Former Knicks 1st-Round Pick Praises OG Anunoby in Exit Interview

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RJ Barrett drives with the basketball during a January 20 game against the New York Knicks.

Blockbuster trades aren’t ever without sacrifice. In the NBA, they usually involve homegrown talent, a surplus of draft picks, or both — as was the case with the New York Knicks deal for OG Anunoby.

RJ Barrett, the centerpiece in that trade, had a strong showing with the Toronto Raptors this season. He averaged 21.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists in 32 appearances with the club.

But in his exit interview for the 2023-2024 season, Barrett praised Anunoby as an example of someone he’s striving to grow more like in the offseason.

“Everyone here has gotten used to watching OG play defense,” Barrett told Forbes. “He’s one of the best defenders I’ve ever seen. … I want to get better on that side and show myself what I can do.”

That’s high praise from Barrett for the guy he was just traded for. But he inadvertently pinpointed exactly why the Knicks did that deal.

OG Anunoby a Difference Maker for New York

In exchange for the two-way wing, New York gave up two homegrown talents in Immanuel Quickley and Barrett, neither of which the fanbase was exactly happy to part with.

Barrett was the third overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, New York’s highest draft pick since they took Patrick Ewing first overall in 1985. To give him up in any deal was no small gesture.

Quickley, the 25th pick of the 2021 NBA draft, was a widespread fan favorite. His electric style of play and contagious joy skyrocketed him amongst both the fanbase and the league by the end of his tenure.

But so far, the deal has paid off.

The Knicks finished the regular season with a 20-3 record with Anunoby, and he looks primed for a top role in any playoff matchup, guarding the opposing team’s best player.

And he’s played up to snuff on the offensive end, too.

Anunoby averaged 14.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.7 steals in 23 games for New York. He never recorded one game with a negative plus-minus.

In 1,585 possessions with Anunoby on the floor, New York is scoring 123.8 points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass. That’s good for the 96th percentile among the entire NBA.

And even in the 883 possessions where Anunoby is on without offensive-hub Julius Randle, the Knicks are scoring 120.5 points per 100 possessions. That ranks in the 86th percentile, according to Cleaning the Glass.

Jalen Brunson helps. He’s a one-man offense.

But that doesn’t change the fact that Anunoby is settling into a role on both ends of the floor in New York.

Between the season’s open and December 29, Barrett’s last game with the team, the Knicks registered a 114.8 defensive rating.

That was 14th in the NBA at the time.

From January 1, Anunoby’s first game with the team, to the end of the year, New York had a 110.3 defensive rating.

That ranked third in the NBA.

But that can’t all be credited to Anunoby, who missed 27 games during that span. His health remains the biggest question mark facing New York in their looming playoff run.

Anunoby’s Future, Health Looming Trade Caveats

The Anunoby trade will be subject to review for years to come.

Barrett is only 23 years old. Quickley is just 24. The chances of them panning out as longtime starters and potential All-Stars appears high.

But the the Knicks made the deal with a championship in mind.

If they win one with Anunoby in a New York uniform, the scales balance, no matter where Barrett’s and Quickley’s careers take them. It will be an uphill battle this year without Randle.

And then there’s Anunoby’s upcoming free agency. He has a $19.9-million player option and is expected to decline it and enter free agency, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

“Anunoby is expected to decline his $19.9 million player option for 2024-25 to reach unrestricted free agency,” Fischer wrote on January 5. “And told reporters further contract conversations would be left to his representation, CAA, which, with the agency’s deep ties throughout Madison Square Garden, has left plenty of expectation among NBA personnel that Anunoby will be finding some agreement far above the four-year, $118 million extension Anunoby was limited to signing but would not have accepted with the Raptors, league sources told Yahoo Sports.”

Whether or not the New York Knicks won the Anunoby trade is far away from being determined. But this year’s postseason will certainly provide indicators.

So does Barrett aiming to be more like the former Toronto Raptor.