Perhaps no one was more surprised by the trade that sent shooting guard RJ Barrett from the New York Knicks to the Toronto Raptors back in January than Barrett himself. Barrett recently opened up about his true feelings the moment he learned that he was going to pack his bags and leave the Big Apple to play for New York's Atlantic division rivals.
“It was just a confusing day — emotionally, obviously,” Barrett shared to ESPN.
“I was happy coming here, but then definitely felt a little weird being traded from a place that I had been for 4½ years. So it was mixed emotions.”
The former Duke Blue Devils star was traded by the Knicks to the Raptors along with guard Immanuel Quickley and a 2024 second-rounder that is owned by the Detroit Pistons in exchange for OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, and Malachi Flynn.
Naturally, there is an adjustment period in his new professional surroundings for Barrett, though, the fact that he is a Toronto native should be making things easier for the Knicks' first-round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
In his first 14 games with the Raptors, Barrett has averaged 21.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists, while making 55.1 percent of his shots from the field and 36.4 percent of his attempts from deep.
Barrett appears to be getting a bigger role in Toronto than he did with the Knicks this season. Still just 23 years old, Barrett can be part of the future plans of Toronto beyond the duration of his current deal which will expire by the end of the 2026-27 NBA season.
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