The Knicks are loading up for a major run at the NBA champion Boston Celtics.
Less than 24 hours after completing a massive trade with the crosstown rival Nets for Mikal Bridges, the Knicks agreed to sign wing OG Anunoby to a five-year, $212.5 million deal, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The move keeps Anunoby from hitting free agency at the deadline on Sunday.
“I know OG is excited because I know how hard he works and how much getting better means to him,” his former Indiana coach Tom Crean told NJ Advance Media ahead of Wednesday’s NBA Draft. “This gives him a great opportunity to continue to build his career at a place that he knows can win a championship and allows him to grow as a player, which is so important to him.”
“He’s a relentless worker, committed winner and a monster heart. I couldn’t be happier or prouder of him.”
Other teams had been linked to Anunoby, including the Atlantic Division rival 76ers, and that likely pushed the Knicks to get a deal done faster.
But with Anunoby back in the fold, the Knicks can pair him with Bridges as elite two-way wings to guard the likes of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
“If the Knicks get OG back, they on the Celtics’ ass like back pockets,” ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins said earlier Wednesday.
“Anunoby is the piece the Knicks need to combine now with MIkal Bridges to make this work,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said Wednesday on “Get Up. “He’s free, he’s going to have to be paid like it. The Knicks don’t have any other players at that max level....They may have to pay a lot in salary to lock down OG Anunoby.”
The Sixers -- or any other team -- could offer Anunoby $182 million over four years — a $42.3 million starting salary with five percent raises in each ensuing season. But the Knicks were able to give Anunoby an extra year and eight percent annual raises, a contract that would rise to $245.3 million over five years, per The Athletic.
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The Knicks traded RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to Toronto last December in a deal that brought back Anunoby and forward Precious Achiuwa. The Knicks went 26-6 with Achiuwa in the lineup.
He averaged 14.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in 23 games for the Knicks but suffered an elbow injury that required surgery and caused him to miss 18 games initially and then more time later and in the postseason.
He returned to score 5 points in 5 minutes of the Knicks’ Game 7 loss to the Indiana Pacers in the conference semifinals.
Now with a healthy Anunoby in the fold, plus the addition of Bridges, the Knicks can take aim at the Celtics.
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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter who covers Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his Website at ZAGSBLOG.com.