NBA world shaken as Toronto Raptors trade O.G. Anunoby to New York Knicks

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.

The Knicks are trading shooting guard Immanuel Quickley to go along with RJ Barrett and draft compensation to Toronto.

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.