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Knicks agree to four-year, $120M extension with R.J. Barrett
New York Knicks shooting guard RJ Barrett. Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

Knicks agree to four-year, $120M extension with RJ Barrett; potentially putting Donovan Mitchell pursuit on ice

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports  |  By Larry Brown  |  Last updated 8/30/22

The New York Knicks and RJ Barrett on Monday agreed to a big contract extension that could have some significant consequences.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski shared the news about the Barrett contract. Barrett is getting a four-year, $120M contract extension from the Knicks.

According to Woj, the Barrett deal could end the Knicks’ pursuit of a trade for Donovan Mitchell.

Woj says the Knicks had imposed a Monday night deadline to get a Mitchell trade done or they would commit to the Barrett extension.

The rookie extension could complicate a Mitchell trade due to the “poison pill” circumstance. If the Knicks were to include Barrett in a trade to Utah after agreeing to the rookie extension, and before the extension takes effect, the accounting would be tougher for the Jazz. For the Knicks, only Barrett’s lower 2022-23 salary would count against them in trade salary matching. But for a team acquiring Barrett, the forward’s 2022-23 salary plus the average value of his extension would count against them. The uneven values makes it more complicated to trade a player who has agreed to a rookie extension before said extension takes effect.

Barrett was the No. 3 overall pick by the Knicks in 2019. The 22-year-old averaged 20.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game last season.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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