RJ Barrett’s 2020 NBA Rookie of the Year Odds Improve After Knicks Miss Out on Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving

• The New York Knicks missed out on big free agents like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving
• The Knicks’ roster could get them close to playoff contention in a weak Eastern Conference
• The no. 1 pick has won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in six of the last 11 seasons

The New York Knicks have been slammed mercilessly after swinging and missing in free agency. However, bettors know that there’s one player who could benefit significantly: rookie RJ Barrett. With fewer stars around, Barrett could contend for the 2020 NBA Rookie of the Year Award. Is he a good bet on that prop?

2020 NBA Rookie of the Year Odds

*Odds taken 07/03/19

Knicks Make Questionable Free Agency Moves

The Knicks have had a bizarre offseason as they didn’t offer Kevin Durant the max, and lost out on him and Kyrie Irving. Instead, they signed three power forwards – Julius Randle, Bobby Portis, and Taj Gibson – and used their cap space on veterans instead of completely tanking.

While teams like Memphis (with Andre Iguodala) used up their cap space to receive future first-round picks, the Knicks have already blown that space on a bunch of veterans who might keep this team from tanking to the point that they could compete for a playoff spot. As a result, though, Barrett’s NBA Rookie of the Year odds have shortened from +600 to +530.

Can Barrett Shine Right Away?

The flip side of it is that Barrett is stepping onto a team that’s at least somewhat competent. They’re not embarrassingly bad again and he should have some help. Randle and Portis can score up front, Kevin Knox and Dennis Smith Jr. should continue to improve. Barrett will have some help.

At the same time, that also means that they might not rely on him as much. We saw with this year’s Rookie of the Year award winner, Luka Doncic, that he put up fantastic stats without much around him. He averaged 21.2 points per game with 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists. The same goes for Trae Young of Atlanta, who had little help outside of John Collins.

Sometimes, having a barren team is the perfect situation for a rookie to come in and put up the stats necessary to make a big impact.

First Overall Tends to Pay

One interesting trend has emerged for those betting the Rookie of the Year award. Although Doncic won it last year after getting drafted third overall, the player who was drafted first has won the award in three of the last five years and six of the last 11. Only twice in the last 16 years has a player drafted outside of the top-six won the award.

Bet on Ja

In my view, Ja Morant is the player with the best opportunity to shine right away. Zion Williamson will probably be neck-in-neck with him the whole year, but I’ll give Morant the slight edge because he’ll have to do more for his team. The Memphis Grizzlies are basically down to him, Jaren Jackson, and Jonas Valanciunas.

Williamson will have help in the form of Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, JJ Redick, and much more. He won’t have to do as much right off the bat. As for Barrett, he should develop into a stellar player, but his jump shot is still a bit of a weakness. That could hamper him early in his career.

As for Morant, he’s a great passer and he’ll have to score for his team. I expect him to have decent assists and steals numbers, and be among the rookie scoring leaders – even if his percentages aren’t great. Overall, he’s in the best position to win this award, so I’ll take a shot at with him at +333.

Pick: Ja Morant (+333)