RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish were playoff foes last year when Barrett’s Knicks fell to Reddish’s Hawks in the Eastern Conference playoffs, but now, the two Duke alums are back on the same side once again.
“It’s great to play with my Duke brother again,” Barrett said Friday, less than 24 hours after the Knicks officially announced the acquisition of Reddish. “It’s gonna be a lot of fun. I’m happy. I can’t wait until he gets here.”
New York brings in the 22-year-old Reddish from Atlanta, in addition to Solomon Hill and a second-round pick in 2025, while sending away Kevin Knox and a protected first-round pick. Now, the Knicks have two of the three Duke products that were taken in the top 10 of the 2019 NBA Draft, having selected Barrett themselves at third overall, while the Hawks took Reddish at 10th overall.
Barrett and Reddish were stars with the Blue Devils in just one year of action, leading Duke to the Elite Eight and the No. 1 ranking in the final AP poll. Barrett averaged 22.6 points per game that season, while Reddish logged 13.5 points per game with 3.7 rebounds. Now, once Reddish’s sprained ankle heals, the two friends will be sharing the floor like it’s 2019.
“He actually called me yesterday,” Barrett said. “We had a good talk. When he gets here, I hope I can help him jell with the team.”
Barrett said that the Knicks brass reached out to him to ask about his former teammate before pulling the trigger on a deal.
“Asked a couple questions, and like I said, I played with him at Duke,” Barrett said. “He’s very talented, very skilled, and I think he’d be a great piece to our team.”
Another certain Duke product has been discussed among Knicks fans since news of the Reddish trade broke, as Zion Williamson is once again on the minds of the New York faithful like he was in 2019, when the Knicks hoped for the top pick in the draft before settling for third overall, when they took Barrett. Williamson went first overall to the Pelicans after averaging 22.6 points per game with Duke as a freshman in 2019, and now, fantasies of the three together again can begin to swirl among Knicks fans.
As to whether Williamson or any other former Duke teammates reached out since the Reddish trade, Barrett could only smile and decline comment.
“We’ll keep that in house,” Barrett said.
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