The Toronto Raptors have been a superb team when it comes to drafting since the Masai Ujiri tenure began in 2013. One of those draft gems is OG Anunoby, who has seen his numbers rise steadily every season. Anunoby’s improving offense, paired with his elite defense, makes him a valuable piece to the Raptors.
Ujiri would be foolish to trade the 24-year-old, right?
According to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer (who nailed the Raptors’ pre-draft interest in Scottie Barnes), rival executives interested in acquiring him believe that Anunoby became dissatisfied with his role this season. No official trade request has been made, and Barnes tried his best to shut the rumors down.
Keeping the starting five together always felt like an uphill battle financially, which has led to debates about trading Gary Trent Jr. or another critical contributor. However, Anunoby always appeared to be a lock to stay in Toronto long-term. Could things change this offseason?
It will take a king’s ransom for Ujiri to move off of young, homegrown talent like Anunoby. There’s a greater possibility that this is all just smoke, and nothing ends up coming out of this. However, it’s worth looking at some potential positives and negatives if an Anunoby trade comes to fruition.
Pros and cons of Toronto Raptors trading OG Anunoby.
Pros
If a team is willing to match Anunoby’s trade value, which is seen as more than two first-round picks according to Fischer, Toronto may just have to pull the trigger. Doing so could be one way to replenish the bench and bring in several talented young players on cheap contracts.
With the team’s drafting history, adding multiple draft picks and the chance to throw more darts at prospects could help replenish the depth chart. Perhaps this move could give them the ammunition to trade for the superstar big they’ve been desperately seeking. Maybe a move up in the draft could come as a result of this.
A trade could help several other Raptors players.
Trading Anunoby would likely slide Barnes to small forward and Pascal Siakam to his natural power forward position, where we could see him thrive even more. Precious Achiuwa could see an acceleration in his development by potentially moving into the starting lineup.
Barnes was phenomenal in his rookie season, but there were games where he became stagnant on offense because of the lack of shots and touches. Removing Anunoby would likely see Barnes get a sufficient amount of touches that could see him breakout even more in his sophomore season.
Cons
Assuming the core outside of Anunoby is in the Raptors’ long-term plans, they must maximize the Siakam-VanVleet window. However, trading a glue guy like Anunoby doesn’t make sense if pursuing a championship remains in the Raptors’ eyes in the next few years.
Anunoby has proven to get better throughout every season, and at just 24 years old, his best basketball is ahead of him. Whether the Raptors are in the ‘championship or bust’ mode or want to go more towards the youth movement, Anunoby is a rare player that fits both categories.
Toronto Raptors: OG Anunoby is a valuable asset.
Even if the posturing from rival executives is true and Anunoby is a bit unhappy, he’s still under the Raptors’ control for at least the next two seasons on a very favorable contract. He fits the timeline and could pair with Barnes as the forward tandem for the next decade.
Anunoby is the perfect No. 3 or No. 4 role player for a championship team, providing elite defense and outside shooting. For a team like Toronto who struggled tremendously from deep this season, you probably don’t want to add to that problem by trading away one of the best 3-and-D players in the league.
The Final Verdict
The “Kawhi Leonard” ceiling that Raptors fans have anointed Anunoby with for several years may be a little overblown, but Toronto should steer away from an Anunoby trade. Even if he’s reached his ceiling at this point, there’s absolutely nothing bad about drafting an elite 3-and-D player with offensive upside at No. 23.
Who knows? Maybe Anunoby takes that next step and becomes a reliable shot-creator and ball-handler. The Raptors would be selling themselves short if they traded Anunoby and he developed into the player we all thought he could be.
The Toronto Raptors are unlikely to trade OG Anunoby.
There is a price for anything, and Ujiri would be doing a disservice to this franchise if he hung up the phone every time a call is made about Anunoby. However, the price likely has to be a downright robbery for Ujiri to oblige on trading him.
The Raptors should be content to run it back and see where the team takes it from there. Ujiri has already said that the core will return, so unless anything significant changes this off-season, expect the same starting 5 this fall. I wouldn’t expect an Anunoby trade to happen, but if it does, just know that Masai Ujiri did it for a reason.