The first domino of NBA trade season has fallen, as the Knicks and Raptors broke the seal for the rest of the league on Saturday with a (pseudo) blockbuster deal which sees the Raptors send OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, and Malachi Flynn to the Knicks in exchange for RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and a 2024 2nd round draft pick (via Detroit). Anunoby’s name has been at the forefront of trade rumors for several years now, as the Raptors have struggled to find an identity ever since Kawhi Leonard departed in free agency. At the same time, the Knicks have been rumored to sell the farm for every available star for the past few seasons (if not forever). Yet still, this trade came relatively out of nowhere and seemed to come as a bit of a surprise around the league. Let’s break down every angle of the deal:
The Knicks
For the Knicks, this deal is pretty simple. They made an obvious upgrade in the starting lineup, acquiring (at this moment) the best player in the deal, who will slide seamlessly into their starting lineup. Anunoby is a menace on defense, with size to guard bigger players, and the quickness and athleticism to handle even the quickest perimeter players. He is a true stopper on the defensive end, and will bolster an already stout defense that has fallen a bit since losing Mitchell Robinson to injury. OG will be able to take on the opponent’s best offensive player, easing the burden on Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle. Offensively, Anunoby should also be an upgrade on Barrett. OG is a better shooter and connective piece and shouldn’t command high usage. He can be a very efficient role player on offense, who can take on a bigger role when needed. Another element to this trade is that Anunoby has a player option coming up this offseason, which he will almost certainly decline, making him a free agent. I would have to imagine that the Knicks aren’t making this deal unless they are all-in on extending OG long term after this season. That will likely be a lofty price tag, which makes me a little uneasy going forward, as I consider Anunoby an elite role player - but he will likely be paid like a star. It is a clear talent upgrade for the Knicks, but not one that changes their standing in the NBA’s hierarchy. After this move, they are still clearly below the East’s big 3, and possibly still looking up at the likes of Miami and Orlando, while no sure thing to vault over the Clevelands and Indianas of the world. The Knicks did well to get two NBA caliber players thrown into the deal, as Achiuwa should immediately be able to fill in some of the minutes left vacant by Mitchell Robinson at center, and Flynn has shown some potential as an NBA rotation player at point guard. But the Knicks are still sorely lacking creation with the loss of Quickley - who provided very useful scoring off the bench. The Knicks may look internally to fill that void with more usage for guys like Donte DiVincenzo and Quentin Grimes, but the Knicks still feel short on offensive firepower. But one of the other appealing elements of this deal from their perspective is that they didn’t have to dig deep into their asset treasure chest. They gave up a big contract, in Barrett, a solid young player, in Quickley, and a very good second round pick (likely 31st overall in the upcoming draft), but the Knicks still have a plethora of first round picks and plenty of big salary (hello, Evan Fournier!) to deal if a star comes available. The Knicks still have the ammo to chase the missing piece - perhaps Donovan Mitchell comes available again, maybe it’s a lesser player like Dejounte Murray or Zach Lavine, or perhaps someone we haven’t even considered yet. Regardless of the name, the point is, the Knicks added a very good young player, and they can still be first in line to add the next available star (it’s only a matter of time until one emerges). Adding Anunoby to Brunson and Randle without giving up a first is good business. If they can add a true star to that mix, things could get very interesting in New York. I don’t like giving up on Quickley here, but the facts are he just wasn’t a trusted part of Tom Thibodeau’s rotation. He was underused off of the bench, and his size and skillset made it very tough to maximize his abilities alongside Jalen Bruson. Mix that with the fact that he’s due for a large pay raise in the offseason, and it makes some sense for the Knicks to move him for someone who fills a much clearer need at the moment. If Quickley blows up with a new role in Toronto and/or the next Anunoby contract ends up looking like an albatross down the road, we may end up viewing this trade as a disaster for the Knicks. But in the moment it feels like a logical, savvy move that improves the current roster and leaves them with the flexibility to make another big splash.
