Official RJ Barrett Thread

[Duffman100]

I just want him to a) play better defense and b) pass the ball a bit more.

[Dennis 37]

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But, you just gave me access to this data for free?

[YogurtProducer]

We just need to find a way to get Mobley on this team and we are set.

That would be a perfect fit!
But tbh, I wouldn't mind Jarrett Allen either.

Don’t you know we winning the lottery and drafting Sarr

Sarr in theory platooned with Poeltl would be real nice

[ArthurVandelay]

We need to ship him when we get the chance. The stats are great but he's still a negative on the floor. It's very similar to DeRozan's production.

Derozan could never hit the three and lived midrange

It might be similar to derozan production but how they got there is night and day

[youngRAPZ]

That would be a perfect fit!
But tbh, I wouldn't mind Jarrett Allen either.

Don’t you know we winning the lottery and drafting Sarr

Sarr in theory platooned with Poeltl would be real nice

Sarr can play the PF beside Jak and the C beside Kelly

[Thaddy]

We need to ship him when we get the chance. The stats are great but he's still a negative on the floor. It's very similar to DeRozan's production.

Derozan could never hit the three and lived midrange

It might be similar to derozan production but how they got there is night and day

He's a non shooter guard that doesn't play elite defense. That doesn't lead to winning basketball it's why his plus-minus is in the negatives.

In the current NBA you need to be an elite defensive player or shooter. Anything else won't be an impact player.

[VanWest82]

We need to ship him when we get the chance. The stats are great but he's still a negative on the floor. It's very similar to DeRozan's production.

Derozan could never hit the three and lived midrange

It might be similar to derozan production but how they got there is night and day

He's a non shooter guard that doesn't play elite defense. That doesn't lead to winning basketball it's why his plus-minus is in the negatives.

In the current NBA you need to be an elite defensive player or shooter. Anything else won't be an impact player.

Since we made the trade, we’re -4.8 per 100 with RJ on and -9.0 per 100 with him off. That’s actually one of the best net on-offs on the team behind Jak (by a mile) and Scottie (by a bit).

[Thaddy]

Derozan could never hit the three and lived midrange

It might be similar to derozan production but how they got there is night and day

He's a non shooter guard that doesn't play elite defense. That doesn't lead to winning basketball it's why his plus-minus is in the negatives.

In the current NBA you need to be an elite defensive player or shooter. Anything else won't be an impact player.

Since we made the trade, we’re -4.8 per 100 with RJ on and -9.0 per 100 with him off. That’s actually one of the best net on-offs on the team behind Jak (by a mile) and Scottie (by a bit).

Last year in a full season with the Knicks he was a -10 on/off (per 100 poss.) that is just as bad as Gradey has been this season. He's not a winning NBA player and if you look at RJ's playoff on/off it's even worse. RJ has a total of 16 games in the playoffs and he's an average of -16 on/off plus-minus.

There should be no goal other than increasing his value and then shipping him for a better fit next to Barnes. We don't have a need for a slashing guard next to Scottie. We need another movement shooter that has gravity and can create his own shot.

[brownbobcat]

He's a non shooter guard that doesn't play elite defense. That doesn't lead to winning basketball it's why his plus-minus is in the negatives.

In the current NBA you need to be an elite defensive player or shooter. Anything else won't be an impact player.

Since we made the trade, we’re -4.8 per 100 with RJ on and -9.0 per 100 with him off. That’s actually one of the best net on-offs on the team behind Jak (by a mile) and Scottie (by a bit).

Last year in a full season with the Knicks he was a -10 on/off (per 100 poss.) that is just as bad as Gradey has been this season. He's not a winning NBA player and if you look at RJ's playoff on/off it's even worse. RJ has a total of 16 games in the playoffs and he's an average of -16 on/off plus-minus.

There should be no goal other than increasing his value and then shipping him for a better fit next to Barnes. We don't have a need for a slashing guard next to Scottie. We need another movement shooter that has gravity and can create his own shot.

On/off stats are not all that reliable. Look at OG on the Knicks - did he suddenly transform into a superstar or is he just a better fit on the team?

[ArthurVandelay]

He's a non shooter guard that doesn't play elite defense. That doesn't lead to winning basketball it's why his plus-minus is in the negatives.

In the current NBA you need to be an elite defensive player or shooter. Anything else won't be an impact player.

Since we made the trade, we’re -4.8 per 100 with RJ on and -9.0 per 100 with him off. That’s actually one of the best net on-offs on the team behind Jak (by a mile) and Scottie (by a bit).

