NEW YORK — Has RJ Barrett earned max contract consideration? Something close the max?
These are pertinent questions as Barrett continued the best stretch of his career, scoring 31 points as the Knicks shellacked the Blazers Wednesday at Madison Square Garden, 128-98.
Barrett, who hasn’t scored fewer than 18 points in a game since January, is eligible for a five-year, $181 million extension before next season, a number that exceeds his production but maybe not potential.
Still just 21 years old, Barrett is now close to averaging 20 points this season and has proven durable since getting drafted third overall in 2019. Still, as scouts have noted, there’s a lower ceiling for a player like Barrett, who doesn’t carry elite athleticism or quickness.
His 3-point shot, once a misadventure, has become more reliable, with Wednesday night becoming the latest example at 5-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc.
If he inks an extension in the offseason, Barrett would break the dubious streak of no Knicks draft picks signing a second contract with the team since Charlie Ward.
If he doesn’t sign an extension before the end of next season, however, Barrett would become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2023, meaning the Knicks can match any offer.
“One hundred percent. It’s also been a goal of mine,” Barrett said of committing long term with the Knicks. “I’ve been trying to play my butt off and do everything out there to achieve that.”
Barrett took control early Wednesday with 21 points in the first half, as the Knicks held an 11-point advantage at the break. The lead ballooned to 20 heading into the fourth quarter, allowing the Knicks to cruise to their fourth win in their last six games.
The Knicks (29-40), who are five games out of the final play-in spot with 13 remaining, only gained a half-game in the race because the Hornets (34-35) beat the Hawks (34-34) on Wednesday night.
For the Knicks, it was an easy win.
Even with a chance at the final play-in spot, the decimated Blazers are clearly looking toward next season when Dame Lillard returns.
Lillard was shelved in November because of an abdominal injury, jumpstarting the Blazers’ youth movement. CJ McCollum was traded in February. Jusuf Nurkic missed his ninth straight game with plantar fasciitis.
It left the Blazers with a nondescript starting lineup at MSG. They lost for the eighth time in their last nine games.
“Obviously we have a lot of guys to develop and still try to win games,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “A lot of teaching has to happen. A lot of it is on the fly.”
Barrett took advantage. His contract negotiations will be more interesting.
No more Payne
The Knicks will have an empty spot on the staff.
Kenny Payne, an assistant under Tom Thibodeau, is expected to be named the head coach of the University of Louisville on Thursday. The 55-year-old, who won a national title as a player with the Cardinals in 1986, will take over a program that fell out of prominence after Rick Pitino was fired in 2017.
Louisville, which wrapped up another disappointing season at 13-19, fired its previous coach in January, Chris Mack, and were guided to the finish by interim Mike Peques.
The program hasn’t been prominent since Rick Pitino was fired in 2017 amid an FBI investigation into fraud and corruption.
Payne became one of the NBA’s highest-paid assistants when he joined the Knicks in 2020. He was boosted into the position by his friend and longtime associate, Knicks executive William Wesley.
Payne served as John Calipari’s assistant for a decade at Kentucky, where Wesley helped shape recruiting classes as a behind-the-scenes connector.
With the Knicks, Payne had four players who he coached at Kentucky — Julius Randle, Nerlens Noel, Immanuel Quickley and Kevin Knox.
Thibodeau had no prior relationship with Payne and was pushed by the front office to take him on the staff.
Another former Thibodeau assistant, Mike Woodson, left last year to coach Indiana University.
Rick Brunson is a person to watch to fill an assistant position next season. He has ties to Thibodeau and Leon Rose. The Knicks are also targeting Brunson’s son, Jalen, in free agency.
