It’s a mini event in New York: a player selected by the Knicks in the first round extends his contract. It hadn’t happened since 1999, and back then it was Charlie Ward. The lucky winner is RJ Barrett, who was drafted 2019 in 3rd place behind Zion Williamson (Pelicans) and Ja Morant (Grizzlies). Like her, he has therefore won a nice contract extension, but the New York franchise will not offer him the maximum.

According to ESPN, which is divulging the information, Barrett extends $120 million over four years, and it’s the reward for consistent progression in the NBA with an average of 20 points last season, 5.8 rebounds and 3 assists. To give an idea of ​​his level, the Canadian is one of five players to have accumulated 3,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 200 3-pointers by the age of 22. The other four are Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Luka Doncic. What superstars.

The Canadian, son of a former Pro-A player, is one of the top three players in New York practice alongside All-Star Insider Julius Randle and Mavericks rookie Jalen Brunson. At her side we can find Frenchman Evan Fournier, pivot Mitchell Robinson or former MVP Derrick Rose.

The abandoned Donovan Mitchell track?

The big question is whether this contract extension will end talks with the Jazz over the transfer of Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert’s former teammate. According to ESPN, Knicks executives had set a deadline for Barrett’s renewal, so they stuck to it. This extension puts the brakes on talks with Utah because it is now getting complicated to involve the Canadian again in a possible change. He was the most interesting player in a trade, although the Jazz are more focused on recovering early rounds of the draft. If the Knicks are serious about signing Donovan Mitchell, the two sides still have a month to come to an agreement. Then training camps start and it becomes more difficult to switch the workforce.