Knicks obtain OG Anunoby, send RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley to Raptors
Orlando Magic's Franz Wagner, left center, knocks the ball from the hands of New York Knicks' RJ Barrett, right, who was going up to shoot during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 29, 2023, in Orlando, Fla. Credit: AP/John Raoux
The wait for the Knicks to pull the trigger on a major move is over. Team president Leon Rose made the long-awaited decision on Saturday, sending RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and a second-round pick to the Toronto Raptors to acquire OG Anunoby, a player long coveted by the Knicks’ front office.
Is this the star the Knicks — and their fan base — have waited for? That remains to be seen. For now, it seems as if the Knicks paid a hefty price for a slight upgrade and some offseason salary-cap positioning.
The Knicks also will receive frontcourt help in Precious Achiuwa and a backup point guard in Malachi Flynn. The pick they sent out is the Pistons’ 2024 second-rounder — currently slated as the 31st overall pick.
“We’re ecstatic to welcome OG, Malachi and Precious to the Knicks family,” Rose said in a statement. “OG’s complete offensive game and ability to defend multiple positions will enhance our team on both ends of the court. Malachi and Precious are well-rounded players that will complement the hardworking and talented nature of our group. OG, Malachi and Precious are perfect additions to the type of team and culture we are building in New York.”
While completing a trade with the Raptors — with whom the Knicks are engaged in an ugly legal battle — may be a surprise, the pieces have long been rumored to be trade chips. Anunoby is the sort of two-way talent who fits with the desires of Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau.
One of the elite defensive wings in the league, the 6-7 Anunoby is averaging 15.1 points and shooting 48.9% (37.4% from beyond the arc).
“A really tenacious defender, someone who can defend smaller guards, bigger wings,” Josh Hart said of Anunoby. “So he gives us a lot of added toughness on the defensive end, and obviously his ability to knock down shots, I think he’s 40% on catch-and-shoot, so the ability to knock down open shots. I think whenever you have a trade like this and guys get traded, you’re always able to see aspects of their game that you never really knew they had.”
Anunoby, 26, potentially will be a free agent at season’s end. He has a player option for next season that he is expected to opt out of when he is eligible for a four-year, $117 million extension. He currently can sign a two-year, $40 million extension.
“Those things, they’re not easy, but you’re looking at both the short term and long term,” Thibodeau said. “The one thing for me having done Leon’s job, having the perspective of all that goes into it, and I think our front office did a great job. They have to look at both short term and long term, how it fits, what’s the best thing for the franchise. I think that they did that.”
The deal still seems like a heavy cost for the Knicks to obtain Anunoby, who has never been an All-Star, but league sources indicated there was not a robust market for Barrett and the Knicks didn’t want to risk having Quickley get a big offer in the summer. This likely is not the last move for the team.
The Knicks still have the trade chips of the expiring contract of Evan Fournier and a huge surplus of first-round picks — all of their own as well as protected picks from Milwaukee, Dallas, Detroit and Charlotte.
Barrett, the No. 3 overall pick in 2019, has had his ups and downs and has been struggling through a lengthy shooting slump. The Knicks will replace him in the starting lineup with Anunoby, a player with more size (a 7-2 wingspan) who was a second-team All-Defensive team member last season, when he led the NBA in steals.
Quickley was a complicated case, an instant-offense player off the bench who will be a restricted free agent at season’s end and had more value as a trade chip than to the Knicks, for whom he was a backup to Jalen Brunson. Quickley finished second in the Sixth Man voting last season.
“Gut-wrenching,” Taj Gibson said of losing the duo. “I’ve been around them since they came in the league. Great young men. It’s just tough, one of the tough parts about the business. Being able to see them this morning and talk, it was tough.
“[They were] shocked, just like most players are, shocked. Shocked. Still trying to understand it, still trying to figure [it] out. When it happens, you’re really in shock at first. You’re trying to figure out what’s going on. And just telling them: ‘It’s an opportunity for you, just go attack it.’ ”
“RJ, I came to this organization with him,” Randle said. “He was drafted, I signed as a free agent. He’s like a little brother to me. We’ve been through all the ups and downs year after year together and had a lot of battles, went through a lot of battles together. It’s tough.
“Quick, he’s like my little brother, too. I genuinely care about him as a person. This probably for me is one of the toughest ones just because of the relationship I built with those two. Trying to be a big brother to him, you know, trying to give him guidance and stuff like that. I think that they’re going to be great in this league for a long time. I know them personally, I know the work that they put in, the mindset. I think they’ve got a bright future ahead. I’ll always be a fan from a distance.”
Achiuwa gives the Knicks a backup to Randle at power forward, freeing up Hart to play his more natural wing spots. Flynn, who will be a restricted free agent at season’s end, will compete with Deuce McBride for backup minutes. The Knicks agreed to a three-year, $13 million extension with McBride — who could have become an unrestricted free agent after the season — on Saturday.
The Knicks waived DaQuan Jeffries, whose contract was set to be fully guaranteed on Jan. 7.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
