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Duke small forward RJ Barrett's AAU coach, Dwayne Washington, says if the Atlanta Hawks trade up in the 2019 NBA Draft to take Barrett, they would “be the ones laughing.”
There are a few rumors going around that the New York Knicks, who have the No. 3 overall pick, might trade down in the June draft. Barrett is widely expected to be the third player taken in the draft after Zion Williamson and Ja Morant.
Washington says Barrett wants to go to the Knicks because they have the third overall pick. He adds that the Hawks would be the Golden State Warriors of the East if they are able to pair Barrett next to Trae Young.
“If Atlanta gets him, they are going to be the ones laughing,” Washington told Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. “Atlanta is going to be the Golden State of the East and just like when people were laughing when the Warriors got Steph (Curry) and said, ‘He’s too skinny. He’s too small.’ Now everyone would trade for him. You have to have foresight otherwise you’ll be watching the games next to me from the stands.
“If they got RJ, they would be getting someone who could free up Trae Young off the ball like Steph Curry. It’ll make Trae a lot better player because he’ll have a facilitator who’s also a threat to score. You could play RJ at the 2-guard or at the 3, and now Trae would be less of a liability in the playoffs. Atlanta is trying to build for the playoffs obviously, and in today’s game, there’s a lot of switching. You can’t have a 6-foot-1 guy on a 7-footer and get caught up with that. RJ would help be the security blanket and help Trae.”
Barrett averaged 22.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists at Duke while shooting 45.4 percent from the field, 30.8 percent from beyond the arc and 66.5 percent from the free-throw line.
We'll see if the Hawks move up to No. 3. It appears Washington is sending a message to the Knicks that they shouldn't pass on Barrett.
