Will Brady – January 3 2024
Late last week, the Knicks and Raptors completed the first significant deal of the NBA’s trade season. Let’s break down the deal for both teams:
NYK IN: F OG Anunoby, F/C Precious Achiuwa, G Malachi Flynn
NYK OUT: G Immanuel Quickley, G/F R.J. Barrett, 2024 2nd Round Pick
TOR IN: G Immanuel Quickley, G/F R.J. Barrett, 2024 2nd Round Pick
TOR OUT: F OG Anunoby, F/C Precious Achiuwa, G Malachi Flynn
TRADE GRADES:
Toronto Raptors: B
Although they might have been able to get more for Anunoby at last year’s trade deadline, the Raptors deserve credit for coming to terms with the inevitable and not drawing the situation out any further. It had become clear that the Raptors core of Anunoby, Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam was not enough to power a playoff team, and as such, moves had to be made.
Rather than prioritizing draft picks in return for Anunoby, Toronto will add a couple of intriguing young players to their team in Immanuel Quickley and R.J. Barrett. I fully expect that the Raptors are actively searching for a new home for Siakam (an impending free agent), but even if they don’t, adding two players more aligned in age with Barnes makes it clear that the team is building around their emergent young forward.
Quickley is the prize of the deal: He’s been one of the best bench guards in the league over the past few seasons, but his playing time has been limited as he’s been stuck behind Jalen Brunson in the Knicks rotation. In Toronto, I expect Quickley to step into the starting lineup and thrive. His shooting (39.5% 3FG on 8.1 3PA per 36 minutes) should fit very nicely next to Barnes, and he’s a capable defender of opposing point guards. In order to break through to an All-Star level, Quickley will have to improve as a playmaker, but even if he doesn’t, the Raptors have Barnes to handle the majority of on-ball reps. Quickley will enter restricted free agency following this season, and I think he could command a contract somewhere in the range of 4 years/$100 million. Toronto will have match rights on any offer sheet Quickley signs, which means they now have their point guard of the future.
I’m not quite as sold on the Barrett acquisition. He’s a talented and productive NBA player, having started on the wing for multiple playoff teams in his career. He’s also a Toronto area native, which should immediately make him a fan favorite. However, he’s a shaky fit next to Barnes due to their largely overlapping strengths and weaknesses. Barrett’s game can largely be categorized as “jack of all trades, master of none.” He’s a secondary scorer (career 18.2 ppg.), but he’s not efficient (53.6% true shooting). He holds his own against guards and forwards, but he’s not a true defensive playmaker in the same way Anunoby is. He has more ball handling and passing chops than the average NBA wing, but he’s not nearly good enough (career 2.8 assists per game) to be a lead driver of quality offense. His off-ball value is limited as well: his career 3FG mark of 34.2% makes defenses comfortable with helping off of him and daring him to make shots. His contract (average annual value of $26.7M through 2026-27) isn’t awful, but it’s probably slightly negative for the production he provides. Maybe playing close to home, and in a more streamlined role, will unlock a new level for Barrett, but for right now I don’t consider his addition to be a positive one.
New York Knicks: B+
Assuming the Knicks have a good idea of what Anunoby is going to command on his next contract (a safe assumption given that one of Anunoby’s agents is Sam Rose, son of Knicks team President Leon Rose), this is a smart move for New York. Anunoby is a much cleaner fit on the wing next to Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle than R.J. Barrett, and they will retain their draft assets for the next big move. Anunoby is arguably the league’s best wing defender, which might give them a fighting chance against prominent Eastern conference forwards like Jayson Tatum and Jimmy Butler. He’s still young (26 years old), and his next contract should lock him up in New York for the remainder of his prime. Even if Anunoby never unlocks the next level to his offensive game, he’s a career 37.5% three-point shooter who commands the defenses respect from beyond the arc. Given the presence of Brunson and Randle, the Knicks don’t need anything more than tertiary scoring from him on the offensive end.
Losing Quickley hurts, but I can understand the value proposition that the Knicks made by including him in this deal. Head coach Tom Thibodeau has been reluctant to play Quickley and Brunson together for long stretches because of the defensive limitations of an undersized backcourt. As a result, Quickley was likely locked into a backup role in NY, making it difficult to justify paying him the $20-$25 million he is likely to command on his next contract. By moving him now, the Knicks made use of him as an asset in order to secure a cleaner fit in Anunoby.
In Achiuwa and Flynn, the Knicks also added two young players to fortify their depth. Achiuwa has shown flashes of being a productive big, but he’s mostly struggled to make an impact on both ends. He’s been brutally inefficient (51.2% true shooting) for a player who does most of his work around the basket, and he’s a bit undersized (6’8”) to have a real impact as a rim protector. He’ll be a restricted free agent at year’s end, so New York will have a few months to evaluate his long-term upside and fit.
Flynn has struggled to consistently earn rotation minutes throughout his four year NBA career, and he figures to slot in behind Miles McBride as the Knicks third point guard. He’s still young (25), but he’s shown little reason for optimism beyond a potential backup role.
West Coast Hoops 