The New York Knicks have been the beneficiaries of one of the most impactful trades of the NBA season. True to their star-crossed nature, it's been most noticeable in the arrival's absence.
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 headlined by OG Anunoby.
Grading the most notable in-season deals of the season for Bleacher Report, analyst Dan Favale offered the Knicks a strong A-minus for the deal, kept out of the top spot purely 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 ballhandlers and movers," Favale writes. "Subbing in someone who spends more time moving away from the action and taking standstill jumpers opens both the floor and their pecking order, rendering this a borderline perfect deal—so long as Anunoby gets and stays healthy and, as expected, re-signs in free agency."
Anunoby averaged 15.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.8 steals in 14 appearances with the Knicks before he was lost to an elbow injury prior to Jan. 29's game in Charlotte. New York won 12 of 14 when he was in the lineup but are 8-10 since both Anunoby and Randle (shoulder) went down.
Anunoby may be nearing a return and it couldn't have come at a better time: the Knicks are currently trapped in a tight playoff race and would no doubt like to have a few games at anything resembling full strength before the postseason gets underway. New York faces the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night in Manhattan (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT) before embarking on a four-game Western road trip.
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