2019 NBA Draft profile: Duke forward R.J. Barrett

Overall Outlook

With Zion Williamson and Ja Morant all but locked in as the No. 1 and 2 picks in this year’s draft, it’s between R.J. Barrett and Jarrett Culver as the next two selections. The New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers possess the next two selections. For Barrett, New York and Los Angeles are actually the best two landing spots for his career.

He doesn’t possess all the tools and intangibles needed to be a team’s top player, at least not yet. Assuming the Knicks land Kevin Durant in free agency as many of us assume, Barrett will either be entering a situation where he is playing with KD or LeBron James.

To come into the league as young budding phenom, and have the ability to play with one of the two best players in basketball would be huge for Barrett’s career, at least early on. The ability to lean on someone who’s literally done everything this league can offer is ideal, especially two guys who have had to handle the brunt of media scrutiny for parts of their careers.

Barrett will most likely enter a situation where he’s either playing in New York or Los Angeles, and the lights get no brighter than those two cities. His ability to adjust to all of the attention and noise of being an NBA player will be essential to his development as a player. He must show an ability to take a backseat on the floor and have a listening ear off of it.