Raptors trade OG Anunoby to Knicks for Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett

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The Toronto Raptors are done evaluating.

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A team rumoured to be on the verge of a big deal for years now, the Raptors finally pulled the trigger on Saturday, dealing OG Anunoby to the New York Knicks for a package including dynamic guard Immanuel Quickley and Canadian forward RJ Barrett.

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ESPN reported that a 2024 second round pick from the Detroit Pistons would also be coming Toronto’s way and that big man Precious Achiuwa and point guard Malachi Flynn would also be heading to New York with Anunoby, a player the Knicks have long coveted.

New York is currently suing the Raptors and team ownership, which makes this deal all the more intriguing.

Toronto management has always been extremely high on Anunoby — one of the NBA’s premier defenders and catch-and-shoot three-point marksmen — dating back to when the team promised they’d select him if he was available in the 2017 draft (he was and was taken 23rd overall). Anunoby will become an unrestricted free agent this summer, but one would expect the Knicks will do what it takes to sign him long-term there. He’s an ideal fit for the playoff team.

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Quickley, another outstanding catch-and-shoot player (40% on threes last two seasons and 47% as a rookie), has averaged 15 points and 2.5 assists per game this season on a career-best 39.5% shooting on three-pointers. He also brings elite free throw shooting to one of the NBA’s worst-performing teams at the stripe. More importantly, he’s an explosive scoring guard who turned 24 in June and should complement Raptors franchise player in waiting Scottie Barnes well. Quickley will become a restricted free agent this summer, meaning the Raptors can match any offer for him.

Quickley finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting last season, but appears primed for a bigger role in Toronto.

Barrett is signed to a long-term contract and the Mississauga native, who was the No. 3 selection of the 2019 draft, who is only 23, gets to come home. Barrett is coming off a summer where he helped lead Canada to the bronze medal at the FIBA World Cup and helped the country qualify for the Olympics for the first time since 2000. Barrett has taken some strides as a player this season, including raising his three-point percentage and getting his free throw percentage to a career-best 83%. He’s averaged 18.2 points, above his career mark of 18.1, but below the 19.6 and 20.0 he averaged the previous two seasons. Barrett was playing a career-low 29.5 minutes per game. He started all but one of his 297 games as a Knick, but Toronto now has many possibilities for its new starting lineup.

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The pick coming from Detroit should be a good one, since the Pistons entered Saturday’s game against the Raptors with a league-low two wins. Toronto was not slated to have any picks in the 2024 draft before this deal, since its first-round pick will be heading to San Antonio unless the team selects in the Top 6 and its second-rounder has already been dealt.

Toronto selected Flynn with the 29th selection in 2020 and while he’d played better this year than in the past, Flynn was unable to establish himself as a good NBA player to this point. Achiuwa was the return in the sign-and-trade that sent franchise icon Kyle Lowry to the Miami Heat. Achiuwa, while talented and filled with potential, recently fell into head coach Darko Rajakovic’s doghouse as mistakes piled up. He will become a restricted free agent this summer.

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Toronto took on Detroit (6 p.m. ET tipoff) short-handed, with the three players involved in the pending deal being held out.

Anunoby, who led the NBA in steals lasts season and made his first all-defensive team, leaves Toronto ranked No. 8 in franchise history in steals, fourth in effective field goal percentage, sixth in two-point field goal percentage, 10th in steals per game, and seventh in defensive win shares and defensive box plus/minus. He’s averaged 15.1 points this season and averaged 11.8 points as a Raptor in 395 games.

The next questions will be about the futures of Pascal Siakam and Gary Trent Jr., both unrestricted free agents in the summer. Toronto has listened to offers for both players for months, but ESPN reported Saturday there was currently no traction on any Siakam talks.

@WolstatSun

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