3 reasons why the OG Anunoby trade just makes sense

In the early afternoon of December 30th, Leon Rose and the New York Knicks had made a semi blockbuster trade in Acquiring OG Anunoby from the Toronto Raptors. Although OG has been on the knicks radar since last years trade deadline. Many fans were stunned by the fact homegrown starts RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickly were shipped off in the deal,; causing understandable outrage. However, today, we're going to breakdown why the knicks needed to pull the trigger on this deal.

1. Salary Cap concerns

With RJ Barrett entering the first year of his 4 year/$107,000,000 contract, many had hoped that RJ would take the leap that was needed to make this a championship-contending team. This being the second season with the core of Brunson/Randle/Barrett, there was no excuse for RJ to not thrive in the role he was given. Which simply wasn't the case as his lackluster shooting numbers will tell the tale.

In the 2022-2023 season RJ had shot a disappointing 31.1% from three and this year in 26 games he was shooting 33.1% from three while averaging the same 5 attempts per game. RJ's struggles before the trade didn't help his case either as he was shooting 24.5% from three in his last 10 games with the knicks. After 4 full season in the league it was becoming clearer that RJ's ceiling with the knicks had reached its peak and his value was starting to tank. ESPN's Zach Lowe reported on "The Lowe Podcast" that anonymous NBA front office and coaches had seen RJ's contract as a toxic asset.

Now, let's talk about Immanuel Quickley contract status. This summer, IQ would have hit the market as a Restricted free agent, which would give the Knicks the ability to match any contract offered to IQ. It. was reported that over the summer the Knicks had briefly talked about a potential deal with IQ and his camp, However, no solid ground for a deal was ever put into place. While IQ was asking for 20-25 million a year which is a lot of money to pay for a sixth man that would never be given the opportunity to start over Jalen Brunson who is having himself an all-star season. With a combination of RJ's regression and contract IQ is expected to get during free agency, the Knicks needed to make a move to update the roster and OG Anunoby was deal that needed to be made.

2. DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE.

OG Anunoby being a defensive anchor is no secret within in the NBA. Last season, OG had earned his first all defensive second team award while also leading the NBA in steals per game which was 1.9 per game. A defensive wing like OG Anunoby is rare to find in today's NBA, especially with how the Knicks have structured their roster. Jalen Brunson being the leader of the Knicks offense and with his lack of size it was clear the Knicks needed OG Anunoby to hide Jalen Brunson's size on defense. A perfect example of this can be seen on yesterdays New Year's Day matchup against the Western conferences best Timberwolves. Down the stretch in the 4th quarter OG Anunoby was guarding one of the best guards in the league in Anthony Edwards. Not only did he guard him he did successfully, NBA tracking data from last nights game in the 68 possessions in which Anunoby was Edwards primary defender, Edwards had shot 4-14 from the field(28.6%) with 3 turnovers and zero assists. Having a player that can guard opposing team's best player while also being efficient on offense is something every NBA team needs and now the knicks have that.

https://streamable.com/ehuox2 (Clip shows OG's steal late in the 4th)

3. How well does Anunoby fit for the Knicks

We've already discussed how impactful OG's defense will be for the knicks. Now what about the offense? Anunoby os is a massive upgrade in 3 point shooting especially in the corner as this year OG Anunoby is shooting 44% from the corner as well as shooting 55% on the top of the arch. Meanwhile RJ Barrett was shooting 33.3 percent from the corner as a Knick this season with a career average of 34%. Anunoby on the year is averaging 15.2 points per game with a usage rate around 19% percent while RJ Barrett was averaging 18.3 points per game with a higher usage rate of 27%. Not only is OG Anunoby a better shooter at the perimeter he's also has similar averages on more efficient shooting splits.