BREAKING: Knicks Finalizing Trade For OG Anunoby; Barrett, Quickley Bound For Toronto
The New York Knicks are reportedly closing out 2023 with a bang.
Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the New York Knicks are finalizing a deal with the Toronto Raptors, one that would send OG Anunoby to Manhattan in exchange for RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and draft considerations. Shams Charania of The Athletic further reveals that Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn will likewise make their way to Manhattan.
Wojnarowski and Charania also reported that the draft choice in question will be a second-round pick, one originally belonging to the Detroit Pistons. One more update from Wojnarowski says that the Knicks have waived DaQuan Jeffries to make room on the roster for the newcomers.
The trade between the Knicks and Raptors is perhaps a bit unusual considering that the two teams are due to be locked up in a different kind of court battle with New York accusing the Toronto franchise and ownership group of funneling insider information through a former team employee.
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Of note, all three players acquired in the trade can hit free agency next season: Achiuwa and Flynn are set to becoming restricted free agents while Anunoby has a $19.9 million player option.
Many have clamored for the Knicks (17-14) to make a trade in the wake of starting center Mitchell Robinson's injury. Anunoby, standing at 6-7 and 232 lbs., fits the bill defensively.
The 26-year-old London native led the Association in steals last season at 1.9 a game and his efforts were rewarded with inclusion on the NBA's All-Defensive Second Team. New York had reportedly expressed interest in Anunoby at least year's trade deadline but wound up landing Josh Hart from Portland instead.
Anunoby is in the midst of his seventh NBA season since joining Toronto as the 23rd overall pick out of Indiana in 2017. He was one of the leftovers from the Raptors' 2019 championship group and averaged 15.1 points and 3.9 rebounds up north.
Also joining the Knicks are veterans Achiuwa and Flynn. Achiuwa will return to the tri-state area after spending part of his high school days at both Our Savior Lutheran in The Bronx and St. Benedict's Prep in Newark, NJ.
The 6-8, Nigerian-born center/forward should not only serve as a solid fill-in for Robinson but could also finally be the long-sought Julius Randle backup, a void created and unfilled after Obi Toppin was traded over the summer. Achiuwa averaged 6.1 rebounds a game in just over 21 minutes with the Raptors in three seasons after coming over in a 2021 deal with Miami.
Flynn should join a Knicks backcourt backup unit that also features Donte DiVincenzo. The San Diego State/Washington State alum, a first-round pick in 2020, averaged 5.1 points and 2.4 assists in 31 appearances this season.
With these new arrivals, the Barrett and Quickley eras respectively end in New York. By trading Barrett, the Knicks just under $98 million over the next three-plus seasons by way of the four-year extension worth $107 million going to the Raptors.
Barrett, the third overall pick of the 2019 draft, will move back home to Toronto after four-plus seasons with the Knicks. Though he was a staple of the New York starting five, Barrett failed to generate any lasting momentum from his breakthrough campaign in 2021-22, one that saw him become the youngest Knick to average at least 20 points in a single season. Over the past two seasons, Barrett had averaged 19.2 points on 43.1 percent shooting, including a 31.5 success rate from three-point range.
Though signs of his departure lingered ever since he did not obtain a long-term contract over the offseason, Knicks fans will likely rue the loss of Quickley, last year's runner-up in the Sixth Man of the Year vote. Despite a dip in minutes, Quickley ended his Knicks career on a high note, hitting 20 points in four of his final six games and averaging a career-best 15 overall.
The Knicks will likely be shorthanded as they go into their final game of the 2023 calendar year, as they face the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night (7 p.m. ET, MSG).
