The trade deadline is approaching, and the basketball world expects the Knicks to be a buyer. They’re lacking depth and have glaring weak points in their regular rotation, as well as under some pressure to make a move with a trove of assets at hand.
SNY’s Ian Begley recently linked Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby to New York, reporting that they’d be willing to part with multiple first-round picks for the elite 25-year-old wing defender.
While he’s not the superstar desperately needed, Anunoby is a two-way talent who can fit anywhere, averages 17 points per game, and would be a clear upgrade to the starting five.
Should the Knicks trade what would likely have to be multiple first round picks with a salary filler and possibly a prospect attached for Anunoby? Obviously, the exact cost will inevitably answer this question.
There’s a package out there that the Knicks would have to agree to, likely giving up spare salary and protected firsts at most.
Their own unprotected first-round picks are the real prize in any superstar deal, so giving up none of those, nor key prospects, would make it silly not to bring in a young player of Anunoby’s caliber.
On the flip side, if Toronto demands a return similar to that of established stars in recent memory, they should walk away.
Assuming a sweet spot is met with one unprotected first-round pick and a couple of protected picks, along with matching salaries being the asking price, what should the Knicks do?
Pros
New York is in real need for a third wing, especially one with Anunoby’s size and defensive abilities. While the Knicks have strung together strong collective defensive efforts, they don’t have a shutdown guy to throw at the elite bigger wings of the league.
Anunoby would immediately be one of the team’s best individual defenders.
Onlookers have waited for an offensive leap out of Anunoby for years now. While he’s yet to fully develop that side of his game, he’s still averaging 17 points per game on an array of looks, offering much more on that end than Quentin Grimes at the moment. He’s hit 39 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes this year, and might look better surrounded by more shooters.
At just 25 years old, Anunoby doesn’t clash with the Knicks’ timeline. He instead gives them another defensive-minded, athletic player who could continue to grow along with the team. Those concerned with what this trade does to inhibit future moves needn’t be.
The protected first-round picks owned by New York aren’t very valuable, so if they give up largely low-quality assets, there will still be plenty of picks and prospects left to move if a star comes around. Not to mention, Anunoby could be an attractive key piece in such a deal.
Just because a superstar isn’t available doesn’t mean the Knicks should sit on their hands this deadline. They have empty salaries and arguably too many draft assets to continue stacking them.
Trading for Anunoby would strengthen their rotation and add another near All-Star talent to the mix. And the young forward would certainly gives them a better shot at making some noise in the playoffs.
Cons
Part of the reason Anunoby and Toronto seem destined to move on from each other is his offensive role being limited behind ball-dominant bigs like Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam.
If he hopes to garner more touches and plays, New York might be a bit of an awkward fit.
If Anunoby is coming to replace Grimes’ spot in the starting five, there could be a “one basketball” issue between him and the Knicks’ three 20-point scorers. This could be remedied by trading or benching RJ Barrett, but neither seems probable.
There’s also questions as to how much this moves the needle for New York versus trading their protected picks for a smaller bench upgrade, or combining them to trade up in the draft. This front office has done well in previous drafts and could add cheaper and potentially better talent going that route.
In terms of a pure value play, the Knicks might be better looking elsewhere.
Giving up multiple first-round picks for Anunoby is a bit of a stretch when the Portland Trail Blazers nabbed Jerami Grant for just one.
