On Saturday, the NBA world was shaken by the news that O.G. Anunoby along with Malachi Flynn and Precious Achiuwa were dealt from the Toronto Raptors to the New York Knicks.
Raptors are also sending Malachi Flynn and Precious Achiuwa to the Knicks in the OG Anunoby-RJ Barrett-Immanuel Quickley trade, sources said. https://t.co/YC7yWNw1cr
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 30, 2023
The Knicks are trading shooting guard Immanuel Quickley to go along with RJ Barrett and draft compensation to Toronto.
That is … quite the return for an expiring.
Wow.
— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) December 30, 2023
What I wake up to
— Josh Hart (@joshhart) December 30, 2023
Instant reaction is that’s quite a haul for Toronto.
— Anchorage Man (@SethPartnow) December 30, 2023
The Immanuel Quickley + Scottie Barnes combination is a dream duo. https://t.co/nFRepmEhjQ
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) December 30, 2023
Are we SURE OG Anunoby is better than Immanuel Quickley?
— ᵂᴵᴸᴸ (@BiasedHouston) December 30, 2023
So … if the Knicks gave up all of that for OG, how are they supposed to trade for Donovan Mitchell?
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) December 30, 2023
Quickley clearly wasn’t in New York’s future plans, and OG is better than RJ. As a standalone this is a lot to give up though. I can’t help but feel the Knicks have another pre-deadline move coming using their draft picks. This feels like a Part 1 piece of a bigger picture plan.
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) December 30, 2023
Oh my goodness….
— Immanuel Jaylen Quickley (@IQ_GodSon) December 30, 2023
In Anunoby, the Knicks acquire one of the better wing defenders in the NBA as well as a capable scorer. Across 27 appearances with the Raptors during the 2023-24 regular season, he averaged 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 steal per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 37.4 percent from behind the 3-point arc.
But while Anunoby is a productive two-way player, the Knicks gave up two productive players in Barrett and Quickley in order to acquire him. Barrett averaged 18.2 points per game with New York this season as one of the team’s starting wings.
Quickley, meanwhile, has served as one of the top bench scorers in the NBA, seeing as how he averaged 15.0 points per game with the Knicks in 30 appearances and zero starts. He also shot an efficient 45.4 percent from the floor and 39.5 percent from behind the 3-point line.
The Knicks acquire Anunoby in the midst of a losing streak. New York has lost two games in a row, as before falling to the Orlando Magic on Friday, the Knicks lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder by nine points on Dec. 27.
At 17-14 on the season, the Knicks currently sit as the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference. They are half a game back of the Cleveland Cavaliers — who are fresh off a loss to Damian Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday — for the No. 6 seed in the conference.
The Knicks won’t have much time to digest trading for Anunoby, as the team has a road matchup against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday. The Pacers — led by star point guard Tyrese Haliburton — are right behind the Knicks in the Eastern Conference standings at 16-14 and are riding a two-game winning streak.
