After much speculation, the New York Knicks are indeed making a move. They are finalizing a trade for Toronto Raptors wing OG Anunoby in exchange for a package that centers around RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Knicks will also receive former first-round picks Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn, while the Raptors get some future draft capital in the form of a 2024 second-rounder (via the Detroit Pistons) as a sweetener on their end.

Anunoby may not be the superstar fans have been clamoring for, but he can impact the game on both ends of the court. He has generated interest around the league for a while now, due to his impressive combination of defensive versatility and athleticism.

While his scoring has dipped a bit (15.1 points per game), the 26-year-old is still a threat from the perimeter and is shooting 37.4 percent from 3-point range. The Knicks did not abandon their pursuit and are now being rewarded for it.

But it will cost them two young assets who are the third and fourth highest scorers on the team. Barrett is averaging 18.2 points per game on 42.3 percent shooting from the field. He has not developed into the primary offensive option the organization hoped for when it selected him in the highly-touted 2019 NBA Draft. Currently, the 23-year-old is not even an efficient secondary scorer.

Quickley finished as the runner-up for 2022 Sixth Man of the Year and remained a valued spark plug off the bench for New York. He is scoring 15 points per contest while knocking down almost 40 percent of his attempts from distance. He can give the Raptors the extra firepower they severely need right now.

Where Knicks, Raptors go from here

Toronto has been stumbling through the first two-plus months of the season with a 12-19 record, so this roster shuffle felt inevitable, especially since OG Anunoby can opt out of his contract this offseason. It appears that team president Masai Ujiri is looking to build around Scottie Barnes by adding promising talent around him, which will ideally result in a core that comes of age around the same time.

One has to wonder what the Raptors now plan to do with Pascal Siakam, who will be a free agent at the end of the season. There should be plenty of calls for the All-Star forward in the coming weeks. While this franchise works out its future, the Knicks clearly have big aspirations in the East. But the question is, how much closer will Anunoby bring them to the top tier of the conference?