There’s little to cheer about if you’re a New York Knicks fan, but the development of R.J. Barrett provides hope in a better future at Madison Square Garden.
The New York Knicks are a 1987 Ford Tempo with three flat tires and an exhaust that backfires.
It’s not pretty. The only good thing about them these days? R.J. Barrett. He’s the lone inflated tire.
Barrett was the third-overall pick in last year’s NBA Draft, a 19-year-old kid out of Duke challenged with being the eventual face of the franchise. The same franchise that hasn’t been to the Eastern Conference Finals since 1999. The same franchise that is owned by Jim Dolan, and promised both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant in free agency without coming close to landing either.
While Barrett doesn’t have the look of a superstar, he does appear to be a real building block. This is sharp contrast to New York’s former first-round picks Kevin Knox and Frank Ntilikina.
Coming into Friday night’s game against the Indiana Pacers, Barrett had started 44 of the Knicks’ 45 games. The former Duke star is averaging 13.6 points per game, shooting 38 percent from the field and 32 percent from behind the 3-point stripe. None of those numbers are eye-popping, but for a teenager with no help on his second coach in the NBA? Not bad either.
Of course, none of this may matter. If Dolan continues to own the team and run it into the ground — which is seemingly the only way he has ever run it — the Knicks will churn players and earn losses. Barrett will only be another what-could-have-been for the New York faithful.
However, there’s at least reasons to dream and believe in Barrett’s potential. He’s the best selection the Knicks have made since Kristaps Porzingis. While the end result of the Latvian star was a trade to dump Tim Hardaway Jr.’s contract before landing Irving and Durant (and then never doing so), perhaps this turns out better.
With only one good wheel, a car is useless and the functioning tire is overlooked. Such is Barrett’s life currently.
Hopefully so, Dolan sells the car and the new owner can slap three new wheels on it.