When the whole world thought he was a support, he used a silky operation to come up with a "Penta Kill", showing his talent and telling everyone that he can still be qualified for the core position.
At the end of last month, the Raptors sent OG-Anunoby to the Knicks in exchange for RJ Barrett and Quickley, and then put Siakam on the shelf, all kinds of behaviors are hinting at one thing, they are going to restructure the roster around Scottie Barnes, but what people didn't expect is that although the Raptors laid everything in the ground, just when Barnes was about to take the throne, RJ Barrett next to him took the lead and put on the crown, don't be surprised, after all, it is the scout of the draft year, and this is the home of others.
Tom Thibodeau has never been a coach who is good at developing rookies, and his strategy is more experience than talent, so under his hands, RJ Barrett has not received special care, no tactical position, and no unlimited fire on the ball, this season, he has not even averaged 30 minutes per game, as for performance, Barrett has always been tepid.
As Carmelo Anthony commented: "He's a mediocre player, it's not that he's criticised, it's not disrespectful, it's just that he feels good and talented, but it's just not interesting, you don't know if he's got 4 points or 26 points. ”
Yes, RJ Barrett is indeed a guy full of talent, but in the Knicks, next to Randle and Brunson, he is destined to have no sense of existence, and he will definitely not get too high a score, even if he gets a 26 points, but when you look at the news, you will find that everyone is reporting Brunson who scored 38 points, or Randle who got 25+10+5, one of them has a big heart and scoring explosiveness, and the other is versatile and can fill the data column, so who cares about the impact of a three-leader on the team?
Fortunately, RJ Barrett was finally traded, and he happened to return to his home court, time + place + people, not "usurpation" at this time, but when?
In his first game after joining the Raptors, Barrett contributed 19 points and 9 rebounds on 6-of-12 shooting at home, helping the team capture the Cavaliers, who had a winning rate of more than 60%;
Then, Barrett became more and more courageous, and in the game against the Warriors, he scored 37 points, setting a new season scoring record;
A day later, Barrett got his first double-double of the season against the Lakers, scoring 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists;
After 12 games, Barrett handed over a report card averaging 20.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game, shooting 56% from the field and 38% from three-point range, including career highs in points, rebounds, assists, and shooting.
Compared to the New York era, Barrett is now more valued, more confident in handling the ball, not only with much more efficiency, but also with a lot fewer turnovers than before.
Now look at it, the Raptors traded to RJ Barrett, no. M simply wants the latter to be an assistant, as a Canadian team, they know and are familiar with Barrett, and they also have a large number of supporters here, whether Barrett can eventually cash in on his talent, for the Raptors, this is a sure-fire deal.