RJ Barrett’s ceiling and if Karl-Anthony Towns should be in NY’s plans

SNY’s Ian Begley will be responding to and breaking down answers to Knicks questions from readers. Here’s the latest…

@RobertWCross —  I will give you a softball this morning. Can RJ reach his ceiling playing along side Julius Randle?

Thanks for the question, Robert. If that’s your softball, I’d love to hear one of your tough questions.

Given the stakeholders involved, this is a sensitive topic with significant implications. If the Knicks ultimately make that big trade for a star, they might have to choose between RJ Barrett and Randle***. Both Barrett and Randle have contracts that can help the Knicks salary match in a big trade. They also should be relatively team-friendly if the salary cap continues to rise.

Because of the trade implications, the answer to your question is important. If the Knicks feel like Barrett can be better without Randle, maybe they’d be more likely to move Randle in a trade.

If they feel like Barrett can reach his ceiling with or without Randle, maybe they look at potential trades differently.

Let’s take trades out of the equation for a moment.

If you look at the numbers from this season so far, the Knicks are functioning well with Barrett on the floor and Randle off of it. But they’re also playing really well with both Barrett and Randle on the court.

According to Cleaning The Glass, Knick lineups with Barrett and without Randle rank in the 88^th percentile in point differential (+8.9), 92^nd percentile in effective field goal percentage (59 percent) and 98^th percentile in forcing turnovers. (The percentiles are based on with at least 100 possessions played.)

Those are very strong numbers.

Knick lineups with both Barrett and Randle are equally impressive.

According to Cleaning The Glass, those lineups are in the 97^th percentile in point differential (+16.6), the 87^th percentile in points per possession, the 97^th percentile in turnover rate and the 95^th percentile in points allowed per possession.

So the numbers suggest that the Knicks are thriving with both players on the floor.

Could Barrett’s counting stats increase if Randle wasn’t here? Of course. He’d have the ball more often and, presumably, take more shots. But the numbers so far this season suggest that Barrett sans Randle is not a bulletproof concept.

As an aside, these two have been through some tough seasons together in an unforgiving market. (Mitchell Robinson has also been along for the ride). So it would be a fun storyline if Barrett, Randle and Robinson were integral in the Knicks’ resurgence, if it continues.

***I know some feel the idea that the Knicks will eventually trade for a star is a media creation. I’m here to push against that theory. As evidence, I’ll note that Knicks governor James Dolan has said on the record that team president Leon Rose was brought on to obtain “the best” talent.

@RichieGoldberg5 — Knicks don’t need either of them, they need a power forward. What are you people watching? Knicks have a guard or small forward guarding a power forward.

I think this was in response to a discussion on The Putback about potential trades for Zach LaVine and Karl-Anthony Towns. Richie, I believe, is referring to the team’s lack of depth at power forward. The Knicks could have added a veteran backup to play behind Randle. They chose not to. So far, that decision has looked sound. It will be second-guessed if Randle suffers an injury and the Knicks struggle in his absence.

Speaking of Towns…

@Dmowry26 — The question is why would they want him in the first place? He has an outrageous contract that he’s not worth!

His contract is onerous. But he and Jalen Brunson would be a force offensively. And if the Knicks kept Robinson in a hypothetical trade, they could still be solid on defense with Towns on the roster. (An aside: if you’re putting together hypothetical trade packages, I can’t see why Minnesota would demand Robinson in a deal. The club already has Rudy Gobert on the roster).

@GoldnNation — Why would the T’wolves break up the best team they’ve had in forever?

This is the other side of the coin for Minnesota.

If the club continues to win games this season, there’s no reason to move Towns. But the financial implications of paying Towns, Gobert, Jaden McDaniels and Anthony Edwards may be a factor here. If ownership decides that they can’t pay all of those players, one of them will presumably be available via trade.

@KnicksDNA — Who would be the lowest caliber player the Knicks could theoretically acquire in a trade based around Quickly/Grimes that would be considered a real improvement and not a lateral move?

This is a great question, in my opinion. My answer would be Toronto’s OG Anunoby.

The current legal dispute between the Knicks and Raptors would, presumably, take Anunoby off of the table for New York. He would be at the top of any list I’d make. Several impactful players will become available as the trade deadline approaches. So maybe there is an option outside of Anunoby when we get to late January.

One other note on the trade front: Bradley Beal’s back ailment bears watching. His lower-back strain is a source of concern among some stakeholders. The Suns said earlier this week that Beal would be re-evaluated in three weeks. If Beal is out for a significant period of time, the Suns will surely be aggressive on the trade market. Like the Clippers, they have fully committed to winning a title in a very tight window.