New York Knicks: Third pick likely means R.J. Barrett
Barrett in the Knicks rotation
If the New York Knicks wind up keeping their pick, and Zion Williamson keeps his name in the draft (he can still return to Duke if he doesn’t want to play for New Orleans), expect RJ Barrett to be in a Knicks jersey next season. The Grizzlies have said that if Ja Morant is available at two they will take him and everyone knows Zion will go number one.
Therefore, RJ Barrett falls to the third pick where the Knicks are. Barrett will fit in perfectly with the Knicks as a shooting guard/small forward. The question then becomes, what does this mean for the Knicks rotation?
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The Knicks have several young players still under contract going into the 2019-20 season, which means they may have to move around a couple of players to accommodate Barrett’s inclusion in the starting lineup.
Barrett is a player who won’t need to sit on the bench to get acclimated to the NBA and the speed of play at that NBA level. He has the talent to be able to start out of the gate and be a player who can make an impact immediately. As for who will be a part of the starting lineup next year, that is a big mystery as we still have no clue who will join the team via free agency or trade.
There are plenty of rumors surrounding the Knicks and players such as Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, so if the New York Knicks go out and get either, or both of them, the starting lineup next season could contain 2-3 or more players who were not part of the Knicks last season.
So we will have to wait and see how Barrett fits into the Knicks rotation because at this moment in time we aren’t even sure what position he will play, or if the Knicks even keep their pick to get him.
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If the Knicks do keep the pick you can fully expect to see RJ Barrett, aka “The Maple Mamba” play 41 games in Madison Square Garden next season.