Atlanta Hawks: RJ Barrett or Zion Williamson?

 The Case for R.J. Barrett

There was a reason why R.J. Barrett was rated above Zion Williamson in the eyes of most scouts coming out of high school.

The Canadian forward showcased a complete tool-box of skills on the AAU circuit, displaying exceptional scoring ability and explosive athleticism. It’s translated over to the college game–though perhaps not to a tune of complete dominance that was expected by some.

By nearly every measure, however, Barrett be ballin’.

He leads the number one conference in the nation in scoring at 23.4 points per game on 46.2% shooting. He averages 1.8 made 3PT FG per game while tallying 6.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per outing.

If it weren’t for his teammate’s earth-shattering slams, Barrett’s highlight level plays would be getting a lot more traction. This dude’s got more bounce than a serving size of Flubber.

Despite a usage rate of 33.7%, Barrett is committing just 2.6 turnovers a game in 31.2 minutes.

Did I mention this man is a bona-fide scorer? With teammate Zion not playing in the second half against the thirteenth-ranked Florida State Seminoles on Saturday, R.J. caught fire and dropped 32 points to lead his team to a quality road win in a hostile environment.

Yes, Cam Reddish hit the three-point shot to clinch the W. But watch how much attention the Seminoles pay to Barrett on the climactic in-bounds play.

https://twitter.com/theACCDN/status/1084203382586388480

He’s caught some flak for being a ballhog. Has he tried to play hero-ball a few too many times, with negative results? Sure, and the numbers back that up.

That said, Barrett’s situation doesn’t have a lot of precedent. The top-3 recruits in the nation all playing on the same floor creates an interesting team dynamic when it comes to scoring opportunities.

Barrett has gotten better as the season has progressed when it comes to recognizing when he needs to step up and when he needs to feed his talented teammates.

That kind of recognition will become extremely important when he makes the transition to the NBA. Even on a (relative to the league) talent-dry team like the Atlanta Hawks, you still have individuals like Trae Young and John Collins chomping at the bit to fill up the basket.

Which brings us to the most important reason why R.J. Barrett has a case to be picked No. 1 by the Atlanta Hawks if they get the opportunity.

Fit.

The Hawks have their point-guard of the future in Ice Trae and their big man of the future in John the Baptist.

What are they missing? A star wing. A guy who may one day (sooner rather than later) eventually reach a Paul-George-caliber ceiling.

No one on the current iteration of the Hawks fits the strong 3-and-D mold. Free agency down the road is certainly a possibility for filling the gap, but the Atlanta Hawks couldn’t go wrong with drafting the next Jayson Tatum, another former score-first Dukie.

With Barrett, the Hawks would have the potential for a fantastic, balanced lineup in the mold of the LeBron-era Heat.

Bosh-Wade-James becomes Collins-Young-Barrett.

That’s not to suggest the talent levels are the same. The comparison is merely for position group similarity. Really good teams have their best players playing different positions–it’s not rocket science.

On paper, Barrett hits the “team-need” mark better than Williamson.

Of course, games aren’t played on paper. Games are played on the court, and it’s the court where Zion Williamson has had more jaw-dropping how-did-he-do-that moments than any college player of the past decade.