How OG Anunoby fits with Knicks, what’s next for Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett

The New York Knicks love making the NBA’s first consequential trade of the season. This time, it’s a big one.

The Knicks acquired two-way stalwart OG Anunoby from the Toronto Raptors, along with big man Precious Achiuwa and guard Malachi Flynn. New York sent fifth-year wing RJ Barrett, fourth-year guard Immanuel Quickley and the Detroit Pistons’ 2024 second-round pick to complete the deal.

This front office has pulled off the first trade of the season into a habit. Three years ago, the Knicks dealt for Derrick Rose a month before the deadline. The following season, they brought in Cam Reddish in January. And now, they execute the splashiest swap since team president Leon Rose took over the front office three and a half years ago.

Even last season — when their only move of magnitude, acquiring Josh Hart, came just before the deadline — the Knicks tried to get their work done early, surveying the league about Quickley’s value in the hopes of landing a first-round pick for him, league sources told The Athletic at the time. Once Quickley broke out, eventually leading to a second-place finish in NBA Sixth Man of the Year voting, the Knicks determined it wasn’t worth trading him.

But life changes fast in the NBA.

With much to discuss, here are 10 thoughts on the trade, Anunoby’s fit, the Achiuwa addition, Barrett’s and Quickley’s new situations in Toronto and more.

How do the new guys fit in New York?

The Knicks have sought after Anunonby for a long time, offering the Raptors multiple first-rounders for him leading into last season’s trade deadline, league sources told The Athletic. Toronto wasn’t interested in saying goodbye to Anunoby then. But his contract expires this summer and as his free agency approaches, the Raptors adjusted.

Anunoby will now start at small forward for the Knicks.

None of the new guys were available during Saturday’s 140-126 loss to the Indiana Pacers, leaving the Knicks (17-15) short-handed to end a road trip, but the expectation is for them to be ready come Monday when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Western Conference leaders.

The matchup will test Anunoby right away. There is a reason the bulky, 6-foot-7 wing made NBA Second-Team All-Defense a season ago and why he’s bound for more defensive accolades if he keeps up his performance in 2023-24: He guards the other team’s best player nightly and can man just about any archetype.

Assuming Anunoby plays Monday, his assignment will most likely be soon-to-be All-Star Anthony Edwards. But Anunoby can square up point guards, off-guards, forwards, wings, combo guards, big men — you name it; he can get in its face.

This is the sort of contributor the Knicks have needed, a long and strong switchblade wing who plays at either forward spot, can drain 3s and can create his shot. Anunoby averaged 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 27 games with Toronto this season. He’s shooting a career-best 61 percent on 2-pointers and 37 percent from deep.

Achiuwa, who is averaging 7.7 points and 5.4 rebounds, gives the Knicks extra depth at backup center, which they needed. Mitchell Robinson could miss the rest of the season after ankle surgery. Taj Gibson and Jericho Sims, the two other backup centers, have filled in with Isaiah Hartenstein absorbing most of the center minutes.

Flynn is a spunky point guard who could compete with Miles McBride for playing time.

What’s next for Quickley?

Quickley will start for the Raptors, who are in a position to pay him the contract the Knicks would not hand him over the summer when the two sides could not agree to an extension. New York didn’t believe it could pay Quickley, a top-notch sixth man but still a sixth man, so richly given his role. Meanwhile, Quickley wanted starter money.

Now, if he plays well with the Raptors, his wish may come true once he hits restricted free agency in this summer.

Once the Knicks realized they and Quickley would be far away from an extension, they understood he was unlikely to be part of their future. They considered trading him for a win-now veteran this past summer, too, even chattering with the Boston Celtics about a possible Quickley-for-Marcus Smart swap before Boston eventually dealt Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies, league sources tell The Athletic.

Quickley playing fewer minutes so far this season than he did in 2022-23 didn’t help. It’s difficult to justify a nine-figure contract for someone who plays only 24 minutes a game.

What’s next for Barrett?

Barrett’s future has not been stable this season, either.

While there are Barrett supporters inside the Knicks, one of his biggest ones, former general manager Scott Perry, parted ways with the organization this past summer. His detractors point to the lack of a jump shot and occasional tunnel vision to back up their views. The Knicks also understood another reality: Barrett’s downhill style did not gel on a team that employs Jalen Brunson (a point guard who loves getting to the paint), Julius Randle (who has operated down low even more this season) and a conventional center.

At some point, the Knicks would have to choose between Barrett and someone else, probably Randle. Now, they have.

