New York Knicks: RJ Barrett needs more to do more

To truly accentuate their young two-guard, the New York Knicks should start by surrounding RJ Barrett with teammates who make his life easier.

RJ Barrett joined the New York Knicks with a clear picture of how he’d succeed. He’d struggle to shoot the ball but could get to the basket and create looks near the bucket for himself and earn trips to the line.

Those strengths were on display throughout his abridged rookie season. He ranked third among rookies in drives and free-throw attempts. Only Zion Williamson and Ja Morant got more looks in the restricted area on a nightly basis.

As many efficient looks as Barrett created, he didn’t fare as well at finishing them. Among the 10 most frequented first-years in restricted area shots, only Coby White finished at a lower percentage than Barrett, who was also a sub-40 percent shooter off drives.

Those numbers will look better as Barrett grows stronger and attacks smarter, but the Knicks can do their part to help in ways they failed to provide during his rookie season.

Spacing is a vital element to any modern-day offense, particularly ones where primary initiators, like Barrett, can’t do it for themselves. With a predictable shot profile, these non-shooters need teammates to create the lanes they can take advantage of.

Barrett could never attack the basket with a clear runway. The paint was always clogged with a frontcourt rotation of Mitchell Robinson, Julius Randle, Bobby Portis and Taj Gibson.

Help defenders always felt comfortable abandoning Frank Ntilikina, Elfrid Payton or any other Knick stationed beyond the arc, as Ian Mahinmi did without hesitation in the play below from February.

Most teams have little ability to shape the roster around their young star, at least not heading into Year 1. New York was the exception, flushed with cap space it hoped to spend on Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving before being forced to pivot and spread the money among lower-level free agents.

They knew the type of teammates Barrett needed to thrive. Of the seven players brought in during free agency, only three could be considered above-average floor-spacers. One (Marcus Morris) was traded at the deadline. Another (Wayne Ellington) got only 15.5 minutes a night.

The Knicks were a bottom-two team in 3-pointers made and attempted per game. Of the minimal shooting at their disposal, very little of it was used to stretch the court for Barrett.

Barrett shared the court with 13 different Knicks throughout the season. Those with the fewest minutes alongside RJ were Damyean Dotson, who shot 36.3 percent from three this past season, and Ellington, who shot 35.0 percent and is a career 37.8 percent shooter. Three of the four top teammates in minutes shared were Randle, Payton and Gibson.

In a league where the right to make lottery selections is determined with some semblance of unpredictability, it’s incredible how little we attribute the verdicts of young players to the teams they play for.

Consider Barrett, whose exclusion from either All-Rookie teams has already cast doubt on the reigning No. 3 pick who turned 20 in June despite averages of 14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.

There’s no getting around what Barrett has to work on, even if his averages — which no other rookie matched or exceeded — suggest he’s farther along than you’d think. His lefty stroke failed him from downtown (32.0) and, even more alarmingly, from the free-throw line (61.4). Youngsters naturally have so much to learn about the game at both ends.

And yet, player development is a two-way street between player and team, something the Knicks didn’t seem to understand in regards to their highest draft pick since Patrick Ewing.

Complementary defense-stretchers like Tony Snell, Kelly Olynyk and D.J. Augustin will be available in free agency when New York can free up close to $50 million in cap space. Signing them is step one. Using them to clear out the paint for Barrett would be the next.

Zion got to play with a former All-Star in Jrue Holiday and the league’s Most Improved Player in Brandon Ingram. Ja was running two-man games with Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke, two of the most impressive young bigs the NBA has.

RJ might not be as ready-made as the only two players picked ahead of him in the draft, but he’s still someone with All-Star potential. New York just has to give him the stage to let him begin reaching for his ceiling, At this point in their relationship, doing so doesn’t require that much.