Grading Blockbuster Knicks-Raptors Trade featuring OG Anunoby, RJ Barrett | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
James Holden The obvious knock against the deal from New York's perspective comes from the fact that Immanuel Quickley was involved.
There's at least an argument that he's the best individual player headed either direction, and he's two years younger than OG Anunoby.
Three or four years from now, Quickley could be competing for an All-Star appearance, while Anunoby's still sitting at zero.
Playing time-adjusted production doesn't always translate perfectly to a bigger role, but Quickley has averaged 20.1 points, 4.3 assists and 2.8 threes per 75 possessions since the start of last season. He's also top 70 in the league in box plus/minus over that span.
But he was a 6'3" guard approaching restricted free agency on a team that already has 6'2" Jalen Brunson. Playing them together is tough from a practical standpoint. Undersized backcourts can struggle in today's NBA packed with wing-sized playmakers.
Having both would've been tough from a resources perspective, too. Having two of your highest-paid players (which is probably what Quickley would've been next season) under 6'4" could've been a problem.
So, even if Anunoby's raw production might not measure up to Quickley's, he's almost certainly a better fit than either Quickley or RJ Barrett.
Last season, Anunoby averaged 16.8 points and a league-leading 1.9 steals per game. His 17.2 career usage percentage is way lower than Barrett's 25.5, and suggests he'll take fewer possessions away from Brunson and Julius Randle.
He's also a more reliable catch-and-shoot option, with a 37.5 career three-point percentage (compared to Barrett's below-average 34.2).
This move simplifies the Knicks rotation a bit (Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo are still around for the guard/wing rotation), gives them one of the game's best perimeter defenders (when engaged) in Anunoby and gives them a couple potential rotation players in Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn.
In the short term, it's almost certainly a win, especially when you consider all the reports over the past couple years that suggested Toronto wanted multiple first-round picks for Anunoby.