The Toronto Raptors are starting to drift ever closer to the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes, as the 13-18 team has lost six straight games and won just two of their last 11 contests. The play of OG Anunoby remains spotless, however, as he keeps getting better on both ends.
After years of getting tossed aside by the larger basketball media due to his quiet nature and relative obscurity in Toronto, Anunoby leading the league in steals per game has made him a frontrunner for the Defensive Player of the Year Award. Regardless of his individual brilliance, the idea of Toronto selling could impact his future in Canada.
While players like Gary Trent Jr. and Fred VanVleet, both of whom have player options they can decline after this season, seem like more logical trade targets, Masai Ujiri needs to be very open about swapping out Anunoby. According to the latest rumors, an Anunoby trade might net a king’s ransom for Toronto.
According to Zach Lowe on his “Lowe Post” podcast, the haul the Raptors would get in a hypothetical Anunoby trade would be close to what the Utah Jazz received when they traded Donovan Mitchell to the Cavaliers. A trade is unlikely right now, but the rest of the league clearly values Anunoby.
Christmas came early with @IanBegley & @ZachLowe_NBA talking Knicks today. I won’t spoil the good stuff - go listen! - but I will say that Zach’s reaction to Ian bringing up the “Mid Three” nickname was quite amusing. https://t.co/LKXhHGBbio
— Jonathan Macri (@JCMacriNBA) December 20, 2022
Toronto Raptors rumors: OG Anunoby would net a huge trade package.
In addition to defensive skills that could lead to some extra silverware on his mantlepiece, Anunoby is continuing his trend of increasing his scoring every year in which he’s been in the league. While his shooting is down, Anunoby is averaging an excellent 18.7 points per game.
Anunoby is in the middle of a four-year, $72 million contract. For a player with this much skill on both ends, that is an absolute steal. The Raptors will likely need to go into nine figures to retain him in free agency, but they will likely do so considering his fit on this team.
The Raptors must entertain trade offers for many of their best players, but Anunoby will be very hard to give up unless the Raptors get multiple first-round picks, a promising young player who could be a franchise cornerstone, and some proven veterans that can provide instant production. Not every team can offer that.
He’s right. I think if you asked all 30 general managers if they’d rather have OG Anunoby or Dejounte Murray, the majority say Anunoby. Toronto isn’t giving him up unless the package they get back materially changes their future. https://t.co/6XSX761bc7
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) December 20, 2022
Anunoby is likely not going anywhere. However, teams will get very desperate at the trade deadline and try to make all sorts of crazy moves to position themselves for championship runs. If Anunoby, who is an inferior player to Mitchell, is going for a similar price, Ujiri needs to consider it.