Suns Squared: RJ Barrett

If they keep their draft pick, the Phoenix Suns want to draft a star regardless of position. RJ Barrett has that capability.

After looking at guards for the last couple of players in this series, let’s take a look at RJ Barrett a wing who could end up being a star in the NBA.

Barrett largely played second fiddle to Zion Williamson in their only season at Duke, yet he is a stud prospect in his own right.

Coming into college he had won at every level but still seemed to be a little raw. So with only one year of college, what can his stats tell us about his game?

Barrett’s physical gifts are widely chronicled and he deftly employs said gifts when scoring, which he did at a high level in 2018-19 averaging 22.6 points per game, 25.7 points per-40min, and posting 35 points per 100 possessions with an individual offensive rating of 110.1.

Needless to say, wow.

Phoenix Suns

Don’t tell me that you wouldn’t love that kind of scoring ability playing next to Devin Booker, again, regardless of position.

Complementing his innate ability for buckets, Barrett displayed a deep bag of moves as well as good footwork to allow him to create space for shots and get to the rim.

He also utilized his body to draw 5.2 fouls per-40min, a critical skill to earn easy buckets when he gets to the Association.

Needless to say, Barrett’s scoring prowess will be his calling card going forward.

Barrett also flashed a solid passing ability and displayed upper-level rebounding for his size and position.

He posted an assist percentage of 23.5% which was good for top-20 among forwards in the NCAA and led the ACC at his position.

Barrett’s defensive rebounding numbers were good too at 17.2% overall and 16.7% in conference games. Both place him in the top-20 range for forward rebounders in the ACC.

The Suns are clamoring for a tall defender who can take on the occasional power forward and Barrett has the length and athleticism to defend at a high level if he applies himself and plays hard.

Defensive all-in-one metrics are extremely noisy, but he did post 2.7 defensive win shares which ranked 19th in the NCAA and 3rd in the ACC.

Barrett’s significant and solid numbers are not without downside, and his need for polish also comes through in his stats.

Although he wasn’t counted on as a deep shooter,  31% from 3 leaves plenty to be desired; and 67% from the free throw line is a sign of poor shooting all the way around, which given how solid his mechanics are is quite worrisome.

One might argue that he often forced contested shots which worked to diminish his shooting percentage and efficiency numbers, which in and of itself is something to contemplate given his physical profile and natural abilities.

Barrett also committed an average of 3.2 turnovers per game and displayed a tendency to drive into a mass of bodies without a semblance of a plan of attack.

He also was not active off the ball especially when it came to the offensive glass where he posted a 4.8% offensive rebound rate.

Barrett also had an extremely high usage rate of 32.2% and quite a few possessions ended with shots of his.

A final number to note is Barrett went 0-9 in the final minute of one-possession games this season – in other words, done count on him in the clutch.

For all the promise that R.J. Barrett does have, he does have significant weaknesses in his game that need to be improved for him to fulfill his potential and contribute long term.

But a high scorer next to Devin Booker, one who has the potential to be a star himself, will probably be too much for the Phoenix Suns to pass on, if given the opportunity to select him.