Getty OG Anunoby defends Julius Randle during a game between the Toronto Raptors and the New York Knicks.
For a New York Knicks squad that is clearly better than last year’s iteration but still finds itself well below the upper crust of the Eastern Conference, Toronto Raptors star OG Anunoby holds an incredible amount of appeal in a number of areas. In other news, water: wet.
At 6-foot-7 and 230-plus pounds with a 7-foot-2 wingpsan and a nose for the ball, Anunoby was built to play in Tom Thibodeau’s defensive system. And his chops as a scorer (at 17.0 PPG over the last two seasons), shooter (just under 37% from distance on six attempts nightly) and supplementary rebounder (5.5 RPG) are similarly enticing.
With that being the case, the 25-year-old has been oft namechecked as a potential acquisition for team president Leon Rose and the Knicks’ front office.
Per the latest trade intel from Yahoo! Sports Jake Fischer, however, a move netting Anunoby probably isn’t in the cards for the Knicks. Even as the team’s draft coffers are the envy of 20-25 other teams around the NBA.
Fischer: Knicks Not ‘Actively Engaged’ With Raptors on OG Amnunoby Trade Scenarios
On a special, trade-deadline edition of SNY’s The Putback with Ian Begley, the longtime Knicks insider asked Fischer and Knicks Film School’s Jonathan Macri about the Anunoby-to-NY buzz (which he himself categorized as a “farfetched deal”). Alas, based on what Fischer is being told, any discussions the two sides might have been having are currently on ice.
“I was told from someone involved in the talks that both [the Brooklyn Nets] and New York at this juncture are not teams that are actively engaged with Toronto on OG Anunoby,” Fischer said.
“I’ve heard from several teams around the league that the price is very, very high from Toronto for the Defensive Player of the Year candidate. So, that seems to be something that I’m not really expecting for New York at this juncture. Maybe moving forward — things can always change.”
Fischer did maintain, though, that the Knicks covet an Anunoby-like player.
“In terms of goals, what they’re adding, the only names I’ve really, truly heard New York connected to have been more wing-type players,” Fischer said. “I’ll be curious to see if they do end up bringing anybody back who’s not more of a perimeter, wing-oriented player.”
Knicks Could Sell Minority Stake in Team, MSG President/COO Says
While Knicks chairman James Dolan has shown little interest in offloading a majority stake in the Knicks and/or the NHL’s New York Rangers over the years, an MSG Sports exec just left the door open for someone to purchase a minority stake during a Tuesday conference call for investors.
As reported by Sportico’s Eric Jackson, MSG Sports president and COO David Hopkinson had this to say on the call: “We have no plans to sell either team… No current plans there, but we certainly won’t rule out the possibility of selling a minority stake in the Knicks or Rangers.”
Currently, MSG Sports’ largest outside investor is the firm Silver Lake, which owns a stake amounting to approximately 10% of the company.