The RJ Barrett and Brandon Ingram Fit

Ok this one is very important to me. I have a big problem with NBA fan culture as it stands today, and I am guilty of participating in the discourse that I hate. When the Raptors were in talks to trade for Brandon Ingram, the thought was we'd be sending RJ Barrett the other way. Most people in my circle of NBA friends were dead against this. RJ is cheaper, younger, scores almost as effectively, although differently, and is already growing with our young core. I agreed with this take, especially because RJ Barrett has grown to become my favorite Raptor. When the trade was announced, Brandon Ingram for Kelly Olynyk, Bruce Brown and a Pacers first round pick, I and a lot of fans changed their tune and were excited for all of 30 seconds. Immediately after the excitement died down, the #1 question in my group chat was what are we going to trade RJ for now? This drives me up the wall, leading up to the trade we don't want to trade RJ for BI, it's not worth it, once the trade is announced all anyone wants to do is trade RJ to make room for BI. I wanted to take a bit of time here today to go over why I think those 2 can work well together and why I think RJ should be part of the Raptors long term. 

    First I think it's important to look at the fit. People have this big idea that RJ Barrett can't fit next to a guy like Brandon Ingram, but I don't see any reason why that would be the case. Brandon Ingram does most of his work from the mid range. He doesn't have a lightning quick first step to get to the rim consistently but he does have great footwork, length and a buttery jump shot that he can get off over almost anyone. A cool tool I learned about is if you go to Statmuse and ask it to pump out a shot chart for any player it shows you the areas of the floor they take the most shots. Brandon Ingram's is spaced out all over the court with his most frequent usage coming outside of the key and inside the arc. RJ Barrett however, gets his offense exclusively at the rim or catching and shooting from 3. RJ Barrett doesn't settle for mid range shots unless he is forced into a bind. He has a unique ability to use his stubbornness to get to the rim where he's able to finish in a variety of ways. To put it in perspective, RJ Barrett attempts 8 shots inside 5 feet per game. The next highest mark on the team is a center Jakob Poeltl, who gets his attempts largely off of putbacks and assists, and is only at 5.9 attempts per game. Brandon Ingram is at 3.1 attempts per game. Getting to the rim is maybe the most important part of offense in the NBA today, it creates kick out opportunities for 3s, high percentage finishing opportunities and it bends a defense in a way no other action can. Without RJ Barrett, there is simply not a single player on the team who can get to the rim consistently. RJ lacks in his ability to create in the mid range when a play breaks down, that's where Brandon Ingram can be so impactful. You now have RJ to get to the rim consistently all game and BI to close it out in the midrange when things get tough. 

    Next I think the biggest thing is looking at how RJ has been able to adapt and change his role based on what the team needs from him. When the Raptors first got RJ from the Knicks, the thought was he's a bit of a black hole on offense, inefficient volume scorer on a bad contract. With the Raptors he's been anything but. I get this is a small sample size, but RJ has shown he can be effective when playing with other creators in the Raptors system. There were 7 games that RJ overlapped with Siakam and Scottie Barnes in Toronto, in those 7 games he averaged 19/7/3 on 54% shooting from the field. His game was simplified to get him moving off cuts, making quick decisions with the ball rather than being asked to create 100% for himself. I think Brandon Ingram is a similar fit for RJ as Pascal was, a player that is going to demand a lot of attention, have the ball in his hands to create a lot and a solid playmaker that can use players in a motion offense. RJ Barrett will go from primary initiator of the Raptors offense to secondary scorer with a more efficient option ahead of him. The other aspect I want to point out here is RJ has leveled up as a passer from this season to last. Adding a more talented scorer to the mix should open up more opportunities for RJ to playmake off his drives, which should have BI salivating. 

    Finally, we need to acknowledge RJ's love for the city. How often in Toronto do we get athletes who genuinely love to be here? You see it a lot with the Jays who play in the summer when the city is notably awesome. You see it a lot with hockey where Toronto is the biggest market for the sport and the players are mostly from cold places or Canada anyway. In basketball though, there's very rarely that genuine bond for Toronto that you see in RJ Barrett. The last star level guy we had who actually loved Toronto was DeMar DeRozan and the team traded him for a dude who wouldn't even stick around after winning a championship. RJ's passion for playing in this city really shows up in his home and road splits. At home RJ Barrett averages 25/7/5 on 51% shooting from the field. On the road he averages 18/6/6 on 43% shooting. Maybe RJ Barrett is too difficult of a player to fit in a playoff rotation on a team looking to make a deep run. Maybe his defense never comes around and when the Raptors look to make that next step they need to take a hard look at RJ, but until then why shouldn't we enjoy every second of a homegrown player playing with true passion for this city and country? 

    That's all, I think the team is better with more scoring threats on it. Even with Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett scores in a way that nobody else on the team scores, he is willing to adapt his role to fit what the team needs and has shown so throughout his time in Toronto and he absolutely loves the city. I would be really sad to see #9 playing in a different city. I understand that fans care about salary cap mumbo jumbo now, but I personally just enjoy seeing players play, especially ones who leave it all out there for their team like RJ does. I think the fit will be splendid and I can't wait for these guys to prove it. Go Raptors!