The New York Knicks were the beneficiaries of one of the most impactful trades of the NBA season. True to their unfortunate nature, it was most noticeable in the absence of the finish.
Knicks management moved several players before last month’s deadline, including homegrown faces RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, who went to Toronto in exchange for a three-player package led by OG Anunoby.
Evaluating the biggest in-season deals of the season for Bleacher Report, analyst Dan Favale gave the Knicks a strong A-minus for the deal, kept out of the top spot simply by the fact that Anunoby has been sidelined for the past month . plus with an elbow injury.
“(Anunoby) doesn’t bring the self-creation of Barrett or Quickley, but the Knicks get enough of that from (Jalen) Brunson, Julius Randle and their collection of secondary players and ball players,” Favale writes. “Replacing someone who spends more time moving away from the action and jumping from a standing position opens up both the floor and their pecking order, making it a near-perfect deal, as long as Anunoby gets and stays healthy and, as expected, re-signs free agency”.