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Before the New York Knicks went on their eight game win streak, they were reportedly looking at changes after getting off to a slow start to the year.
Being 10-13 put them on the cusp of the play-in tournament, and it was clear changes were needed if they wanted to have a shot at turning the year around. As it turns out, it just came down to a few rotational changes, but the Knicks had bigger plans before that happened.
According to SNY’s Ian Begley, the Knicks reached out to the Toronto Raptors about acquiring rising star OG Anunoby. The talks obviously didn’t go very far and the Knicks have since gone on a win streak that has taken them out of the basement of the Eastern Conference and into the sixth seed.
Knicks Reached Out About NBA Champ
Onunoby, a 2019 NBA champion with the Raptors, is averaging a career-best 18.7 points per game this season, so snagging him from Toronto would’ve been a tough thing to do.
Going into their matchup against the Knicks, the Raptors are sitting at 13-18 on the season, so they are going through their share of struggles and they could be looking for a soft reset on the year. This could’ve meant Anunoby was available, and the Knicks certainly have the assets to make a move happen.
“Before this most recent winning streak, someone from the club reached out to the Toronto Raptors to ask about trading for OG Anunoby,” reported Begley. “That’s a trade that would come at a significant cost — it’s not a move you make unless you know you have to shake up your roster.”
It’s not clear what the Knicks would’ve given up in this deal, or if it would’ve had any impact on the team’s success this season. Evan Fournier, Cam Reddish and Derrick Rose are all out of the rotation, but it’s hard to envision a world where the Raptors would’ve wanted to bring any of them onto the squad to turn their season around.
Things Are Going Well For the Knicks
Hindsight is 20/20, but it’s looking like a good thing the Knicks didn’t make that trade because they have been rolling.
There’s still a lot of season left to go, and they haven’t changed everyone’s mind about being contenders yet, but there’s no denying the Knicks are the hottest team in the league at the moment.
The Raptors have a shot at spoiling the streak, but they are going through some issues of their own and could just be the next victim on the Knicks’ war path.
After a down year for Julius Randle, he’s looking like an All-Star yet again, and there’s even been some chatter about Jalen Brunson joining him as well.
All in all, there’s a lot of excitement surrounding the Knicks for the first time in a while, but there are still question marks about the roster.
It’s not yet known if Rose, Fournier or Reddish will be traded before the deadline, but they are getting interest. Fournier was recently discussed in a swap with the Lakers that would land the Knicks Patrick Beverley. There’s nothing concrete as of yet, but as the February deadline approaches, there will be more talks about what moves to make.
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