Knicks, RJ Barrett both thriving after last December's trade
The Toronto Raptors' RJ Barrett scores during first-half NBA action against the Miami Heat in Toronto on Dec. 1. Credit: AP/Chris Young
TORONTO — As he prepared to take the court for the Toronto Raptors against his former team on Monday night, RJ Barrett sat at his locker and paused for a moment as he considered a question. He thought back through his years in New York and realized that not a single player on the Knicks had been with the team when he arrived in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Back then, he was supposed to be the next big thing in New York, the No. 3 overall pick and a turning point for a franchise that had been floundering for years. The Knicks built around him, and then nearly a year ago — Dec. 30, 2023 — he got the call that he was gone. And despite the history there, the key role he’d played, he wasn’t surprised at all.
“Lots of stuff,” Barrett said, shaking his head. “Lots of stuff. I think I just got a vibe, kind of figured. I wasn’t really too surprised when it happened.”
He was the first of the group that had carried the team to respectability to go, dealt along with Immanuel Quickley to his hometown team in exchange for OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn.
Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo eventually followed him out the door in a preseason deal for Karl-Anthony Towns.
And that didn’t surprise him either.
“Nah, I think there’s certain things that you see that are out of the usual,” Barrett said. “But I think whenever you get traded, it is a surprise. I didn’t know when it would happen, that fast, that early, but it happened. I’m here and I’m thankful to be here.''
The Knicks were building the team around Jalen Brunson, a strategy that Barrett enthusiastically said was the right thing to do. And they have flourished since, winning 50 games last season and earning their second straight trip to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Knicks came into Monday’s game with a 14-9 record and the Raptors, with Quickley sidelined for much of the season and no return date imminent, were 7-17, second-worst in the Eastern Conference.
But Barrett has been what the Raptors hoped he would be. He returned home and had his season disrupted not only by the trade but a tragic illness to his younger brother, Nathan, who would pass away from an autoimmune disorder. The trade allowed him to be with family, to be there before his brother died.
And now, with a summer with the franchise behind him, he has averaged career bests in scoring (23.3 points per game), rebounds (6.6) and assists (5.9).
“Season’s been fun for me so far,” he said. “I think just kind of being ready to play, I think having a little bit of experience in the league. The system we have here fits my style very well, lots of running, cutting, moving. I think it’s been easier to figure some things out as well, talking to coaches all the time. Really trying to make it a point of me, all the rest of the guys jelling together, a bunch of things.
“Just being able to have a training camp here, making plans for the summer, figuring out what we want to do, how we want to play, things I need to do to be successful in the system. A lot of things went into it for sure.”
“I think the best thing about young players is the ability to improve,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I think there’s been steady progress throughout his career. I think as he’s gained experience, he’s added things. We always felt he was a good player. He was a good player for us and he continues to improve and that’s a credit to him and the way he works.”
Barrett has found a home — at home, living in the city where he grew up and where his father, Rowan Barrett, still oversees the Canadian National Team. But the Knicks certainly have no regrets about the deal, either, with Anunoby serving as a key part of the team that the Knicks have put together around Brunson.
“Just different skill sets,” Thibodeau said, “I think RJ and Quick added a lot to our team. OG was different. His versatility and size was something we were looking for. Getting Precious as well was important. But you have to give good players up. So I think it was a good deal for both teams.”
Notes & quotes: After warming up before the game, Towns was back in the lineup. He sat out Saturday's loss to the Pistons with patellar tendinopathy in his right knee. Cam Payne was back in the lineup after sitting out the previous two games with left elbow effusion.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