Last year in a full season with the Knicks he was a -10 on/off (per 100 poss.) that is just as bad as Gradey has been this season. He's not a winning NBA player and if you look at RJ's playoff on/off it's even worse. RJ has a total of 16 games in the playoffs and he's an average of -16 on/off plus-minus.

There should be no goal other than increasing his value and then shipping him for a better fit next to Barnes. We don't have a need for a slashing guard next to Scottie. We need another movement shooter that has gravity and can create his own shot.

I thought one of the few things everyone, except RJ, agreed on was how his game has changed since being a Knick.

I agree he has much more time as a Knick in his pro career but he’s having pretty good success doing whatever the raps are telling him to do.

Also on/off stats are useful like any stat to paint a picture. But they are severely flawed in that the player can’t control who he’s playing with which matters.

[raptorforlife88]

He's a non shooter guard that doesn't play elite defense. That doesn't lead to winning basketball it's why his plus-minus is in the negatives.

In the current NBA you need to be an elite defensive player or shooter. Anything else won't be an impact player.

Since we made the trade, we’re -4.8 per 100 with RJ on and -9.0 per 100 with him off. That’s actually one of the best net on-offs on the team behind Jak (by a mile) and Scottie (by a bit).

Last year in a full season with the Knicks he was a -10 on/off (per 100 poss.) that is just as bad as Gradey has been this season. He's not a winning NBA player and if you look at RJ's playoff on/off it's even worse. RJ has a total of 16 games in the playoffs and he's an average of -16 on/off plus-minus.

There should be no goal other than increasing his value and then shipping him for a better fit next to Barnes. We don't have a need for a slashing guard next to Scottie. We need another movement shooter that has gravity and can create his own shot.

It's interesting that you're using that but not something like EPM? By EPM he's a positive this year, same as a number of decent players around him, and that's probably significantly better measure than just straight plus/minus. And that includes his time with the Knicks where he was definitely much worse. In his time with the Raptors his EPM has probably been very solid.

[Basketball_Jones]

His defense looks okay to me sometimes even good. I don’t have much of an issue there. Offensively he’s playing within himself rather than trying to play above his pay grade, so as long as that continues I don’t see much of an issue with him long term. If there is a better fit down the line then of course you can move him, but for now there shouldn’t be red flag trade him ASAP type of urgency. I just don’t understand that.

[kanersen]

I actually think RJ has made big strides on his court awareness and his playmaking. His defence is lacking though. I think he could be a positive man to man defender with his big strong frame using his average lateral movement while at least being average on his defensive rotations. A lot of the sieve defence is on Darko and his (lack of) defensive schemes. It's not just an RJ thing. I'll put up with it for now because Darko is doing good at developing our young cornerstone players, at least offensively.

What is incredibly intriguing is that he's transformed himself into Rim and 3 Wing. I think this is a prototype....I actually don't think this type of player has existed....maybe i'm wrong. There are Bigs/Centers that do this but not wings. I think if he hones this and adds the 3rd part of the triangle (defense) to the equation, that would be an incredible player that contributes to winning.

People say what RJ does is empty stats but if what he's doing is legit......and it's not being done by chance at this point, he is actively seeking to put himself in these metrics ........that is the equivalent of engineering himself into (borrowing from a baseball phrase) a 'moneyball' player that seeks to maximize efficiencies.

[VanWest82]

He's a non shooter guard that doesn't play elite defense. That doesn't lead to winning basketball it's why his plus-minus is in the negatives.

In the current NBA you need to be an elite defensive player or shooter. Anything else won't be an impact player.

Since we made the trade, we’re -4.8 per 100 with RJ on and -9.0 per 100 with him off. That’s actually one of the best net on-offs on the team behind Jak (by a mile) and Scottie (by a bit).

Last year in a full season with the Knicks he was a -10 on/off (per 100 poss.) that is just as bad as Gradey has been this season. He's not a winning NBA player and if you look at RJ's playoff on/off it's even worse. RJ has a total of 16 games in the playoffs and he's an average of -16 on/off plus-minus.

There should be no goal other than increasing his value and then shipping him for a better fit next to Barnes. We don't have a need for a slashing guard next to Scottie. We need another movement shooter that has gravity and can create his own shot.

We absolutely have a need for a slashing guard. no one else on the roster gets to the rim with consistency let alone finishes like RJ. Scottie isn't even close to a good enough ball handler to say we're good on that front. If anything, the evidence we have so far with Scottie would suggest he's a better off ball player who's only beginning to develop on ball skills.

