Knicks' trade: Will this deal come up Roses?
Toronto Raptors forward O.G. Anunoby, left, looks to pass as he is guarded by Washington Wizards guard Jordan Poole during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday in Washington. Credit: AP/Alex Brandon
How do you get to Madison Square Garden?
These days — in addition to practice, practice, practice — it really helps to be a CAA client.
The Knicks added yet another high-profile player represented by CAA to their roster Saturday with a stunning deal that sent RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and a 2024 second-round draft pick to the Toronto Raptors for coveted wing OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn.
Knicks president Leon Rose is the former head of the basketball division at CAA and his son Sam is a current CAA agent. Anunoby recently switched representation to CAA, which also represents Knicks starters Jalen Brunson and Isaiah Hartenstein, backup Josh Hart, two-way contract player Jacob Toppin and coach Tom Thibodeau.
Incestuous? Yes. Bad for Knicks fans? Not necessarily.
The jury is still out on that one. You can bet, however, that if this trade — the biggest of Rose’s tenure with the Knicks — turns out to be a bust, the final verdict on this cozy relationship is not going to be a good one for the Rose family.
There are big pluses in this deal, the primary one being that the Knicks had gone about as far as they were going to go with this group. If the team was going to be better than the one that surprised us all last season by getting to the second round of the playoffs, there needed to be changes.
Anunoby is an upgrade from Barrett. Though Barrett had a hot start to this season and has an unquestionable work ethic, the enduring picture many Knicks fans will have of him is his brutally honest quote after shooting 1-for-10 from the field in Miami in the final game of the 2022-23 season. “I played terrible,” said Barrett, who in his four-plus seasons has averaged 18.2 points and shot 42.3%.
Anunoby, 26, is a better fit with the Knicks’ top scorers. His 15.1 points per game don’t match Barrett’s, but he plays a style that doesn’t require the ball as much as Barrett did. He’s a career 37.5% shooter from outside the arc and a 40% shooter on catch-and-shoot three-pointers, which will work well playing off Brunson and Julius Randle.
The real upgrade here is on defense. The 6-7 Anunoby is considered among the best perimeter defenders in the league. Quick and strong, he is versatile enough to guard positions one through four. He also led the league in steals last season with 1.9, edging Miami’s Jimmy Butler for the crown.
“One, he has positional size,” Thibodeau said before the Knicks’ game in Indiana on Saturday night. “Two, he can guard multiple positions. Three, he’s a terrific three-point shooter, so he can space the floor. He’s also good in transition, very good finishing. And he’s young and he still has a lot of development left in his game.”
One reason Toronto was looking to trade Anunoby is that he can become a free agent after the season and walk. Yes, that could happen to the Knicks, too, but considering all the CAA fingerprints on this deal, don’t you think the Knicks feel pretty secure that they will keep him around?
The one thing that could really sink this trade is if Quickley becomes a big-time player in Toronto. With his energetic style, he was a fan favorite at the Garden. It was clear from the comments on X that more than a few fans were upset with the trade, which also included what certainly will be a very high second-round pick from Detroit.
Did the Knicks really have to give up both players? If they were going to do so, couldn’t they have thrown in a first-round draft pick or two and gotten a really big name somewhere else? This seems to be the overriding sentiment online.
Only time will tell. The Knicks needed to get something for Quickley after being unable to work out a contract extension. The problem is that Quickley is good enough to be a starting guard in this league but not good enough to start over Brunson. His departure alleviates a glut the Knicks have at that position.
The Knicks wanted to take the next step forward, and this shows a willingness to take some chances. The group that went to the second round last year was fun to watch but didn’t seem likely to get to the next level. They depended on Randle and Brunson to have alternate monster nights to bail them out.
Incestuous or not, you have to admire Rose’s risk-taking.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
