Former Knicks lottery pick putting up All-Star numbers with new team | Sporting News

A former New York Knicks lottery pick is off to a scintillating start to the 2024-25 season with his new team.

The Knicks have done some serious roster reshuffling over the past 12 months, most recently with the addition of Karl-Anthony Towns, for whom New York had to give up Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to acquire.

You can’t get great value in an NBA trade without relinquishing value in exchange, and while the Knicks will sorely miss both Randle and DiVincenzo, Towns’s 44 points on Wednesday sent a widespread sigh of relief through New York.

Another key acquisition the Knicks had to pay a pretty penny for was OG Anunoby.

Last December, New York added Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, and Malachi Flynn by giving up Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, and a 2024 second-rounder to the Toronto Raptors.

Anunoby was paramount for the Knicks during their 2024 playoff run before getting injured, leading to very few complaints about the trade.

It is notable, however, that Barrett — whom New York selected at No. 3 overall in the 2019 NBA draft — is absolutely thriving with the Raptors to start this season.

After missing Toronto’s first three games due to injury, Barrett has been a walking bucket in the last four. He’s scored over 30 points in each of his last three games, including most recently 31 in an overtime victory over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night.

Barrett finished with 31 points, nine rebounds, and six assists versus the Kings on 10-for-26 from the field. Just 24 hours prior, Barrett dropped 33 points (14-for-22 shooting), 12 assists, and five rebounds on the Los Angeles Lakers.

The former Duke Blue Devil is averaging 28.8 points, 7.3 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game in 33.5 minutes per game on 49.4 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from three.

If Barrett continues on a pace anywhere close to the above numbers this season, he’ll keep grabbing Knicks fans’ attention.

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