Right now there aren’t many teams in the NBA that are ready to be sellers ahead of the deadline. All but four teams are within four games of a spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament, so finding ways to upgrade rosters has not yet materialized. One team that people are keeping an eye on in that regard is the Toronto Raptors.
Toronto is one of the few teams that are deciding whether they want to try and make a run at the postseason or blow things up ahead of the deadline. One of the players that are garnering the most attention is forward OG Anunoby.
Anunoby is the prototypical wing that teams are looking to build their rosters around. He is an improving offensive player and already a highly regarded defender. That kind of two-way pay is not easy to find, so the asking price for him is incredibly high.
As shared during a new episode of #thisleague uncut, Chris Haynes and Marc Stein discussed what they are hearing on the trade front. Anunoby was a topic of discussion, and it was revealed that three teams are showing the most interest in him; the New York Knicks, Memphis Grizzlies, and New Orleans Pelicans. Haynes mentioned the mutual desire between the Grizzlies and Pelicans to deter the other from getting a trade done.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: OG Anunoby, Toronto Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies & New Orleans Pelicans Updates
Reading that the Knicks are willing to offer three first-round picks in exchange for Anunoby is certainly shocking. It feels like a little bit of desperation on their part after not being able to close the deal on a Donovan Mitchell trade over the offseason.
If a bidding war is going to ensue, the Knicks could be being used as leverage by the Raptors to extract as much value as possible from the Grizzlies and Pelicans. If there is an inkling from either of those franchises that the others may be closing in on an Anunoby deal, they will increase their offer. Leaking that the Knicks have made three first-round picks available would be a shrewd way for Raptors’ general manager Masai Ujiri to have a high starting price.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: OG Anunoby, Toronto Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies & New Orleans Pelicans Updates
There has been no indication that Toronto is getting close to moving Anunoby, but if they are receiving offers that substantial, it will be hard not to pull the trigger on them. Three first-round picks are a haul in exchange for any player.
