Raptors trading OG Anunoby to Knicks for RJ Barrett, Immanuel ...

By Shams Charania, Fred Katz and Eric Koreen

The Toronto Raptors are trading OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn to the New York Knicks in exchange for RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and a second-round pick, league sources said.

The Knicks are waiving swingman DaQuan Jeffries to create roster space for this trade, league sources said. Jeffries was on a non-guaranteed contract. Contracts for him and guard Ryan Arcidiacono were set to become guaranteed if they were not waived by Jan 7.

Anunoby, 26, has spent seven seasons with the Raptors after the team drafted him with the 23rd pick in 2017. He’s averaging 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 27 games this season.

Barrett, New York’s No. 3 pick in the 2019 draft, is averaging 18.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists through 26 games this season. His 29.5 minutes per game are a career low. Quickley, the 25th pick in the 2020 draft, is posting 15.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 30 games this season.

The trade comes amid a legal dispute between the two teams after the Knicks filed a lawsuit against the Raptors and their parent company, Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment, in August. The Knicks alleged in the suit that Ikechukwu Azotam, a former employee who joined the Raptors this summer, stole proprietary information and took it with him to his new job.

The suit said Azotam, a former team video coordinator, was recruited by Raptors coach Darko Rajaković to join Toronto and bring scouting reports and over 3,000 video files with him.

MLSE has denied all allegations.

Since then, the two sides have argued over whether the lawsuit should remain in federal court, which the Knicks prefer, or let the NBA and commissioner Adam Silver determine their dispute and move their case into arbitration, which the Raptors have requested of the court.

Why the Raptors traded Anunoby

At 12-19, it was clear that the trio of Anunoby, Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes was not going to succeed, at least with the talent the Raptors have around them. Anunoby has a player option he will likely decline to become a free agent, while Siakam also is a free agent this summer.

While Anunoby is younger and therefore fits a timeline centered on Barnes much better than the 29-year-old Siakam, his ability to shoot and defend at a high level made him extremely attractive to any number of contenders. With Anunoby heading for a huge raise, Toronto couldn’t run the risk of losing him in the offseason for nothing. — Eric Koreen, Raptors staff writer

Why this particular deal?

The Raptors were reportedly offered multiple first-round picks by multiple teams for Anunoby last season before the trade deadline when they surprised many by adding to instead of subtracting from their roster. This move gives them two proven rotation players for a good team. Barrett comes home and should slide into Anunoby’s starting forward spot.

The downgrade in shooting is an issue with him, Barnes and Siakam thriving in the paint.

But this likely isn’t the last move for Toronto. Quickley is arguably the bigger get for the Raptors. After the season, he is a restricted free agent and will be due a big raise. However, the Raptors have no depth at guard and a combo guard who is proficient from 3 — Quickley is shooting 39.5 percent this season — is perfect next to Barnes, who is transitioning into the team’s lead ballhandler.

As importantly: Barrett and Quickley are 23 and 24. Barnes is 22. — Koreen

How the deal helps New York

The Knicks have long been on the prowl for a big wing — and not just any big wing. They’ve pursued Anunoby since before last season’s trade deadline, offering multiple first-round picks to Toronto for him, sources told The Athletic at the time. The Raptors, however, were not entertaining offers for him as seriously then as they did now.

The 6-foot-7 Anunoby is in the midst of another superb defensive season after sliding into All-Defense a season ago. He gives New York more 3-point shooting in its starting lineup, too, considering he’s a more reliable threat than Barrett is from deep.

He will slot into the first unit that has included Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, Julius Randle and Isaiah Hartenstein, who replaced the injured Mitchell Robinson. Achiuwa, meanwhile, will presumably absorb the backup center minutes, which have gone to Taj Gibson since Robinson’s ankle surgery. Jericho Sims, another center, is recovering from an ankle sprain, as well.

Flynn has a chance to earn backup point guard minutes with Quickley heading to Toronto.

Anunoby has become even more of a Knicksian target of late, as well. Last season, he switched representation from Klutch Sports to CAA, where current Knicks president Leon Rose once ran the basketball division. New York has gone after CAA clients ever since Rose and his right hand, William Wesley, took over the front office, signing Jalen Brunson, drafting Obi Toppin, trading for Josh Hart, extending Randle and making other CAA-related moves.

One of Anunoby’s reps at CAA is Sam Rose, Leon Rose’s son. Sam also represents Brunson, Toppin and Toppin’s brother, Jacob, who is on a two-way contract with New York. — Fred Katz, Knicks staff writer

Why the Knicks included Barrett, Quickley

Ask around New York’s front office over the years, and you’ll receive mixed reviews on Barrett, the fifth-year, 23-year-old wing who the Knicks drafted No. 3 in 2019. Some people bet on his strength and character. A player with that talent level, who works as hard as Barrett does and cares about the right parts of the game will eventually figure it out, they believe.

Others point to the inefficiency, the problems scoring around the rim, the lack of the jump shot and the occasional tunnel vision that can plague Barrett’s game.

One of Barrett’s big-time supporters in the front office, former general manager Scott Perry, parted ways with the Knicks this summer. Now, he heads to the team he grew up rooting for, a sure dream for one of Canada’s best basketball players — though Barrett always embraced being a Knick.

As for Quickley, the writing had been on the wall for a while. The energetic guard finished second in NBA Sixth Man of the Year voting last season, but he and the team could not come to terms on an extension before the deadline to do so this past autumn. The result means Quickley will become a restricted free agent next summer.

The Knicks were concerned about paying Quickley too much money for someone in his role, one which has reduced in 2023-24, when he is playing five fewer minutes a night than he did in 2022-23. There are people around the league who contend that if Quickley got his own team, he would become a breakout candidate. For all four years of his career, the Knicks have been better while he is on the floor. Meanwhile, his usage, efficiency and scoring are all up this season.

Now, Toronto is the team that will give him that opportunity. — Katz

Is Anunoby the big trade New York’s pursued?

It doesn’t have to be, considering the Knicks didn’t give up any of their most valuable draft picks in the trade. New York still owns all of its first-round picks moving forward, as well as four heavily-protected ones from other teams.

New York has believed internally that a true star won’t become available until next summer at the soonest. And come the offseason, they could still compile enough salary — using some combination of Hart, Evan Fournier, DiVincenzo and Quentin Grimes — to trade for a max contract. They won’t have the cap space to sign someone for such a large salary.

Still, piecing together reasonable salaries, plus as many as four unprotected first-round picks and a young player in Grimes can land a team a big-time name. The Knicks may not be in this situation if Anunoby weren’t on an expiring deal, thus allowing the Raptors to demand more for him. — Katz

Required reading Raptors might be sellers with Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby on the move

(Photo: Brian Babineau / NBAE via Getty Images)