The Raptors
From the Raptors perspective, this trade (or ANY trade) has felt like a long time coming. Many people have tired of Masai Ujiri’s “tactics” since winning the 2019 title as he has played hardball with his players, seemingly posturing, or asking outrageous prices. It’s easy to question many of the moves over the past few seasons - refusing to trade Fred Van Vleet and ultimately letting him walk in free agency, trading a (top 6 protected) first round pick for Jakob Poeltl at the 2023 deadline, turning down an alleged offer of (at least) 3 first round picks for Anunoby last seasons, etc. - but hindsight is 20/20 so let’s view this trade in a vacuum as much as possible. It’s long past time for the Raptors to embrace what they are; a bad basketball team. They are currently sitting in 12th place in a weak Eastern Conference with a 12-20 record. It is abundantly clear that this team is far from contention, and the soft rebuild around Pascal Siakam, Anunoby, and Van Vleet has been a failure overall. The Raptors should have embraced that reality sooner and maximized the value of some of their players, but the past can’t be changed, and better late than never. Staring down the barrel of Anunoby and Siakam hitting unrestricted free agency this offseason, the Raptors HAD to make a move to recoup some value. On the surface, there are certainly people clowning Ujiri and the Raps for taking on Barrett’s contract and not even adding a single first round pick, but I actually think given the current market, they did pretty well. Barrett has obviously been a disappointment in New York since being drafted 3rd overall in 2019, but he is at least a solid rotation player, and at only 23, a change of scenery to his hometown team may do him well. He can refind himself on a rebuilding team without the pressures of New York City. His contract is a net negative, but it shouldn’t be as big of an issue for a Raptors team that is at least a few years away from contending. The real prize of this deal for the Raptors, in my opinion, is Immanuel Quickley. Quickley should immediately slot into a starting point guard role for Toronto. The Raptors have been badly lacking offensive creation since the departure of Van Vleet, and now Quickley should have a great opportunity with expanded usage to run the show. Quickley should be a great fit alongside budding young star, Scottie Barnes (the one massive bright spot so far in this sad Raptors season), he should be able to activate Poeltl’s offensive game through the pick and roll, and he brings much needed shooting and scoring. There is no guarantee that Quickley will maintain his efficiency with expanded usage, or that he is capable of being an offensive engine, and a true starting point guard. But it’s a worthy risk for the Raptors and a smart upside bet for a team that desperately needed one. The Raptors are betting on Quickley making a Tyrese Maxey-like leap as a primary ball handler (Maxey and Quickley were college teammates at Kentucky), which would give Barnes a true running mate who matches his timeline (Barnes is 22 and Quickley is 24). Quickley is also an underrated defender despite his slender frame, so he shouldn’t hurt them too much on that end. Although they didn’t acquire a first round pick, the 2024 second belonging to Detroit will almost certainly fall in the top 3-4 picks of the second round. The second round contract scale has made these picks incredibly valuable in recent years, so this is actually a pretty nice asset for them to get. They didn’t add the glitz and glam of the 3+ first round picks that had been rumored in years past, but they did get promising NBA talent. There’s no guarantee any picks they could have acquired (likely late firsts) would have amounted to players such as Quickley or even Barrett. There is also no indication that the Raptors wanted a complete teardown and to compile draft equity. As mentioned earlier, the Raptors owe a top 6 protected pick to the Spurs this year. It’s unlikely the Raps will fall into the bottom 6, and this year is purported to be a relatively weak draft class, so the Raptors likely hope that pick will convey this year. That means the Raptors are incentivized to be as competitive as possible, which jives with this trade. They probably sent out the best player in this deal, but the pieces they got back may fill bigger current needs and have the potential to be much more helpful down the road. Beyond that, this trade feels like the first step in finally ripping off the bandaid for the Raptors title team era. Now all eyes will turn to Pascal Siakam, an all star player on an expiring contract. The Raptors have - at least outwardly - indicated that they would like to re-sign Siakam, but that won’t come cheap, and at age 29, Siakam may be looking for a more immediate path to contention for his prime years. If the Raptors make Siakam available he could be the bell of the ball for the 2024 trade deadline and the Raptors could speed up their rebuild even more by adding draft picks or young talent to the roster.
The Verdict
This actually feels like a rare win/win of a trade for both teams. I get it from both perspectives and think it brings each side closer to their ultimate goal. I certainly don’t think either side got fleeced; it feels like very fair value all around. From what I can gather it feels like both fan bases are equally dissatisfied, which likely indicates an even trade. Sure, we may look back in a few years and feel differently, but in the moment this one makes a lot of sense. There were a number of decisions on both ends leading up to this deal that I question: why did Toronto wait so long to look towards the future, hemorrhaging assets and value along the way? Why did Thibs never give Quickley an expanded role and why did they never seem to value or prioritize his growth/potential? But whether I agreed with those decisions/factors or not, they were all part of the reality of the situation, which is what ultimately led to this trade. So putting everything that led up to the trade aside, I like it for both teams, I’m excited to see how these players look in their new roles, and I’m excited to see the next dominos to fall. Happy Trade Season, everyone!
