For RJ Barrett, the max extension he inked with the New York Knicks is a dream come true.
He is “honored and blessed” to be cemented with the Knicks for an extended period of time, noting that New York is the only place he wants to be.
“It feels pretty good,” Barrett said in a sitdown interview with Monica McNutt on MSG Networks (h/t Marc Berman of New York Post). “I feel honored and blessed. This is a place where I wanted to be. I was happy they first drafted me and now with the extension, to be here four more years, will be great and I’m just excited to get to work.”
Following the failed attempt to obtain hometown kid Donovan Mitchell in a long, media-frenzied standoff with the Utah Jazz, the Knicks turned their heads around and suddenly considered Barrett as their cornerstone of the future.
From being a rumored trading piece, Barrett found himself cashing in and signed on a four-year deal with the team which may reach up to $120 million in value.
At 22 years of age, he becomes the first official first-round pick of the Knicks to receive a multi-year extension since Charlie Ward in 1999. With that, the confidence is indeed blooming on the side of the ball club for the Canadian talent.
“I love New York. My mom grew up in New York and this is kind of like home to me,” Barrett when asked what it means to be a Knick. “I’ll always remember that first playoff game we had and how loud it was. A thing I’ll never forget and hope to get more of that.”
Barrett is coming off a robust 2021-22 season, wherein he saw averaging 20.0 points, 5.8 boards, 3.0 dimes in 70 games of play.
Now solidified at the middle of their core, New York is fully optimistic that Barrett’s time will come to reach that stardom.
