Barrett is a worker and is talented so he definitely can get there, but there’s also a world where he’s best served as a really good sixth man because of his defensive limitations and lack of consistent three-point shooting.
by EarthWarping
@Toronto Raptors
14 Comments
It’s really dumb all the takes lately about x or y player not being good enough to start on a contender. Or what their role would be on such squad. Who cares, it’s irrelevant right now.
Only question you should be asking about these guys is if they’re good enough to play their roles on a playoff team. Worry about the rest later when you actually get to that point. And for this specific case, there’s nobody close to replacing RJ as a starter on this squad so why even discuss this?
I’ve said it before but I wouldn’t be surprised if within the next 2-3 years we end up trading either RJ or Dick to get the 3&D POA wing we need. Both are best suited to play next to Scottie and a 3&D wing, so I can see it getting to the point we need to trade one of them to get that player.
That’s years away though.
All season on the raptors people have been saying ‘wait another 10 games’ with RJ but he was consistently good and not a liability from the perimeter. He should be starting.
On the other hand, I cannot imagine how good we’d have to be for RJ Barrett to be coming off the bench as a 6th man.
I cant imagine that
RJ would be a starter on many teams in the NBA, the way he played once a Raptor.
RJ Barrett is a top 15 player in the world at his position. Given his age, he could easily be considered a top 5-10 very soon.
This is a ridiculous take..
Only way this happens is if we trade (Wiggins) or draft a starting wing and Gradey outplays or outfits for the starting 2 spot over RJ with his scoring upside.
I still have some hope we see RJ figure out some defensive improvements because I know he wants it and will work
RJ plays off the ball so well. Why wouldn’t you pair him with the best player on your team who is likely ball dominant? How many stars in this league can put up 20+ pts playing off-ball?
22/6/4 on 62% TS is not a bench player.
RJ will be 24, he still has A LOT of room to grow his game. I think he can be an all star caliber player in the right system
Raptors don’t have the talent to have Barrett be a 6th man. This isn’t 2019 or 2020 where we have nba talent at every position
Yep. A team where RJ comes off the bench is what we need to build towards, been saying this from day 1
He’s absolutely a starter calibre player. Probably like the poor man’s Jaylen Brown. My biggest concern is the below league average free throw shooting for a guard in the nba. I don’t think he’ll ever be the scorer of a VC or DeMar. I don’t see him averaging more that 22 realistically but if he sharpens up that offensive game of his and can be more efficient like a 50/40/85 type player with like 17-20 point while giving you around 5 assists per game he could be an important complimentary piece for Scottie. We have 3 guys that can give you 20 on any given night, but what interest me is how they can keep the offence running when their individual games aren’t going. It’s what I like about Scottie, when he’s not scoring his season averages he finds other ways to help the team win on both ends. Barrett has great athleticism and is seriously underrated at finishing around the basket, I was seriously impressed in this aspect of his game having not really watched him before he came here.