NBA Analyst Rips Knicks' OG Anunoby Contract

One NBA analyst believes that OG Anunoby's new contract is forcing other New York Knicks to take discounts.

Jan 23, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Mikal Bridges (1) talks to New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby (8) during the first quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

AC/DC once said that "money talks," but NBA analyst Amin Elhassan doesn't like what it's telling the New York Knicks.

Elhassan included the Knicks in his list of NBA financial follies during a Tuesday segment on SiriusXM NBA Radio, as he was particularly perturbed by OG Anunoby's new contract. The former Toronto Raptor was bestowed a five-year, $212.5 million deal in July but Elhassan wasn't so impressed by the fireworks, indirectly labeling Anunoby as the reason why generous imports like Jalen Brunson have taken on shrunken contracts of their own.

"When you say 'oh, it's nice that Jalen Brunson is taking less, oh it's nice if Mikal Bridges takes less,' understand that the less that they've taking, it's so that this guys gets paid $42 million a year," Elhassan said (h/t New York Basketball on X). "I'm not saying OG Anunoby's not good, I'm not saying he's not responsible for a lot of success they've had."

"I'm saying, man, when you guarantee every last dollar of $212 million to a guy who's been extremely injury prone ... you have to protect yourself somewhere. Ideally, you protect yourself in the language of the contract. It sounds like the Knicks were protecting themselves through Jalen Brunson."

Elhassan didn't rip Anunoby's game, saying that in a "perfect world," he was indeed worth each of the nine figures the Knicks gave to him. It's hard to argue in favor of the contrary: the Knicks' seasons undoubtedly surged forward when Anunoby arrived in late December, as New York won 20 of the 23 regular season games that saw the ex-Ontarian take the floor.

However, injuries ate away at Anunoby's first metropolitan tour, one that saw him lose a month due to a loose bone fragment in his elbow before his playoff showings were marred by hamstring issues.

Elhassan noted that last year was not an anomaly in Anunoby's career: he has played more than 50 games just once in the past four seasons and he notably missed Toronto's 2019 championship run due to an emergency appendectomy. To that end, Elhassan implored incoming Knick Mikal Bridges not to accept a discounted contract extension like Brunson did, reasoning that he shouldn't have to pay a literal price for management's supposed overconfidence in Anunoby.

"Do not give these people discounts," Elhassan begged Bridges. "It's their job to figure it out. It's not your job to clean up their mess."

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