Knicks' RJ Barrett feels 'honored and blessed' to be in New York
RJ Barrett #9 of the Knicks looks on during the second quarter against the Chicago Bulls at Madison Square Garden on Monday, Mar. 28, 2022. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Knicks put the camera on RJ Barrett on Monday night for the first time since signing the 22-year-old to a four-year contract extension.
It took place 11 days after the Knicks announced the contract extension for Barrett and two weeks before the start of training camp. The Knicks had officially announced the contract extension at almost the same time that the trade sending Donovan Mitchell from Utah to Cleveland was breaking.
The Knicks held a Livestream with Barrett on Monday, but after spending last season pushing him out front as the face of the franchise, they opted to not allow media to be a part of this introduction. That prevented reporters from asking him to discuss the front office’s willingness to put him on the table in a potential trade before signing him to the contract extension.
With season-ticket holders gathered and only an MSG announcer on stage with him, Barrett wasn’t asked about anything troublesome. Instead, he was asked about returning to New York and detailing his emotions in the handful of highlights from last season.
Barrett is the first Knicks first-round pick to sign a multiyear extension since Charlie Ward got a second contract in 1999. He has never wavered from his desire to be in New York, from before he was drafted No. 3 overall in 2019 to his hope of remaining with the franchise.
“You know, it feels pretty good,” he said. “I just feel honored and blessed. This is a place where I wanted to be and I was happy that first they drafted me and now the extension to be here for four more years would be great and I’m just excited to get to work.”
That has been his trademark — a tireless worker who led the NBA in minutes played in his second season. He upped his scoring to a career-high 20.0 points per game last season but fell victim to some of the issues that troubled so many others, missing time after testing positive for COVID and suffering an ankle injury.
And the team struggled, dipping from the fourth seed and playoff appearance two seasons ago to a 37-45 record and a place in the lottery.
Barrett pointed to that first playoff game at Madison Square Garden as one of his fondest memories in his three NBA seasons and set his sights on returning to the postseason. Asked what he has learned from these ups and downs, he spoke of growing up in the spotlight.
“Lots. A lot. Especially from these men right here in the front,” he said, gesturing toward the front row, where Knicks president Leon Rose, coach Tom Thibodeau and other front-office executives were seated. “They taught me a lot every day. And especially just playing for Coach Thibs every day, teaching us hard work and just the type of work ethic you have to have to win in this league.
“Also growing up, trying to be a man now. I came in 19 and 22 now, just growing up learning different things about the world and about the NBA world.”
He may have learned something about the business side this summer, waiting out the contract extension — short of the max extension the Knicks could have given him — and not getting it until efforts to land Mitchell in a deal failed. But he never hinted at that, instead insisting he is where he belongs.
“I love New York,” he said. “My mom grew up in New York. So this is kind of like home to me . . . You know, I’ll always remember that first playoff game that we had in the Garden and how loud it was in there. Those are things that you never forget. So you know, just hoping to get more of that.”
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.
