Barrett using rookie snub as motivation for 2nd season
RJ Barrett arrived in New York last year with high expectations and questions about whether he can serve as the franchise savior. When his first season was over, Barrett, the third overall pick, wasn’t even voted to either of the All-Rookie teams.
It was a bit surprising considering his cumulative statistics were certainly in the top-10 of rookies, and Barrett took the snub personally.
“It bothered me a lot. Not going to lie,” Barrett said. “I really don’t understand why I wasn’t on it. But it was motivation for next season. It was good to have an extra chip on my shoulder and just prove myself even more.”
Barrett is still just 20 years old and obviously has a lot to prove. His biggest issue last season was efficiency, or lack thereof, after shooting 40% overall and 32% from beyond the arc. He averaged 14.3 points and five assists, proving more committed to defense than perhaps advertised.
He wasn’t explosive, but that’s hard to improve. The most important area to take the next step is his outside shot.
“I’m actually encouraged to know I kind of started at a really low point, so the only way to go is up,” Barrett said. “Not really worried about that stuff at all. Whether it’s shooting from the field, some NBA superstars in their rookie years they didn’t shoot well from the field. I shot better than some NBA superstars shot in their first year. So that doesn’t bother me at all.”
Barrett and Mitchell Robinson are considered building
blocks for the Knicks. They’ve also added Obi Toppin, the eighth overall pick, to boost the offense at power forward. Barrett used his cohesion with Zion Williamson at Duke to show why he’ll be a good fit next to the explosive Toppin.
“See myself, how I work well with Mitch, see how I’ve worked well with Zion in the past. I feel like it’s going to work,” Barrett said. “He can pick and roll, pick and pop, put it on the deck, he can shoot it. I’m excited to have him. He gives us another dimension. Very talented.”
Following their underwhelming free agency, the Knicks are projected to be one of the league’s worst teams again. But Barrett is setting the goal of the playoffs.
“I’m trying to make the playoffs and trying to win,” he said. “We shouldn’t expect anything less from ourselves. We have to try and go out there and be the best team we can be. We got a lot of talented players and hard workers. If we put it together with the coaching staff we have we should be able to do very well.’’