RJ has fundamentally changed who is he as a player and where he's getting his shots. If this was just a hot streak, I'd be more skeptical, and if he goes back to taking (and missing) a bunch of inefficient MR Js I'll be the first to say we should ship him out. I don't think that's going to happen. There's probably a better chance that RJ is the best player on the team next year than he reverts to his Knicks play where their scheme didn't allow for as much player movement due to their ISO-centric offense. Might be time to get on board because RJ isn't going anywhere.

[vini_vidi_vici]

Its weird to me that people are stuck on his NYK tenure as his median. First hes 23, but okay.

His transition numbers buoyed him as a NYK, and now its hurting him as a Rap. His SpotUp numbers were trash, he comes here and lights it up. But most importantly, hes not a good PnR guy, and instead of forcing 18% of his finishes as the Knicks did, hes doing more triple threat attacks, and less PnR here (7.9%). Hes more an ISO finisher/creator here, even if it is not alot of volume.

Hes shooting a career high % of FGAs within 3 ft. He shot 13.2% of his FGAs from 10ft to the 3PT line with the Knicks, with the Raps its 3.4%. Its not just finishes and spots on the floor that has changed with RJ either. Hes getting ~12 more touches per game with the Raps, but avging less seconds per touch, and less dribbles per touch.

Will he regress, probably, but I dont think anyone can argue thus far, hes a) being very productive/efficient, b) hes doing different things/roles.

Edit:

Spoiler:

As a Knick.


As a Rap.

[VanWest82]

Its weird to me that people are stuck on his NYK tenure as his median. First hes 23, but okay.

His transition numbers buoyed him as a NYK, and now its hurting him as a Rap. His SpotUp numbers were trash, he comes here and lights it up. But most importantly, hes not a good PnR guy, and instead of forcing 18% of his finishes as the Knicks did, hes doing more triple threat attacks, and less PnR here (7.9%). Hes more an ISO finisher/creator here, even if it is not alot of volume.

Hes shooting a career high % of FGAs within 3 ft. He shot 13.2% of his FGAs from 10ft to the 3PT line with the Knicks, with the Raps its 3.4%. Its not just finishes and spots on the floor that has changed with RJ either. Hes getting ~12 more touches per game with the Raps, but avging less seconds per touch, and less dribbles per touch.

Will he regress, probably, but I dont think anyone can argue thus far, hes a) being very productive/efficient, b) hes doing different things/roles.

Edit:

Spoiler:

As a Knick.


As a Rap.

Thank you. Also, I know it's only a small bump but I'm loving RJ the cutter. He has great instincts.

[nestea]

Its weird to me that people are stuck on his NYK tenure as his median. First hes 23, but okay.

His transition numbers buoyed him as a NYK, and now its hurting him as a Rap. His SpotUp numbers were trash, he comes here and lights it up. But most importantly, hes not a good PnR guy, and instead of forcing 18% of his finishes as the Knicks did, hes doing more triple threat attacks, and less PnR here (7.9%). Hes more an ISO finisher/creator here, even if it is not alot of volume.

Hes shooting a career high % of FGAs within 3 ft. He shot 13.2% of his FGAs from 10ft to the 3PT line with the Knicks, with the Raps its 3.4%. Its not just finishes and spots on the floor that has changed with RJ either. Hes getting ~12 more touches per game with the Raps, but avging less seconds per touch, and less dribbles per touch.

Will he regress, probably, but I dont think anyone can argue thus far, hes a) being very productive/efficient, b) hes doing different things/roles.

Edit:

Spoiler:

As a Knick.


As a Rap.

Nice homework

[niQ]

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[LoveMyRaps]

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Special player.

We got a bunch of guys that can score in a variety of ways, in a very efficient manner.

Scottie - Mid range/paint
IQ - 3pt
RJ - Rim finishing

Like I said before - this BBQ trio is PERFECT. They all complement each other so well. I can't wait for them to build some more chemistry next season.

[Raps in 4]

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Special player.

We got a bunch of guys that can score in a variety of ways, in a very efficient manner.

Scottie - Mid range/paint
IQ - 3pt
RJ - Rim finishing

Like I said before - this BBQ trio is PERFECT. They all complement each other so well. I can't wait for them to build some more chemistry next season.

Scottie = Duncan
IQ = Tony
RJ = Manu

People keep saying we should convey the pick this season and then pick worry-free in the top-5 next season. I don't know what games people are watching. There is no way this core is a bottom-feeder next season after an off-season of development. They're winning 40+ games next year. Haters can quote me.

The time to tank is now because there won't be another opportunity.