Knicks, OG Anunoby agree to new five-year deal; Pacome Dadiet selected with 25th pick in NBA Draft

The next domino fell into place for the Knicks Wednesday afternoon as they followed Tuesday’s blockbuster trade by coming to an agreement with OG Anunoby on the richest contract in franchise history.

Anunoby, who joined the Knicks in a Dec. 30 trade and made an immediate impact as a key piece, pushing the Knicks into contending status, opted out of the final year of his contract and agreed to a five-year, $212.5 million contract — with a player option and a trade kicker.

The deal, along with the trade for Mikal Bridges Tuesday, gives the Knicks a deep and versatile roster — one which already was pushed up to the fifth-highest championship odds according to ESPNBets.

With salary cap constraints limiting what the team can do moving forward, the Knicks entered the NBA Draft with two picks in the first round at No. 24 and 25, but moved back from 24 to 26 — trading with Washington and adding the 51st pick in the second round. After selecting Pacome Dadiet, a 6-7 wing from France at No. 25, the Knicks then sent the No. 26 pick on to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for a package of five second-round picks.

Dadiet would seem to fit the mold of a draft-and-stash player at just 18 years old, which would allow the Knicks to come out of the night with no additional salary this season guaranteed from the draft. But he said he plans to come over and play this season.

While there were rumors of suitors for Anunoby, the most attractive free agent on the market, no one could pay him what the Knicks could and while they may have preferred a more reasonable number, letting him go would have been devastating to what the team has put in place. There was little doubt that the Knicks and Anunoby would come to an agreement to remain in place after the team surrendered key rotation pieces in RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to obtain him from Toronto, along with Precious Achiuwa, who is a restricted free agent.

The average annual salary of $42.5 is actually below what he could have received over a four-year deal from another team, providing the Knicks with slightly more flexibility.

Achiuwa’s chances of returning might be boosted by this deal with the team unlikely to be able to fit Isaiah Hartenstein under the salary cap. The most the Knicks can offer Hartenstein is a four-year, $72.5 million contract and not only can other teams exceed that — Oklahoma City and Orlando are believed to have interest in him — but the Knicks are now hard-capped and unable to even pay him the $16 million starting figure unless they are able to move other contracts.

The Knicks will be able to work around the fringes of the roster, whether it is through the draft or a low-cost veteran free agent, but losing Anunoby would have been disastrous for the team. The Knicks went 12-2 immediately after acquiring him until both he and Julius Randle were injured. Overall, including the postseason, the Knicks were 26-6 with him in the lineup.

One Knicks source indicated that the intention always was to get the deal done prior to Anunoby hitting the open market where teams would have been able to make their pitch to him. And while the deal was pricey, it was below the max deal he could have gotten from the Knicks of five years and $245 million.

The Knicks still could have work to do this summer beyond working around the fringes with Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle both eligible for contract extensions. While there have been indications during the season that Brunson would be open to signing that four-year, $156 million extension this summer, and it could make sense with him able to then opt out after reaching the 10-year veteran status and getting a bigger deal on the back end, it’s reasonable for the star piece to hesitate at settling for a lower deal than Anunoby.

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.