No. 6: RJ Barrett is on a perfectly fine contract
The second contract for high-scoring young NBA players is always a difficult one to negotiate. Such players have proven capable of scoring in the NBA, not an easy task, but often have not yet proven themselves in every role that a team is trying to project them for.
A handful of such players are obvious superstars, and those players are quickly given a max deal. What about that second tier? Players like Jordan Poole, Tyler Herro and RJ Barrett have recently been negotiating their second contracts and trying to get paid for their production by teams not entirely sure where they will end up.
RJ Barrett signed a four-year, $107 million contract extension with the New York Knicks. A top recruit who went third overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, Barrett had both proven himself as a scorer and had mixed results in supporting roles; 40.1 percent from three and solid defense in his second season on a playoff team, 34.2 percent and terrible defense in year three, 31 percent and excellent defense in his fourth season. Who is the real RJ Barrett?
The Toronto native is still just 23 years old and had the best stretch of his career since joining the Raptors earlier this past season. He averaged 21.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists (all career highs) and shot 39.2 percent from deep. That player is well worth the $26.75 average annual value on his contract that has three seasons left. There is still some uncertainty for Barrett moving forward, but he is off to a good start thus far with the Raptors.