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Just before the new year, the Knicks traded RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, two of their most prized prospects at the time, for OG Anunoby in the biggest shakeup of the Leon Rose era. Not only would they be gambling on Anunoby as the missing piece, giving up two core pieces, but they did so with full knowledge of his impending unrestricted free agency this summer.
Obviously, they wouldn’t go through with the deal without a high level of confidence he’d re-sign, but free agency can be unpredictable, and the Knicks need to consider how much is too much to retain him. Other teams may drive up the market simply out of spite, making it more painful for New York to keep its big addition.
Still, it’s hard to imagine the Knicks scoffing at any figure given the impact Anunoby’s had on their team in such a short time. He averaged 14.1 points and 4.4 rebounds on 55.3 percent shooting from two and 39.4 percent from three, solid and efficient production that doesn’t come close to capturing his value.
New York was 26-6 with Anunoby in the lineup, including the postseason. During the regular season they outscored opponents by 353 points in the 802 minutes he was on the floor.
In just his first month in a Knicks uniform, Anunoby meshed well enough with Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle to spark a 12-2 run, including mostly comfortable wins over Minnesota, Philadelphia and Denver. At times he single-handedly swung games with an elite two-way two-minute stretch, championship-level defense on one end leading to precision looks on the other.
He missed time due to an elbow injury and the Knicks felt his absence, but despite a later re-aggravation he was ready to go heading into the playoffs.
Anunoby proved his worth and some in the postseason, starting with a first round defensive clinic. He was the only Knick able to somewhat deter the explosive Tyrese Maxey, then turned around to steal a pivotal Game 4 behind a valiant effort helping guard Joel Embiid down the stretch.
He only averaged 15 a night, but they felt bigger than that figure, often coming off a steal or in the clutch. Some of the biggest moments of the series – a…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/stay-knicks-sign-og-anunoby-160339300.html
Author : SNY
Publish date : 2024-05-27 16:03:39
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