NBA: RJ Barrett Could Prove Kevin Durant Was Wrong About Knicks

RJ Barrett could be ready to prove that Kevin Durant was wrong when he said the Knicks are not cool.

Even though Durant will miss the whole NBA season because of injury, it appears that what he has to say still matters. In fact, Durant recently commented on the legacy of New York Knicks and how the team isn’t generating interest in NBA right now.

In a recent radio interview with HOT 97, the Brooklyn Nets superstar went straight-forward with his thoughts about the Knicks. According to Durant, the reason why the Knicks are having a hardtime recruiting great players is because people don’t remember how good they were back in the day.

"it’s hard to get the best players to play here. I think a lot of fans look at the Knicks as a brand and expect these younger players, who in their lifetime don’t remember the Knicks being good, ” Durant said.

“I remember the Knicks being in the Finals, but the kids after me didn’t see that. So the brand of the Knicks isn’t as cool to them as, let’s say, the Golden State Warriors or even the Lakers or the Nets now. The cool thing right now is not the Knicks,” Durant added.

Prior to signing with the Nets, Durant has already admitted that it didn’t take long for him to make a decision. The Knicks and the Clippers clearly didn’t have the right mix to entice Durant to sign with them.

“It was really easy to see what these guys brought to the table. It’s not like I had to do any deep analysis of any player here,” Durant said about choosing the Brooklyn Nets.

However, the Knicks appeared to be on their way to prove everybody wrong including Durant. In his preseason debut with the team, Barrett scored 17 points and grabbed 7 rebounds to defeat the Washington Wizards 104-99. He impressed everybody in attendance and based on his statement after the game, it seems like the Knicks are counting on him to bring New York back on the map, NY Post reported.

“Everybody on the staff told me to keep going, keep pushing,” Barrett said. “It was great to have that support,” Barrett said after the win.

Knicks coach David Fizdale was pleased with Barrett’s performance and hinted that team could even get better as the season progresses.

“When you got a guy who really has belief in himself and doesn’t lose confidence or waver, he’s always engaged in the game. He always feels he has a chance to get it going,” Fizdale said about Barrett.