Getty New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau reacts during the second half against the Boston Celtics.
All season long, easily the most noteworthy name linked being as a trade target for the New York Knicks has been Toronto’s rising star wing OG Anunoby, with SNY’s Ian Begley even reporting back on December 20 that the team’s front office has already contacted the Raptors regarding the 25-year-old’s availability.
Despite their well-documented desires to land the sixth-year veteran, however, the Knickerbockers are not the only club in the association with an interest in such a pursuit and, per a January 31 report by HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, one direct competitor for his services could end up being the Memphis Grizzlies.
“There’s been some speculation from a few rival executives that the Memphis Grizzlies could make a run at Anunoby given their surplus of draft picks in the years to come,” Scotto reported.
Raptors guard Fred VanVleet may command $30-35 million annually as a free agent. More on trade talks involving VanVleet, OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr, and a look at the futures of Pascal Siakam and Nick Nurse with @BlakeMurphyODC on the @hoopshype podcast.
Though the Knicks may be viewed as one of the most likely destinations for Anunoby should he be dealt at this year’s deadline, as they hold a bevy of draft capital through the year 2025, the Grizzlies could easily prove to be a formidable foe in the chase for the wing as they own all of their draft rights moving forward, hold the rights to Golden State’s first-rounder in 2024, and roster several quality young players which, according to Christian Clark NOLA.com, is something the Raptors would want back in exchange for their coveted talent.
Anunoby’s Fit With Knicks Brought Into Question
Though the idea of a team like Memphis entering into the OG Anunoby sweepstakes may infringe on New York’s chances of ultimately landing him, as they could easily dangle a desirable package in Toronto’s direction should they so choose, the Knicks falling short of acquiring the wing may not be the worst turn of events for the team, as there are those who believe his fit within Tom Thibodeau’s scheme is a tad bit questionable.
In a January 31 episode of the KFS Podcast, host Jonathan Macri, along with guest and staff writer for The Athletic Fred Katz, went into depth on why Anunoby may not be the answer that Leon Rose and company may be looking for this trade season.
“I don’t see Anunoby making a ton of sense, like, basically in the (Quentin) Grimes spot in the starting lineup. I don’t know, I think there’s a possibility that the team might play worse with that particular construction. It feels clunky, you’re losing your best point of attack defender because OG Anunoby is a bigger guy. Yea, I don’t know,” Macri said.
Katz would agree with Macri’s point, and would follow up his analysis by delving further into Anunoby’s game and how he doesn’t seem to complement the Knicks as currently constructed.
“Yeah, I mean I also think I would be concerned about the spacing. You’re taking your best shooter out of the starting lineup and you’re putting in Anunoby who’s like a 36% 3-point shooter…but teams really help off of him and the Knicks’ ball movement is not as good as the Raptors’ and, by the way, like, the Raptors put him in the corner but the Raptors are not some sort of all-world, half-court offense because of it. Like teams freely help off of him.
“Like, he’s shooting 36%. That’s solid, but it’s on 36% on a lot of open looks because teams would rather just, like, slice in on (Pascal) Siakam in the lane…and they’ll live with him taking those shots. And the other side of it is…he’s a really phenomenal defender and he’s a much better defender than Grimes, so I don’t worry. That doesn’t concern me. But the reason that you would want OG Anunoby is because he’s so versatile…I don’t think the Knicks would run with his versatility. I just don’t think the fit is great,” Katz said.
Outside of Katz and Macri, however, the overwhelming majority of analysts are of the belief that Anunoby is a must-get for the Knicks, with Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report going as far as to tab him as a player worth “offering up anything in their asset collection” for.
Mavs Tabbed as ‘Top Landing Spot’ for Knicks Forward
It’s no secret that the New York Knicks are looking to part ways with estranged youngster Cam Reddish before the February 9 deadline and, though he may have shown himself to be a rather inconsistent player throughout his four year pro career, still has several teams interested in acquiring his services according to SNY’s Ian Begley.
In a February 4 piece by Bleacher Report’s NBA Staff, it was determined that perhaps the top landing spot for the forward could be the Dallas Mavericks for, according to them, they are in a position where they should consider taking “a swing” on the former lottery pick.
“The Mavs should absolutely take a swing as they search for players with star potential to place around Luka Dončić. Reddish could get a consistent role off the bench for Dallas, giving it a 30-game sample size of data before he becomes a restricted free agent this summer,” B/R’s staff wrote.
The Dallas Mavericks tried to trade for New York Knicks forward Cam Reddish, but clearly, no deal has been reached. I wrote about the obstacles in the Mavs’ way when attempting a low-risk trade similar to the Los Angles Lakers’ Rui Hachimura deal.
A raw, young talent, Reddish boasts pedestrian career averages of just 10.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.0 steals on 39.3% shooting from the floor and currently finds himself on a two-month long DNP-streak.
Though he has struggled to find a role within Thibodeau’s rotation since being traded to the Knicks last January, Bleacher Report’s writing staff seems to believe that the forward would have an easier time coming across consistent minutes with the Mavericks.