The Raptors found a hometown star in Barrett. Now RJ must find his defense

When the Toronto Raptors acquired RJ Barrett as part of the OG Anunoby trade last New Year's Eve, most viewed the Canadian swingman as a salary-matching throw-in. From Toronto's perspective, the deal with New York was the Immanuel Quickley trade; the Raptors just happened to be taking a hometown flier on Barrett in the process. That point was driven home when the Raptors re-signed Quickley to a $162.5-million contract.

But injuries have limited Quickley to just three games this season, and we've yet to see the synergy with Scottie Barnes that Quickley's movement shooting, playmaking, and pull-up creation was supposed to bring. Meanwhile, Barrett has looked like a borderline All-Star, with the 24-year-old rejuvenated by the deal that sent him home.

As a Knick, it appeared Barrett might stall out as an inefficient, ball-stopping volume scorer prone to bouts of extreme tunnel vision. As a Raptor, he's morphed into a more efficient, versatile scorer on and off the ball who's happy to use the defensive attention he commands to create for teammates.

Barrett's efficiency soared immediately upon his arrival nearly a year ago, with Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic's movement-heavy system unlocking an off-ball cutter and catch-and-shoot threat. That efficiency has slipped this season as injuries to Barnes and Quickley have forced Barrett into more of a primary role with poor spacing around him, but these reps will only help him in the long run.

Barrett's averaging career highs in points, rebounds, and assists, and he's one of only six players averaging at least 23, six, and six (LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, and Cade Cunningham being the others). His playmaking, in particular, has been a revelation. Barrett's still prone to head-scratching turnovers (and he's still over-reliant on his left hand), but he's also seeing passes and making reads he simply wouldn't have a year ago.

(Source: Basketball Reference)

Most of Barrett's playmaking has been the result of his ability to get into the paint. He ranks ninth in drives per game and sixth in assists per game off drives, according to NBA.com. Overall, his assist percentage is in the 94th percentile among forwards, per Cleaning The Glass.

With the skills Barrett's honed playing an outsized role this season, and the off-ball tools he's sharpened playing alongside Barnes, it's not a stretch to envision him as the secondary scorer on a contending team one day. But it's a big jump from filling the role Barrett has on the cellar-dwelling Raptors to playing a supporting role on a trophy-seeking club. And if the Raptors decide he can't be part of the core that gets them there again, it won't be because of his offense.

The biggest issues for Barrett lie on the defensive end, and there are many. Though his strength and 6-foot-7 frame allow him to hold his own in one-on-one matchups, his lack of lateral quickness negates that length and strength on the perimeter. As a result, Barrett is porous at the point of attack.

Off the ball, he's even worse. Barrett can often be caught ball-watching and generally losing track of his man or defensive assignment, allowing cutting opponents too many easy baskets. He dies on screens, jogs back in transition, and doesn't make enough defensive plays to make up for any of it. Other than Barrett's solid defensive rebounding, his contributions on that end are minimal.

Rajakovic doesn't quite see it that way. "I think he's making strides with on-ball defense," the head coach told theScore after a recent practice. "There are a lot of those small things (he can do better). Is it a deflection when you need a deflection? Is it securing a rebound when you need it? Awareness on the weak side, knowing when he needs to come and help, keeping contact with his man - a lot of stuff that he can improve also applies to our whole team, not just him. But those are the areas that he needs to make strides."

While Rajakovic made a point of not singling Barrett out, that doesn't mean he's afraid to hold his player accountable. As Barrett told Sportsnet's Michael Grange, "Darko be on my ass. There's been games where probably, to the fan's standards, I played really well, but he still gave me shit. Like, it's not just about one aspect of the game, it's for all areas of the game and growing to be the best player that I can be."

That's the kind of attitude Rajakovic, Barrett, and the Raptors must embrace if RJ's ever going to be a complete player.

To that end, when asked whether Barrett's increased offensive burden could be dragging his defense down, Rajakovic was having none of it. "We're not in the business of doing easy things. There's nothing easy in our line of business. He's very blessed to be in the position he's in, and we count on him so much. He's very capable of carrying that load. We're stressing the importance of that, we're working on that, and I'm seeing the growth."

In fairness to Barrett, the list of players capable of doing what he's doing on the offensive end and being impact defenders is a short one. And it's a list of superstars. The Raptors don't need him to ascend to that level. Heck, the contract once deemed a toxic asset already looks like a bargain (worth less than 18% of the cap through 2027). But even just being a passable defender rather than a terrible one would be a massive development for Barrett's trajectory and a potentially transformative one for Toronto's rebuild.

His offensive metamorphosis has already proved the difference a year can make for a young player. Is it that unreasonable to ask for something half as impressive on the other end?

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez, who coached Barrett with Team Canada, cautioned the doubters. "It feels like he's been playing in the NBA for a while, but RJ is young, and I have no doubt in my mind he'll continue to get better," Fernandez told theScore before a recent game in Toronto. "He'll keep growing. At his size, he should be able to be physical, contain the ball, rebound. At this point of his career, he's not a final product. The kid works really, really hard, and he does it with a smile on his face and positive energy. That's why I know he'll continue to grow, because I know what he does day to day."

If the Raptors have their way, the fruits of that labor will leave us just as shocked by Barrett's defense in 2025 as we were by his offense in 2024.

Joseph Casciaro is theScore's lead Raptors and NBA reporter.