warrant at least 25 minutes of playing time elsewhere.

But there is one scenario that may be highly probable.

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