BETTER GET BARRETT
Ex-Knicks scout calls Duke star ‘a winner’
CHICAGO — Brendan Suhr, the Knicks’ former scouting director and the man who used to run their draft, doesn’t have any misgivings about the club taking 6-foot-7 Duke swingman RJ Barrett as the third pick instead of trading it.
“They better pick him if he’s there,’’ Suhr told The Post at the draft combine, which ended Friday. “RJ has potential to be as good a scoring guard as we’ve had come into the league in the last 10 years. He’s very versatile with a mentality to score. He’s dominated every level, dominated at the FIBA [International Basketball Federation] level. And he’s got great size. He’s a winner, comes from great basketball and athletic family. You’re getting a great kid. He’s the strongest candidate for that pick.’’
Suhr, a longtime scout and coach who worked for the Knicks from 2004-07, made some solid draft-value picks in Trevor Ariza, Channing Frye, Wilson Chandler, David Lee and Nate Robinson.
“[Barrett] was the No. 1 player in the draft coming into college and Zion [Williamson] was 2 or 3,’’ Suhr said. “The college game is totally different than [the] NBA game. What Zion and RJ both learned is they played for a great coach and played on as near an NBA team as can be. Everyone in the NBA thinks they’re a great player, so you have to learn to share the ball and fit in. It’s not. Shooting 30 balls a night makes you the best prospect. They showed they’re winners, love to win, hate losing and can play with great players.’’
Suhr, who runs coaching clinics for the Players Association and heads his own coaching-workshop business called “Coach U,” is not working for an NBA team and so was able to talk about Barrett.
Former Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald, despite being recently hired as the president of Canadian basketball, also works as a personnel director for the Grizzlies, who have the No. 2 pick.
Grunwald said he cannot talk specifically about Barrett’s game because of his position with Memphis, but he said the Canadian swingman has continued the nation’s breakthrough advance into the NBA.
“We have more players in the NBA than any country but the U.S.,’’ said Grunwald, whom the Knicks fired after their 54-28 season in 2012-13. “We’re hopeful this year we’ll have as many as eight players drafted in the NBA. We have a lot of players in next generation we’re working with too.’’
The Grizzlies are leaning toward selecting point guard Ja Morant at No. 2. The Post has reported the Knicks also had Morant higher on their board going into the draft combine.
Not all NBA scouts, however, regard Barrett as a can’t-miss All-Star, though he piled up massive numbers. Barrett is the first underclassman in NCAA Division I history to average at least 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
One scout cautioned it is important to note how he scored. His 3point shooting percentage was a disappointing 30.8, and a lot of his points came off drives that may not be as accessible in the NBA. He also never developed much of a pull-up game and was a poor free-throw shooter.
The Knicks are going through the process and interviewed Jarrett Culver and Cam Reddish at the combine. The Post first reported the Knicks’ interest in Culver when GM Scott Perry and president Steve Mills bolted a home game at halftime to fly to Oklahoma City in order to watch Culver play in an NCAA Tournament game.
The Knicks had planned on interviewing Vanderbilt point guard Darius Garland and Virginia swingman De’Andre Hunter, but that got scrapped when both left the combine early.
Barrett bolted early too, leaving Wednesday after interviewing with just the Knicks and Grizzles then declining measurements — his most recent known wingspan measurement was 6-foot-10).