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After a mini-breakout with the Toronto Raptors in 2021-22, OG Anunoby suddenly became the subject of trade rumors.
With an average of 17.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game this season, the fifth year and beyond may not be as essential to the future of the Toronto Raptors as previously thought.
“Following Scottie Barnes’s outstanding season of the Rookie of the Year, the word that Anunoby became dissatisfied with his role in Toronto became widespread among rival front offices. , ” Jake Fisher Written for Bleacher Report. “Two sources with knowledge of dynamics told B / R that Anunoby was not directly dissatisfied with the Raptors situation.”
It’s still unclear if this smoke is coming from Toronto or from rival executives who want to seduce Anunoby, but these signals often lead to fire. If Anunoby really becomes available, there will surely be a lot of suitors.
There are legitimate questions about his endurance (more than 60 per season in his career, more than 45 in the last two seasons), but Anunoby offers a kind of positionless defense and the three-point shooting team is forever behind. There is no end.
Fisher points out that the Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz are likely to participate in the bidding war, but there are other teams of interest.
ReportedlyAccording to Fisher, it can be difficult to break Anunoby out of Toronto, but it’s worth calling at least five teams:
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transaction: Nassir Little, Keon Johnson, 2022 7th Pick, 2022 2nd Round Pick (via Memphis) OG Anunoby
Damian Lillard I’m 31 years old. It’s not surprising to see the Blazers’ reported interest in short-term differentiators like Anunoby after a summer of trade rumors and speculation that Portland was happy in 2021.
historic NBA On our guide timeline, it’s no exaggeration to say that Lillard has only a few years left to play at the “best player of the championship team” level. Portland now has to go for it.
It’s fair to question whether Anunoby is a “get it done” target that puts Portland in the tier of title candidates, but it’s fair to imagine putting an interesting lineup combination with him on the roster. It’s not difficult.
Lillard and Anfernee Simons’ first backcoat leads to many of the same defensive questions that plagued Lillard and CJ McCollum, one of which Josh Hart and Anunoby filled the spots 3 and 4. You can reduce the part. Returning Jusuf Nurkić to a reasonable deal is competitive with at least five starters.
In the case of Toronto, Nassir Little (22) and Keon Johnson (20) both offer a small “clock-back” opportunity. They have wings with similar physical characteristics to Anunoby, but don’t think Burns’ Ascension is threatened to look forward (neither taste the borderline stardom like Anunoby). Hmm).
The bigger deal is clearly the seventh pick in this year’s draft. There may be some dips after the consensus stop 3 including Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero, but Toronto has some interest in someone in the current range of Portland. maybe. And the Raptors aren’t facing the same victory as the Blazers.
Adding another top 10 talent 4-5 years younger than Anunoby to the core, including Burns, could raise Toronto’s long-term cap.
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transaction: OG Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr., 2023 Round 1 Pick Swap and 2024 Round 1 Pick Rudy Gobert
Given Fisher’s report on the deal that Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr. were involved in for Rudy Gobert.It may be too rich for the brass in Toronto. ” It is safe to assume that there is a considerable distance between Toronto and Utah at the forefront of negotiations.
Gobert is five years older than Anunoby, but he is the three-time Defensive Player of the Year, four All-NBA selections, and his own defensive system. Anunoby missed 34 games, averaging 17.1 points, slightly above the three games.And that’s his number one Season.
Treating these two as major pieces would be a dramatic move for jazz, but one might argue that’s why Danny Ainge joined.
He made many dramatic moves with the Boston Celtics. The Boston Celtics are currently competing in the NBA Finals with a versatile team built primarily by Einge.
So if you look at his team-building strategy, you may find some clues about Utah’s next steps. Ainge has placed many stocks in wings and forwards working within the increasingly popular positionless philosophy. Aside from talent and short-term influence, Anunoby (6’7 “) and Trent (6’5”) make more sense in their philosophy than Gobert.
Utah believes that Gobert’s physical decline, which will soon be 30 years old, is imminent, and dropping him will prove Donovan Mitchell’s priority. You will probably roll the dice on such a deal.
Boundary defense has been a major issue for jazz over the last two seasons, and adding Anunoby and Trent to the wing rotation will help there. Moving Mitchell to 1 (and no longer starting the two 6’1 “guards that came with Mike Conley) also certainly helps.
Of course, this move will leave a big hole in the jazz 5, but it’s another day’s fictional challenge.
For the Raptors, this kind of transaction is adjacent to a very simple area. Alongside Gobert, one or two solid boundary defenders guarantee top 5 to 10 defenses, but the potential of the Burns-Gobert pick and roll duo is interesting.
Toronto will also have better equipment to compete with the small ball lineup in the playoffs than Utah. If the team dared to run positionless, the Raptors could slide Burns and Siakam to 4 and 5 and be successful.
