The Toronto Raptors shook the very foundation of the league to its core when Masai Ujiri closed an OG Anunoby trade with the New York Knicks. In a stunning twist of fate, Anunoby will wear blue and orange while Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett will don Raptors red and black.
Anunoby, inconsistent bench forward Precious Achiuwa, and fourth-year point guard Malachi Flynn were both sent to the Knicks in exchange for Barrett, Quickley, and a second-round pick originally owned by Detroit that could be as high as No. 31 overall.
The Raptors may have made this move to get something of value for an impending free agent in Anunoby, but Masai Ujiri also wanted to gather young assets and build a team that can win games with Scottie Barnes at the center of their attack. Quickley and Barrett can do just that.
With the Raptors removing two bench players from the picture and converting Anunoby into two solid young scorers who should slot into the lineup right away, Darko Rajakovic will need to figure out a way to get the most out of a roster that just got much more interesting.
The Knicks are trading RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and one second-round pick to the Raptors for OG Anunoby, sources said. https://t.co/0z3pGcqd5e
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 30, 2023
Updated Toronto Raptors depth chart after OG Anunoby traded for RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley
PG: Immanuel Quickley, Dennis Schroder, Markquis Nowell
SG: RJ Barrett, Gary Trent Jr, Gradey Dick
SF: Scottie Barnes, Jalen McDaniels, Otto Porter Jr, Garrett Temple
PF: Pascal Siakam, Chris Boucher, Thad Young
C: Jakob Poeltl, Christian Koloko
Quickley seems like the obvious choice to start at point guard, as he was producing despite a very limited role in New York. With Barrett now able to play as a bigger guard instead of a more traditional forward like he was with the Knicks, he could get his scoring averages back closer to 20 points per game.
Barnes might be a nominal small forward, but he will still have the ball in his hands quite regularly in this new-look attack. Siakam is still in town, barring some trade news going down, and he will likely have no trouble being a scorer now that Toronto's offensive juice has increased.
Poeltl stays locked in as the starter at center, Dennis Schroder can stay on the bench alongside Gary Trent Jr, while Chris Boucher and free agent signing Jalen McDaniels make up the team's regular nine-man rotation. Losing Achiuwa and Flynn will leave Toronto slightly thinner in terms of depth, but that is a sacrifice Ujiri was willing to make.