RJ Barrett's contract extension with the New York Knicks was formally announced minutes before Donovan Mitchell's trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers was made public. You're probably emailing a distressed Nigerian Prince if you believe that was a coincidence.
After unsuccessful attempts to include Barrett in several iterations of the Mitchell trade, including setting a fictitious deadline of Monday to accomplish the transaction, the Knicks signed Barrett to an extension. Since the announcement would disappoint Knicks supporters, New York provided them with this consolation gift (which was wonderful news, albeit not as nice as getting Mitchell).
Did the Knicks' current front office want to extend Barrett's contract? The Knicks were not interested in extending the 22-year-old wing right now, according to two reports, and neither was team president Leon Rose and his right-hand man William "World Wide" Wessley.
A source in the NBA claims that the Knicks would have preferred not to extend Barrett's deal at this time. They desired to hold off until the mid-October deadline, if not until July 1, when he would have entered restricted free agency, to see him at training camp.
The NBA source claimed, "They didn't want to pay RJ now, they like RJ, but he's not one of their men. "Trading him in a Donovan deal was preferred. They weren't going to pay RJ immediately if they acquired Donovan without including Barrett in the deal.
Early in the summer, I had heard very strongly that the Knicks weren't all that sure that Barrett was worth a significant extension and that keeping Quentin Grimes, who this front team naturally selected late in the first round of last year, was their top objective. (This front office, of course, did not draught Barrett.)
Even though it wasn't their first choice, extending Barrett at this price was wise. First off, Barrett is a good player to keep around, and the Knicks hadn't extended a multi-year contract with a first-round draught pick since Charlie Ward in 1999. Barrett has significant talent; he can make his shot, and last season, he averaged 20 points per game. He needs to improve his decision-making, but he is a solid player. He needs to make his jump shooting more reliable and do a better job of setting up teammates. While paying a player who should be the third best player on a competitive team close to $30 million a season may appear excessive, as the wage limit increases in the coming years (the new TV agreement should begin in 2025), this amount won't seem out of the ordinary especially if Barrett continues to advance.
Although the Knicks eventually need a superstar player, waiting and extending Barrett are both good options. These are simply not the exciting, audacious plays that Knicks supporters have come to expect, and reports like the Mitchell one leave them feeling like Lucy yanked the football away from Charlie Brown.
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