RJ Barrett experienced a sense of homecoming as he was officially dealt by the Toronto native to the Toronto Raptors from the New York Knicks at the close of the 2023 season. In his fifth professional season, Barrett—who was born in The Six in June 2000—returned to his hometown and native nation.
Due to RJ’s inconsistent performance with the Knicks, the front staff decided to look into transferring him. Barrett was just 19 when he was picked, so some setbacks are to be expected, but with young athletes, perseverance is always the key.
There was definitely some unfairness in the talks surrounding RJ when he was formally transported out of New York. Zach Lowe, a senior writer at ESPN, claims that
After being traded to the Raptors, some front office staff members and coaches referred to Barrett as a “toxic asset”.
RJ Barrett’s deal was viewed as a “toxic asset” by NBA management.
It’s evident that the negative perception of RJ had gone out of control, especially in light of his performance level generally after the move. Since coming back to Toronto, he has been amply demonstrating to those same doubters how wrong they were.
Barrett has averaged career-highs in points, assists, and rebounds per game in 27 Raptors games while maintaining career-best shooting splits from three-point range and the field overall. In just his fourth game with his new team, on January 7, RJ scored 37 points in a win over the Warriors, which ranked as his third-best scoring night of his career and his highest since 2022.
In the month of March, he is now averaging 22 points on 55% shooting, and his contract worth has increased.
much throughout the previous two and a half months. Barrett has a $107 million, four-year deal that he is now in the first year of. That would have seemed like a burden three months ago, but considering his better play, it now appears to be a marginal bargain.
Once more, circumstances play a huge role in deciding one’s success in the NBA. It’s obvious that RJ needed a change of scenery, and now that he’s back in his hometown, his play is really taking off.
