When news broke that the New York Knicks had traded away an absolute boatload of draft picks to acquire Mikal Bridges from their cross-river rivals, the Brooklyn Nets, it left many a Philadelphia 76ers fan with two major thoughts: 1. wow, that's a lot of picks for Mikal Bridges and 2. does this mean OG Anunoby is available?
On paper, the internal debate would go a little something like this: Bridges and Anunoby are both small forwards with the size, length, and skillset to guard up or down on the wings. While the duo could theoretically play together at the three and four spot, or even with one of them kicking up to play the two-guard spot Paul George-style, the team is already very expensive after Anunoby opted out of this roughly $20 million player option. Unless the Knicks are willing to pay up to the tune of $40-plus million a year for Anunoby to be on a team that will be in the second apron once new deals for Jalen Brunson and eventually Bridges kick in, they will have to get creative with their contracts in order to stay financially viable.
Could the Knicks make that work? Sure, New York is desperate for a winner after being varying shades of okay for, well, as long as Bridges has been alive, and if the Knicks use Birds Rights, they can offer more money and more years than any other team in the Association.
But will they? That, my friends, is the $245 million question and one the Knicks will have to figure out very quickly if they want to build a strong team for years to come… not to mention want to avoid facing Anunoby a few times a year in a different blue jersey.
The New York Knicks want to re-sign OG Anunoby.
Shortly after announcing to the basketball world that Bridges would have to learn a new route to work, as he would likely get to stay in his New York apartment but would now have to commute to Manhatten, instead of Brooklyn, ESPN Insider Adrian Wojnarowski took to his very popular X account to let fans know that even though the “Villanova 3” is now a “Big 4,” that doesn't mean the team is handing their big 2024 trade deadline acquisition his walking papers, as they want to keep him around too if possible.
Welp, that's that, right? The Knicks can offer more money than the Sixers, and as a result, they will surely secure Anunoby's services heading into the fall. Not necessarily, as the Sixers may be hard-capped on how much they can offer the Indiana prospect, as it is called a “max” contract for a reason, they can't necessarily offer the same role that the 6-foot-7 forward may want to fill moving forward, which is good news for 76ers GM Daryl Morey but bad news for his counterpart in Manhattan.
The Philadelphia 76ers can offer OG Anunoby a bigger role than NY.
If maximizing his earning potential is at the top of Anunoby's wishlist in free agency, and the Knicks are willing to give him a deal that starts with a two instead of a one, then there really isn't a point in truly testing free agency, as there isn't a team out there who can offer up more, even if they would like to.
And yet, in Toronto, Anunoby was just as concerned with his role as he was with his per-year salary, as according to Jake Fisher of Yahoo Sports in 2022, Anunoby wanted to do more on offense, instead of being relegated to a lesser role behind Pascal Siakum and Scottie Barnes.
While Anunoby may still have plays called for him in New York if he were to stick with the team, which did happen in 2024, it's hard not to feel like he would be the team's second-banana forward behind Bridges in New York and third – at best – perimeter offensive option with Brunson still locked into the top spot. Granted, in Philly, Anunoby would be the third in Nick Nurse's Big 3 too, but with Embiid being just as helpful as a screener as he could be as a ball hog in the painted area.
After watching Embiid and Jimmy Butler make magic happen in 2018-19, could Anunoby, who was on the bench at the time as a deep reserve, see himself filling a similar role now that both he and “The Process” have taken their games up multiple notches?
As an unrestricted free agent, Anunoby can now do whatever he'd like as he prepares for the next stage of his career, be that returning to New York, signing with the 76ers, or even joining a surprise team like the Orlando Magic, who have cap room. Only now, where a return to the Knicks felt like a borderline lock, his future feels far more up in the air, much to the excitement of fans in Philadelphia who like his fit in a brand new Big 3.
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