Duke Basketball: 2019 NBA Draft profile of Blue Devil guard RJ Barrett

Draft Stock

Barrett is going third. Barring a draft night aneurysm from David Griffin, Nola is picking up Zion and all signs point to Ja Morant as Memphis’ Mike Conley replacement, which leaves RJ on the board at no. 3. The Knicks or whoever ends up with the third pick is going to pick Barrett. I’d be astonished otherwise. Had you delivered this news–that Barrett would still be hanging around after picks 1 & 2–I’d have thought you belonged in the mental institution from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, rubbing elbows and spewing draft take senselessness with Jack Nicholson and Danny DeVito. Point being, Barrett, while still a unanimous top-5 prospect, saw his stock slip significantly over the course of the year.

Look, I was in Indianapolis and had my heart ripped from me Temple of Doom style when Zion and RJ obliterated my Kentucky Wildcats to start the year back in November. It was an experience defined by pain. However, even after that first introduction to what became the year of Zion (in the U.S. we have Zion and in China they have a year of the dragon, same thing really–each equally rare), I was even more impressed by Barrett. Following the past few summers and the in-person showcase, he still felt like the best overall player.

Of course, we all know that Zion turned into throat slicing human trampoline on the basketball court and left RJ inhaling every excuse for this poorly-put-together Duke team and their eventual demise. That, and Zion’s former AAU teammate, Ja Morant, exploded into a triple-double binger and founded the 20/10 club for points and assists.

This isn’t to say RJ underachieved in Durham, but rather, he lapsed into a situation where he shared a court with a generational talent who also couldn’t shoot, meaning Barrett’s weaknesses were more focused on than his frequent, practically habitual 30-point outings.

Either way, we’re about 2 weeks away from Barrett strolling up the stairs to shake Adam Silver’s hand, and putting on (probably) a Knicks cap, all while flashing his I’m gonna stick a knife in your eye smirk. Game on.