The Utah Jazz continue to have no interest in trading for New York Knicks’ star guard/forward RJ Barrett, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.
As Fischer said in his ‘Please Don’t Aggregate This’ podcast, the reason for the Jazz’s unwillingness to trade for Barrett is his contract extension.
Barrett is entering his fourth year in the league and as of July 1, he’s eligible to sign a rookie extension up until the start of the 2022/23 season. If this doesn’t happen, he will become a restricted free agent next summer.
For his part, Barrett seeks a maximum contract extension and Utah has no intention to offer him so.
At the same time, the Knicks view RJ Barrett as a key part of the roster moving forward and they don’t want to send him elsewhere.
New York aims to return to the playoffs next season and have already bolstered their roster by signing Jalen Brunson. In addition, they have the assets to trade for Donovan Mitchell and have emerged as favorites to land him.
If they do so, the presence of RJ Barrett and Julius Randle will be key for them in their quest for a championship run.
The 22-year-old star guard/forward averaged 20 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3 assists in 70 games last season.