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transaction: Naz Reid, Malik Beasley, OG Anunoby for the 19th pick in 2022
Fisher report “Toronto is also widely known for its longing for a starting center,” Minnesota Timberwolves may have one on the bench.
Nazlead is two years younger than Anunoby, showing five stretch chops (he averaged 11.2 points, shot 3 to 35.1 percent in 2020-21), just high. Block rate More than anything Raptors 2021-22 rotation player.
By adding such 3D possibilities to the center spot, some things will be achieved for Toronto. Reed’s willingness and ability to free up floor space keeps the driving lane open for wings and guards like Burns and VanVleet. His presence as a rim protector will allow the Raptors to do so without sacrificing as much defense as when Siakam was placed at 5.
Of course we don’t know The lead is the starting caliber center. Therefore, this summer will include a pick for the first round of Minnesota. Adding Malik Beasley to the deal also offsets Anunoby’s wing defeat. He’s not a versatile player like OG, but he’s a ton of 3-point shooters who can swing the game in hot streaks.
On the Timberwolves side of the deal, the addition of Anunoby upgrades the perimeter defense, which must have some weight alongside Karl-Anthony Town. Minnesota’s Star 5 never moves the defensive needle like a person like Gobert, so the outside player is the key.
The lineup of D’Angelo Russell, Anthony Edwards, Anunoby, Jarred Vanderbilt and KAT offers an interesting combination of offense and defense. And, depending on the situation, it’s not hard to imagine Patrick Beverley instead of Russell or Vanderbilt.
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Sign and Trade: OG Anunoby, Chris Boucher, 2023 Round 1 Pick Swap, and 2024 Deandre Ayton Round 1 Pick
As soon as the Phoenix Suns bounced off in the second round of the playoffs, rumors about Deandre Ayton’s future with the team began to circulate.
He will join the restricted free agent as one of the most coveted players on the market, as the team was unable to secure him in the long run with a contract extension last summer.
Phoenix has the opportunity to match the offer sheet he signed, but the size and length of the deal can scare Sands.
“”Eighton is expected to demand the highest salary, sources said, but there is skepticism among league executives that Sands would be comparable to such a lucrative offer. ” Fisher I have written. “… Currently, Eighton’s potential suitors in the open market are the three teams most often linked by league officials. Atlanta, Detroit, Portland. “
If Toronto is really keen on adding five starting pitchers, Toronto needs to join its list of suitors and offer sign-and-trade.
Eighton is not a defensive game changer, but Gobert is six years younger and has an aggressive weapon. Gobert is one of the best rollmen in the league, but Eighton can do that, post a bit and hit the face-up jumper from the midrange.
Nick Nurse is also well equipped to teach Eighton in the defensive end. He has advanced that goal in Phoenix, but there is still room for growth.
If Phoenix actually started bidding on Eighton and others in the league couldn’t beat this package, the deal would make some sense to Sands as well.
Chris Paul I won’t play forever, but last season, all the Phoenix centers production If you share the floor with CP3, it’s about the same level. It’s safe to assume that Chris Boucher will get a similar bump, and he also shows some floor space capacity (he shot 3 to 38.3 percent in 2020-21).
It makes good sense to add Anunoby to an army of scarce wings and guards, including Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, and Cameron Johnson.
The main reason Sands lost to the Dallas Mavericks was that they couldn’t play against the five-man lineup. Anunoby can probably play about 5 in such a situation.
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Sign and Trade: Mohamed Bamba, Chuma Okike, OG Anunoby in the first round pick of 2023 (via Chicago)
Fisher shortly after Orlando Magic won the top pick in this summer’s draft report About “League officials’ expectations that Bamba, a restricted free agent, is likely to leave the franchise this summer.”
He’s another good option to start with the Raptors 5.
After three relatively disappointing seasons, backed by occasional flashes of 3D prowess, things finally came to an end for Bamba from 2021 to 22.
He started 69 out of 71 games in Orlando, averaging 10.6 points, 1.7 blocks and 1.5 threes in just 25.7 minutes.
Slotting him in at 5 with Siakam could achieve all the same things detailed in Nazlead’s analysis (floor spacing and rim protection).
The addition of Chuma Okike will give Toronto another forward flyer, like the deal with Portland.
Given the fact that the Raptors haven’t quickly regained anyone in Anunoby’s caliber, I feel that a pick for the first round is necessary.
For Orlando, giving that pickup shouldn’t be a big deal. Magic still has its own in 2023, and his list is already full of talent under the age of 25.
Orlando is instantly modernized by moving Wendell Carter Jr. to 5 and adding Anunoby to a group of forwards including Franz Wagner, Jonathan Isaac, and potentially Jabari Smith and Paolo Banchero.
