The New York Knicks and rising star forward RJ Barrett are on the verge of finalizing a four-year contract extension. at $120 million, Barrett’s agent Billy Duffy told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Monday night. If signed, it will not only complicate the Knicks’ pursuit of Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, but will also end one of the NBA’s most embarrassing periods as Barrett New York’s first choice signed a multi-year contract extension since Charlie Ward. 1999.
Barrett, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, is now slated to be a cornerstone prospect for the future.
He should be as the Knicks’ pursuit of Mitchell is now at a crossroads. New York has been trying to trade for the All-Star guard, and while Barrett has not been involved in those discussions, his name has reportedly been raised in recent trade talks between the two sides.
The Knicks reportedly set Monday night to complete a trade with their eyes on another way to sign Barrett to his contract. While New York and Utah could still make a trade without Barrett, both sides need to get back to the draft if they hope to get a deal done before opening night. With that in mind, here are three highlights on Barrett’s new deal:
The poison pill
While Barrett’s extension does not preclude him from being traded this season, it does indicate a problem with using his salary in such a deal. At the end of New York, things never change. Read also : Lakers’ Russell Westbrook splits with longtime agent Thad Foucher over ‘irreconcilable differences’. He will still count his 2022-23 salary of $10.9 million for salary comparisons in trades.
However, an upcoming salary for Utah, his cap will be much higher. Between now and when Barrett’s extension begins during the 2023 offseason, his salary to the Jazz or any other team that acquires him is the average of the five seasons he has sign up now. This is about $26.2 million.
This is more of a distraction than a real problem, especially since the Jazz don’t need to pay Barrett that much cash up front. It’s just the number he expects to be based on saving a portion of the trade. What makes it difficult is to match the trade within the league’s trade concessions. For a transaction of this size, a party cannot send more than 125 percent of the payment they use.
Mitchell is making north of $30 million, so the Jazz are lucky to have some latitude here, but it makes it difficult for them to use contracts from the New York side. Since Barrett only counts $10.9 million as the Knicks salary, the Knicks need to give away one more hefty contract to reach the 125 percent. Evan Fournier is the name often mentioned in the reports.
Again, it’s a problem that can be solved if both sides agree to a deal, but just giving Barrett this extension suggests that the Knicks plan to keep him. If there is a deal to be made here, it will likely center around draft picks and other players on New York’s roster.
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The streak
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The young star
For all the problems the Knicks have had this century, their books have been good. Kristaps Porzingis and David Lee both made All-Star teams during their rookie contracts in New York. Players like Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Iman Shumpert and Channing Frye all went on to have successful careers. Read also : Anxious U.S. is trying to celebrate July 4 marred by parade shooting. The New York case did not prove the young talent. It was taken care of.
Charlie Ward was the Knicks’ last draft pick before Barrett signed a new year extension. Porzingis, Gallinari, Chandler, Shumpert and Frye were all traded. Lee left as a free agent after the Knicks signed Amar’e Stoudemire. Most Knicks busts didn’t require new contracts.
Surprisingly, the Knicks gave a big second-rounder a contract to one of their own in the first round … but it only took time. The Knicks used a first round pick on Tim Hardaway Jr. in 2013, traded him in 2015, then paid him $72 million to return as a free agent in 2017. That, plus and free-agent signing Mitchell Robinson. In the off-season, it was as close as the promotion came before Barrett.
In many ways it was the best sign of the Knicks’ ineffectiveness. It could have included both poor team writing and bad management in the few times it could have been well written. But with Barrett’s signing, the Knicks can move past that ugly chapter in team history. For once, they’ve got a young player they really want to keep.
