There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding RJ Barrett this offseason. Not only was his contract situation still up in the air, his name was also mentioned in endless Donovan Mitchell trade rumors that ultimately didn't come to fruition.
But after the dust settled, RJ Barrett remains a New York Knick. He quietly signed his extension to stay in town – a four-year, $120 million deal – without much contention. He probably would've signed it sooner had the Knicks not been holding out for Spida.
Now with his future in New York settled, RJ Barrett was vocal on not getting caught up in the money, via New York Post:
“Everybody thinks they’re worth more than they got. That’s probably literally every person. I’m thankful, and I was taught to not watch other people’s pockets,” said Barrett, who would’ve been eligible for a bigger deal if he had waited until next summer. “My thought was I wanted to get a deal done, because like I’ve always said, I always wanted to be here. So I was trying to lock it in.”
It's hard to argue that $120 million is a small amount however way you look at it, but considering some of RJ Barrett's draft class peers signed deals for tens of millions more and it's a safe bet he could've held out for more. Tyler Herro just recently inked a deal for $130 million while Darius Garland was much closer to the $200 million range in guaranteed money. But to the incoming fourth-year wing, his desire to stay and get the non-basketball matters out of the way outweighed everything else.
For a Knicks team that's constantly been in flux, keeping a homegrown talent with star potential like RJ Barrett becomes a no-brainer.
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