"I'm all in": RJ Barrett looking to lead new-look Raptors
RJ Barrett heads into his second season with the Toronto Raptors with a chip on his shoulder and the chance to make some waves around the NBA.
Traded to the franchise last December from the New York Knicks as part of a blockbuster deal, few players in the league would know better what it’s like to represent the Raptors — and the country — as the franchise heads into its 30th anniversary season.
With Barrett once marketed as the possible face of the franchise in New York, he’s now looking to be a secondary leader in Toronto alongside players like Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley.
In his first half-season or so in Toronto, Barrett averaged 21.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 32 games for the Raptors. The marks were one of the best stretches of his career, showing some of the potential that was promised when New York took him third overall in the 2019 draft.
The unexpected death of his younger brother Nathan led to a nine-game absence for Barrett this past March, though he didn’t miss a beat on the court once he returned to play, putting up 26.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in five games following the absence.
This summer, Barrett was a key part of the Canadian Olympic roster built by his father, Rowan, a former Olympian himself in 2000. But while everyone in the country seemingly had high hopes for the team, Canada crashed out in the quarterfinals with a disappointing loss to eventual silver medallists and hosts France.
So what did Barrett ultimately take away from his Olympic experience, and how can he use that this upcoming season?
“The shorter rest time is the annoying part of it,” Barrett said on Monday’s media day of what playing in the Olympics did for his schedule. “But the good part of it is that I kind of just stay in shape basically the whole year round… I think just playing in the summer helps coming into the beginning of the year because I’m constantly in rhythm. I’m always in rhythm.”
Shortly after the loss to France, Barrett was out in Spain with many of his Raptors teammates on an excursion led primarily by Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic.
“Honestly, right after we lost, I was on the bus on the way back to the hotel, and I called [Raptors assistant coach] Jama [Mahlalela] right away, actually. We got it figured out really pretty quickly. This is.. it’s the Raptors, man. This is my team, my home. I wanted to be there with my teammates,” Barrett said.
While nobody would’ve faulted Barrett for wanting to take some post-Olympic time off, he felt it was important for him to show up for whatever the franchise needed in the summer.
“We have a lot of new faces and rookies coming in so and I was new to the team. I was only here for half the year. So [I] just continue to try to build relationships with the people here, continue to learn the system, just like I said, what coach wants us to do so that I could be better,” Barrett added. “The guys could see me, see me, hear my voice, my leadership. And I wanted to show that if I can have just played in the Olympics and still show up and be there with the guys… I’m just trying to show that I’m here, and I’m all in.”
The Raptors are currently in Montreal for training camp. Their season starts on October 23 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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