Locker room dynamic

The Knicks understood that a too-many-guys situation had brewed in their locker room this season. Issues bubbled even before Hart and Quentin Grimes griped publicly about their roles. Donte DiVincenzo, who is coming off a career-high 38 points against Indiana, is playing less than he did with the Golden State Warriors a season ago.

Frustration was mounting, according to people in and around the Knicks’ locker room. The front office knew a consolidation trade was necessary. One like this doesn’t just balance the roster; it also opens up opportunities for others.

Contract situations

Quickley isn’t the only upcoming free agent involved in this trade. Anunoby can become unrestricted after this season. Achiuwa and Flynn will be restricted.

But for now, let’s concentrate on Anunoby. Retaining him will be the Knicks’ No. 1 offseason priority. And whatever type of contract he receives will color how we look back on this trade.

Surely, Anunoby won’t come cheap. He makes $18.6 million this season, but he’s also the exact type that so many teams — the Knicks, of course, included — consider the missing piece: a big, two-way wing. Players of Anunoby’s ilk get paid. Barring something unexpected, he won’t be an exception.

Jaden McDaniels just received $136 million over five years in an extension with the Timberwolves. But McDaniels, though he plays a similar role, is not as proven as the 26-year-old Anunoby. It’s possible Anunoby points to the contract Jerami Grant just signed with the Portland Trail Blazers, $160 million over five years, as the baseline.

If he makes that much, $32 million a year or more, it would turn him into the highest-paid player on the Knicks — though Randle and Brunson could surpass him when their contracts expire the following summer.

One element on the Knicks’ side is Anunoby’s representation, which is surely no coincidence. The forward switched from Klutch Sports to CAA last season, specifically working with agent Sam Rose, the son of Knicks president Leon Rose.

Since Leon Rose, who previously ran the basketball division at CAA, took over the front office in 2020, New York has targeted CAA-affiliated people, including executive VP of basketball operations William Wesley, head coach Tom Thibodeau, Randle, Brunson, Obi Toppin, Josh Hart and more. They have acquired four of Sam Rose’s clients: Brunson, Anunoby, Obi Toppin and Toppin’s brother, Jacob, who is on a two-way contract with the Knicks.

How does this fit ‘the plan’?

The surprising part of this trade isn’t that it happened. It’s that it took zero first-round picks to land Anunoby.

Now, the Knicks bring in a do-everything wing who would fit next to any star they may yearn for on the trade market. And make no mistake about it: Acquiring Anunoby was not the star trade. It was merely another step toward making the big swap we’ve heard about for so long.

Since they didn’t include any first-rounders in the Anunoby trade, the Knicks can still trade up to four unprotected first-round selections in another deal. They also own four heavily-protected firsts from other teams. Toss Grimes, a bunch of picks and salary filler into an offer, and that’s enough to land the Knicks another huge name.

The front office still does not expect a star-level player to become available during the regular season, league sources told The Athletic. And this move does not give the Knicks cap room in 2024 or in the year after that. But come the offseason, they will still have tradeable salaries on their books.

Because Hart signed an extension in August, they cannot trade him in-season. Come July 1, Hart’s salary would be $18.1 million. DiVincenzo will be making $11.4 million. The Knicks also could hold onto Evan Fournier, even though he doesn’t play, just in case a trade for a star pops up on or around draft night, in which case they could pick up Fournier’s $19 million team option for 2024-25, which would give them a big, expiring number to include in a deal.

That’s more than enough money to match any max player’s salary. And salary, plus Grimes and picks are an enticing package.

Anunoby prediction

There is a world where Anunoby arrives in New York and starts bombing 3s like never before. The Knicks have hardly ignored the brawny forward’s work from the corners, where he lives a cushy life.

He’s made 44 percent of his corner 3s so far this season, in line with his accuracy over the past half-decade. He’ll find himself in that area often with the Knicks.

When Randle posts up on the right side, he can look to Anunoby in the corner. When Brunson or another dribbler gets downhill, his eyes will pan to Anunoby as soon as a defender drifts just a step toward the paint.

Thibodeau constantly mentions “the value of shots” to his players, encouraging the Knicks to chuck up as many open, stand-still 3s as they can get. There’s no question that philosophy will translate to how he handles Anunoby, who has hoped for a bigger role than the one he had in Toronto.

Now, he has a chance at one. Barrett and Quickley soaked up a bunch of the Knicks’ scoring. Someone must pick up the slack.

The Knicks will get Anunoby spot-up opportunities. He is shooting 39 percent on catch-and-shoot 3s this season and has consistently hovered around 40 percent throughout his career.

