RJ Barrett is one of the best two-way wing players in the league. He is well-known for his elite perimeter defense and slashing ability, and is generally considered the face of the New York Knicks franchise. Last season RJ Barrett averaged 20.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 3.0 APG.
It seems as though RJ Barrett has been rewarded for his talents. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN has revealed that RJ Barrett is finalizing a four-year rookie extension with the New York Knicks. The extension could be worth up to $120 million in the future. Notably, RJ Barrett became the youngest $100 million player in the Knicks franchise history.
Barrett’s extension – which makes him the youngest $100M player in Knicks history at 22 — ends weeks of New York/Utah trade talks on Mitchell, and forces teams to start discussions over with significantly different deal parameters because of the Poison Pill provision.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 30, 2022
New York Knicks guard RJ Barrett is finalizing a four-year rookie extension that could be worth up to $120 million, his agent Bill Duffy of @BDA_Sports + @WME_Sports told ESPN, complicating the franchise’s offseason trade pursuit of Utah Jazz All-Star Donovan Mitchell.
Barrett’s extension – which makes him the youngest $100M player in Knicks history at 22 — ends weeks of New York/Utah trade talks on Mitchell, and forces teams to start discussions over with significantly different deal parameters because of the Poison Pill provision.
Adrian Wojnarowski notes that this extension could end up complicating the team’s “offseason trade pursuit” of Donovan Mitchell. That is unfortunate, but locking up RJ Barrett to an extension was the right thing to do. Two-way wings with size and athleticism are extremely valuable, and RJ Barrett still has the potential to develop even further. If RJ Barrett’s scoring becomes more efficient next season, there is even a chance that he becomes an All-Star.
The New York Knicks clearly value RJ Barrett, and we’ll see whether this extension ends up being good for the franchise going forward. There’s no doubt that RJ Barrett is an important player to the team, and perhaps we’ll watch him help the team become a contender once again in the future.
