{"id":238680,"date":"2021-04-29T23:00:09","date_gmt":"2021-04-29T20:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/rj-barretts-rise-from-knicks-draft-doubts-to-budding-all-star\/"},"modified":"2021-04-29T23:00:09","modified_gmt":"2021-04-29T20:00:09","slug":"rj-barretts-rise-from-knicks-draft-doubts-to-budding-all-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/rj-barretts-rise-from-knicks-draft-doubts-to-budding-all-star\/","title":{"rendered":"#RJ Barrett’s rise from Knicks draft doubts to budding All-Star"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#RJ Barrett’s rise from Knicks draft doubts to budding All-Star<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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As Knicks brass debated whether to stay at No. 3 in the 2019 draft and take RJ Barrett or trade down to pick up another asset, Knicks GM Scott Perry stuck to his instincts.<\/p>\n

Legitimate offers were out there, including one from Atlanta, which wanted to swap its Nos. 8 and 10\u00a0picks with the Knicks to move up to No. 3 for Barrett.<\/p>\n

Some members of the basketball operations staff thought that could be the route \u2014 unconvinced about Barrett\u2019s athleticism, 3-point shooting and inability to use his weak right hand on rumbles to the basket.<\/p>\n

\u201cA shooting guard who can\u2019t shoot,\u201d one skeptical scout from another organization pondered before that draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cScott kept saying \u2013 we have to pick him, we have to pick him,\u201d one NBA source familiar with the situation told The Post.<\/p>\n

\u201cHim\u201d is Barrett, who at just 20 years old and with only one-and-a-half seasons worth of game<\/a>s under his belt has leapt from a disapp<\/a>ointing rookie season to budding All-Star \u2013 his 3-point shooting (32 percent to 39 percent) and free-throw shooting (61.4 percent to 74.2 percent) having drastically improved.<\/p>\n

Barrett\u2019s skilled and crafty swoops to the hoop are smarter, too. \u201cBetter rim reads,\u201d as Tom Thibodeau put it. And his cagey defense is a plus instead of a minus.<\/p>\n

\"Knicks
Knicks guard RJ Barrett<\/figcaption>
Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even after an inefficient rookie season at age 19, there was still hope Barrett would blossom like spring tulips. When the Knicks met with Barrett multiple times during the pre-pandemic, pre-draft process, they sensed something bigger than his lack of elite athleticism.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Knicks saw his intangibles, his mental toughness, strong belief in himself, and his work ethic,\u201d another NBA executive said. \u201cHe also showed the ability to bounce back from bad plays or bad games with a short memory, perseverance. Those were all important\u00a0qualities that good NBA players have demonstrated over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perry and former Knicks president Steve Mills also saw Barrett\u2019s pedigree as a high school and college superstar. \u201cThey were\u00a0betting on his drive to become successful,\u201d the NBA executive said. \u201cFailure did not seem an option for him. And he was going to embrace the challenge of playing in New York. He just needed time to learn, grow and develop at this level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last week, Derrick Rose said Barrett is \u201ca perfectionist,\u201d and that could have hampered his rookie season when the Knicks had no leaders.<\/p>\n