Getty Josh Hart and OG Anunoby during an April 30 game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The NBA offseason is in full swing, and the New York Knicks are among the most active teams. After trading for Mikal Bridges, they’ve re-signed OG Anunoby on a five-year deal.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was first with reports of the agreement.
Free agent F OG Anunoby intends to sign a five-year, $212.5 million contract to return to the New York Knicks, sources tell ESPN. Deal will include a player option and a trade kicker.
It’s a five-year, $212.5 million deal for the Knicks’ midseason acquisition.
Josh Hart was among the first to react to the Anunoby deal, sending a message to his teammate.
Money Man OG 🔥
“Money Man OG,” Hart tweeted. He followed it up complimenting New York’s new wing tandem in Anunoby and Bridges.
Demons on the wings
“Demons on the wings,” Hart continued.
Anunoby arrived in the Big Apple by way of a midseason deal, where Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett were sent to the Toronto Raptors.
The Knicks signed up to pay him his next contract when they made the trade. And now it’s official.
Anunoby averaged 14.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1 block per game in 23 regular-season appearances with New York.
Anunoby’s Injury History a Concern
The trade for Anunoby altered the trajectory of the Knicks’ season. They went on a 12-2 run immediately following the deal before Julius Randle went down with a shoulder injury.
He appeared in 50 of 82 games this season with various injuries.
According to Cleaning the Glass, the Knicks outscored opponents by 22 points with Anunoby on the floor in the regular season. New York held opponents to 101.8 points per, and with him off the floor, that number rose to 117.2.
Anunoby’s earned a lucrative deal, there’s no debate. The Knicks are 26-6 when he plays, between the regular and postseason.
But fans will hold out to see what kind of availability-based incentives are laced throughout the contract.
Knicks Trade for Bridges
New York is staying busy early in the NBA offseason. Prior to inking Anunoby on a new contract, the Knicks pulled off a blockbuster deal for Bridges.
Brooklyn receives: Bojan Bogdanovic, four unprotected first-round picks (2025, 2027, 2029, 2031), a 2025 protected first (via Milwaukee), a 2028 unprotected pick swap, 2025 second-round pick
New York receives: Bridges, 2026 second-round pick
It’s a blockbuster by all proportions. Bridges rejoins his college teammates Donte DiVincenzo, Jalen Brunson, and Hart. All four played together at the University of Villanova.
https://twiter.com/mikal_bridges/status/1805784694702665874
It’s the first trade between Brooklyn and New York since 1983.
It happened, in large part, because Bridges made a request to be dealt to the Knicks, according to SNY’s Ian Begley.
“The Mikal Bridges deal came together quickly after Bridges informed the Nets that he wanted to be a Knick,” Begley tweeted on June 25. “Bridges was prepared to sign with NYK and his side was prepared to use that leverage to keep other teams from trading for him, per SNY sources.”
Bridges reacted to the trade on X, formerly known as Twitter, writing “This is crazy, lol.”
Wojnarowski went on to call Bridges one of the league’s most desired players.
“The Knicks pay a steep price to land one of the league’s most coveted trade assets and the Nets get a massive haul to replenish assets and embark on a rebuild with mass cap space and future draft picks,” Wojnarowski tweeted on June 25.
Bridges averaged 19.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.0 steals per game in 82 appearances with Brooklyn last season.