There's a fair gap between RJ and Kobe - not necessarily based on his stats (RJ was a superior player statistically over their first 3 seasons).
In a nutshell, you basically see better innate physical tools, feel, and skills. I think it's totally fine that he doesn't measure up to Kobe.
But I think he measures up pretty well and can soon surpass the greatest Knick SGs of all time. That's something.
Think:
Monroe
Barnett
Houston
Starks
Sprewell
I can't really speak too much about Monroe and Barnett - before my time. If you look up Monroe's stats, it looks like he deferred to Clyde for the 5 or so years after joining the Knicks from the Bullets. His stats as a Knick were not particularly overwhelming, but he did manage a few all-star berths.
I do have crisp memories of the 90s Knicks with Houston/Starks/Sprewell and seeing the best those guys could offer. All of those guys were great Knicks. But none of them had eye popping stats. Sprewell, while ferocious, was sort of like bigger Starks in both his passion and inconsistent shooting. Houston, while an exceptional shooter for his era, didn't sport the all-around game of his contemporaries and statwise, only cracked 20ppg twice toward the tail end of his Knick career (leading up to the knee surgery he never recovered from).
Starks (the Dunk) and Houston (the bounce) had signature moments. I can't think of a signature Sprewell play - I just think about his tomahawk dunks (though he was at his athletic peak with the Warriors - he rarely did that with the Knicks, preferring to conserve energy)
When you narrow down to homegrown SG Knicks (ie drafted by the team or joined the team as rookies/overseas free agents), the pickings are extremely slim:
Gerald Wilkins (kind of like Starks/Sprewell, but less good - still he was good for some strong games vs Jordan)
Trent Tucker (kind of like Joe Dumars, but much less good)
Hubert Davis (kind of like Houston, but less good - but he did have that signature 4-point play that killed the Bulls)