He is taking 6.5 3-pointers a game in 2023-24. His career high is 6.6. But could that number climb closer to eight with the Knicks, who have more shooting around him than the Raptors did, which could give Anunoby more space, too?

Using Achiuwa

It’s worth monitoring how the Knicks use Achiuwa, who has shown promise over his first four NBA seasons, but who is yet to make a consistent imprint. He has ball skills. Every few minutes, he’ll make a move so smooth, you’ll wonder how this guy is not a 35-minute player. And then, he’ll fall off.

He doesn’t fit the description of a usual Thibodeau center. Achiuwa is only 6 foot 8 and is not a rim protector. He has a bad habit of getting lost on defense, though his activity and agility can be pluses. So, what might Thibodeau, a man who builds his defenses from the paint out, do with that?

The Knicks could deploy Achiuwa similarly to how they use Sims, another quick-footed, undersized center. New York switches more pick-and-rolls with Sims than it does with any of its other bigs because Thibodeau trusts him so much to guard on the perimeter.

On offense, I could see Thibodeau turning Achiuwa into an activity big, setting screens and rolling to the rim, hoping the big man’s athleticism draws defenders to the paint and opens up the perimeter. Achiuwa would be capable of dishing to the corners on short rolls. The Knicks could use him at power forward, too, which would give them a particularly large look.

New York can now play massive. Its starting lineup with Anunoby, Randle and Hartenstein in the frontcourt is made for bully ball.

Achiuwa’s contract situation also gives the Knicks a backup plan in case Hartenstein becomes too expensive when he hits unrestricted free agency after this season. Achiuwa, both because of his market and because he’s restricted, would likely cost less to retain.

A new rotation

The Knicks’ rotation is about to change. Let’s run through how Thibodeau could edit it.

Anunoby will slide into Barrett’s former starting spot alongside Brunson, Randle, Hartenstein and DiVincenzo. And as much as the world gushes over a never-ending Thibodeau-Gibson love affair, Achiuwa provides the team with a better option behind Hartenstein.

Coming off the bench along with Achiuwa will be Grimes, Hart and a point guard — either Flynn or McBride, which I will expand on in the next section.

Some guys’ playing time will change. Anunoby can absorb Barrett’s 30-something minutes. Achiuwa can play the backup ones behind Hartenstein. Hart still plays the same amount. Grimes and DiVincenzo can each grab more burn with Quickley gone.

But this isn’t just about minutes.

The way Thibodeau rotated Barrett was a staple of the Knicks’ identity. Barrett would exit the game about six minutes into the first quarter, usually the first sub for New York, so he could re-enter later and run with the second unit. Now, assuming Thibodeau sticks with a nine-man rotation, a route he’s always preferred, the Knicks need to reconfigure.

They could stagger Randle and Brunson so that one of them is always on the court, though complications would arise there, considering Randle catches his best rhythm when he plays the entire first quarter. Could Brunson be the first sub of the game in that case? No matter who wins the backup point guard job, the Knicks could use more creation in their second unit with Barrett and Quickley gone.

Thibodeau could also make Anunoby the first sub of the game and use him with the bench unit, using him as the de facto backup power forward instead of Hart, who would slide over to the three in that scenario.

No matter which starter runs with the reserves, the others will have to make up for the missing offense. Much of the second unit’s attack went through either Barrett or Quickley. Now, neither is around anymore, which leaves a greater burden on Hart and Grimes, who both have groused about their roles in the offense and now should receive opportunities for change.

It could mean more than just an increase in shots. Grimes and Hart could facilitate more, too, especially if the backup point guard is McBride, who is no dribble-happy scorer.

And speaking of that …

Flynn situation

The Knicks may have a position battle.

Flynn was a backup in Toronto this season, but it’s possible that does not continue in New York, where McBride could make a push to enter the rotation.

For a couple of years now, the Knicks have batted away calls from other teams about McBride, according to league sources, insisting they have no interest in trading the 23-year-old point guard. But they also haven’t given him much opportunity to play. That could change now.

With Quickley gone, a spot opens up to back up Brunson. Could those 12-to-15 minutes go to McBride or Flynn?

Flynn lives on speeding up the game, which could mesh well with this second unit, but he isn’t an efficient scorer inside the 3-point arc. Maybe more importantly for this coach, Flynn struggles defensively. Meanwhile, McBride makes his living as a physical stopper.

The Knicks showed McBride that they value him even more late Saturday night when the two sides agreed to a three-year, $13 million extension, league sources confirmed to The Athletic. ESPN was the first to report the extension.

The contract is fully guaranteed and has no incentives, league sources said. It will kick in for the 2024-25 season.