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RJ Barrett going live with Knicks to discuss extension stirs up unnecessary drama

ByJordanna Clark|
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 18: RJ Barrett #9 of the New York Knicks brings the ball up the court during the second half of the game against the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden on March 18, 2022 in New York City. 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. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 18: RJ Barrett #9 of the New York Knicks brings the ball up the court during the second half of the game against the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden on March 18, 2022 in New York City. 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. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)

It’s been two weeks since it was reported that RJ Barrett was finalizing a contract extension with the New York Knicks. Since then, Donovan Mitchell was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, a move that signified that the Knicks are Barrett’s team.

On Monday afternoon, the Knicks announced that Barrett would talk about his four-year extension on a livestream that’s scheduled for 6:15 p.m. The 22-year-old posted a photo on Instagram a few days after his extension became official, but this will be the first time that he’s spoken publicly about it.

For the fan base, it’ll be exciting to get to hear from Barrett, however, the announcement from the team’s official Twitter account was quickly blown out of proportion.

RJ Barrett set to discuss Knicks extension on a livestream at 6:15 p.m. on Monday

It’s been nearly two months since New York introduced Jalen Brunson in an event that was open to select season-ticket holders and was led by MSG Network’s Bill Pidto. That move stirred up controversy amongst the media, who weren’t invited to attend the event. Presumably, the Knicks made that decision so that Brunson wouldn’t have to answer questions regarding New York being investigated by the NBA for tampering, as well as New York’s then pursuit of Donovan Mitchell.

And now, that same controversy has been brought to light again with the Knicks hosting a livestream where Barrett will discuss his extension.

It’s no secret that the 22-year-old was involved in trade proposals to the Utah Jazz, and when New York and Utah failed to come to an agreement on a deal, the Knicks proceeded to sign Barrett to a new deal. The presumed thought process behind hosting a livestream is to avoid RJ having to answer questions about the fact that New York attempted to trade him.

Now, fans should be concerned about the fact that the front office reportedly wasn’t on the same page about signing Barrett to an extension. That’s a move that could easily come back to haunt the organization.

However, fans shouldn’t be concerned about the conflict surrounding Brunson’s introduction and Barrett discussing his four-year, $120 million extension on a livestream. The media won’t have the green light to ask Barrett questions, which as mentioned, would likely be about his name being included in offers for Donovan Mitchell. Instead, RJ will likely go into detail about what it means for him to stay in New York and the direction that he hopes to steer the team in.

This isn’t to say that there aren’t issues within the Knicks organization because there’s a huge issue named James Dolan, but New York choosing to not sit Barrett in front of the media makes sense.

Select members of the media have made the argument that fans should want the media to be allowed access to events such as Barrett discussing his extension, but fans know what that would result in. Just refer back to how the majority of people reacted to the news that the Cavaliers were the team to trade for Mitchell, not the Knicks.

With training camp beginning in a couple of weeks, the media will get their chance to hear from Brunson and Barrett. A livestream shouldn’t cause so much drama, but because it’s the Knicks, the event has been exaggerated. Should anyone really be surprised, though?

Don’t forget to tune into the livestream tonight at 6:15 p.m. ET on the Knicks’ Twitter account (@nyknicks).

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