The New York Knicks drafted RJ Barrett with the third overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and even though he largely struggled last season, he's still the player with the greatest upside on the Knicks roster. However, after a few preseason games, it doesn't appear that coach Tom Thibadeau intends on maximizing Barrett's potential and is set on playing lineups that cramp the spacing around him.

On the daily Locked On Knicks Podcast, host Gavin Schall broke down the Knicks lineups they deployed in their first few preseason games and wondered if both RJ Barrett and the Knicks would be better off if he just didn't start.

Gavin Schall: If the Knicks are going to continue to play the same lineups… they would almost be better off starting either Reggie Bullock or Austin Rivers at the small forward spot instead of RJ Barrett… I hate that I'm saying this, I might throw up, but just let Randle cook with the starting unit, let him do his thing, let him throw passes around. My logic in the preseason was more so that I wanted the opposite and I would say like build your starting lineup around RJ. However, if they're going to insist on starting Randle, and to some extent, he's more prepared than RJ to be the offensive fulcrum, if that is Tibs priority, they should just bring RJ off the bench. Let him roll with Obi Toppin, Mitchell Robinson, Frank or DSJ, and Knox or Bullock may be in there too or someone like Burke's just play him with as much shooting as humanly possible, maximize his strength, and that means he's not starting I don't really care because I think he's gonna play the same amount of minutes in the aggregate anyways. I think it's just a better fit for him ultimately.