The New York Knicks understood the mission.
Trading for OG Anunoby just months before his contract expired guaranteed an offseason strategy: The team would have to dig deep into his pockets. And it wasn’t just because Anunoby was poised to become one of the league’s hottest free agents.
In an industry where players only get what they can bargain for, Anunoby, a 26-year-old NBA All-Defense who became the Knicks’ mainstay midseason, also has leverage.
Athleticism recently surveyed 16 front office officials, asking them what they would consider a “fair” contract for Anunoby this summer. The answers ranged from $30 million a year to a maximum deal. One dynamic became clear during the process: Even those most hesitant to pay Anunoby still expected the Knicks, or someone else, to throw more money at him than a Pizza Hut could. .
The executive who suggested the lowest average annual value for Anunoby, $120 million over four years, was careful to point out that what he considers a fair contract was not in line with his predictions for what would happen this summer. Instead, he expected Anunoby — who declined a $19.9 million player option on Monday, a league source said, and who will officially become an unrestricted free agent on June 30 – would earn much more.
For what?
“Because he has the Knicks by the balls,” the executive said. “They can’t lose him, the same way (Pascal) Siakam gets the most out of (the) Indiana (Pacers). You can’t trade for someone, give up so much and then let them go. This is not feasible.
The Knicks found their missing piece just before the new year, when they traded two promising young players, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, along with a second-round pick to the Toronto Raptors for Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn. The team caught fire as soon as its new starter arrived.
New York went 20-3 with Anunoby in the lineup during the regular season. That was a whopping 22.8 points better per 100 possessions when he was on the court. In the 14 games following the trade, when the Knicks were fully healthy, a group that included an eager Julius Randle, whose season ended prematurely due to a dislocated shoulder, got a score of 12-2. The first unit demolished any formation in its path.
Now the Knicks know they can’t lose Anunoby for nothing, even if it costs money — and a lot of money. Of course, they realized this from the moment they acquired it.
Among the 16 front-office executives surveyed, responses fell to $30 million per year and reached the five-year maximum, worth $245.3 million, as one suggested of respondents.
The happy medium was between $35 million and $40 million per year. Nine of the 16 respondents reported salaries in this range.
Except for one person, who responded with a three-year, $100 million contract, all participants said they would give Anunoby four or five years.
Four officials offered contracts between $120 million and $135 million over four years. Four others spoke of $140 million over four years. Two others talked about $150 million over four years and two others talked about $160 million over four years. One person talked about $172 million over four years.
His logic for such an obscure number?
He thought Anunoby should earn a little below the maximum, including a salary of $42.3 million in 2024-25, and estimated that a starting salary of $40 million with an annual raise of five per hundred was right.
“But if I was negotiating from the Knicks’ point of view, I would start with $40 million and go for five years, or $232 million,” he said.
Two other respondents suggested five-year contracts for Anunoby: one for $200 million and the other for a maximum amount.
But not all dollars are created equal.
Multiple people have said they will include injury protections in Anunoby’s next contract. One executive, who suggested a four-year, $150 million contract, said it would make the final season “non- or partially guaranteed, but may become fully guaranteed depending on games played.”
Last season, Anunoby had to undergo surgery to remove a bone fragment from his right elbow, which kept him out of action for a month and a half. He injured his hamstring during the Knicks’ second round of the playoffs.
He hasn’t played 70 games in a season since 2017-18, when he was a rookie, and has missed 36 percent of his team’s regular season games over the past four years.
“I need something there,” the executive said. “I would be very scared because of his injury history. I could give him a maximum if the last two years are not guaranteed.
But survey participants were encouraged to rate which contract they believe is “fair” for Anunoby, not necessarily predict his next deal. And in this market, tackling a few non-guaranteed seasons could encourage Anunoby’s reps to leave the Knicks hanging.
There is a world where someone other than the Knicks offers Anunoby a maximum contract. For example, the Philadelphia 76ers enter the summer with max cap space and could emerge as a contender at the switchblade wing.
Other teams with significant cap space include the Oklahoma City Thunder, Detroit Pistons, Utah Jazz and possibly the Charlotte Hornets.
The Pistons have $65 million in reserve. If they wanted to, they could offer the most for Anunoby and still have the cap space to sign another entry-level caliber player.
The Thunder, who finished the 2023-24 season as the No. 1 seed team in the Western Conference, also stand out as an intuitive option, although they would have to shell out a few extra dollars to create room for a maximum offer. OKC is looking for a defensive end that fits their fast-paced style of play. But extending Anunoby a mega-contract would be unprecedented for an organization that isn’t approaching free agency with the vigor that, say, Philadelphia might this summer.
The largest contract Oklahoma City has ever given to a free agent from another team is $16 million over three years for Patrick Patterson.
Still, even with other potential suitors pending, the Knicks remain the most likely option for Anunoby because the system intentionally gives an advantage to incumbent teams.
Another team’s maximum offer to Anunoby is $182 million over four years, or a starting salary of $42.3 million with a five percent increase each subsequent season. But New York can give Anunoby an extra year and an eight percent annual raise, a contract that would climb to $245.3 million over five years.
In short, the Knicks could get away with paying Anunoby less than the maximum, while still beating another team that technically offers It is maximum. So it is with NBA finances, where simplicity disappears.
One poll official, who suggested $200 million over five years as a fair price for Anunoby, acknowledged that if he were the Knicks, he would rely on the team’s inherent advantage.
Let’s say Anunoby gets this four-year, $182 million offer from someone else. That’s $45.5 million per year, which would hamper the Knicks’ flexibility. But the Knicks countering with a five-year, $200 million contract would give Anunoby more guaranteed money while reducing the average annual value to $40 million per year.
New York could start a five-year, $200 million contract for just $34.5 million in 2024-25, nearly $7 million less than Anunoby’s starting salary if he had a contract maximum.
“(It’s) a safety for a guy with an injury history, but it lowers his yearly numbers a little bit for the Knicks,” the aforementioned executive said. “He’s not really a max level guy, but he shouldn’t take anything less than that.”
A lower starting salary could help the Knicks stay below the top apron in 2024-25, which would improve their flexibility in the trade market not only this offseason but also at the 2025 deadline.
Of course, the Knicks may have no choice but to pay Anunoby more.
New York can’t have a plan B – at least, not a viable one. If Anunoby chooses to leave, the Knicks could attempt to negotiate a sign-and-trade, which would bring him back players or draft picks, but only a team over the cap would need to structure the deal that way. If he chose an organization with cap space, he could disappear and the Knicks’ hands would be empty.
The team, even without Anunoby, would remain above the salary cap, armed with only the mid-level exception of $12.9 million to sign a free agent, which is large enough to sign a quality player but far too small to attract someone of Anunoby’s level.
Of course, few fit the Anunoby archetype, free agent or not. Anunoby is one of the most versatile defenders in the NBA. In the era of “positionless” basketball, many guys can pass to guards via centers, but few can start over anyone from Jamal Murray to Nikola Jokić. Anunoby is one of the few.
This is why the Knicks remain the most likely destination for him this summer.
They can offer more money and more years. They have a built-in personal advantage. Not only has Anunoby been in New York for six months and competed on a team dominated by his presence, but he also works for CAA, the same agency that Knicks president Leon Rose once led.
Since Rose took over the franchise, the Knicks have sought CAA clients — and those players have often ended up on team-friendly contracts, including for Jalen Brunson and Isaiah Hartenstein, who is also a free agent this summer.
And to top it all off, the Knicks have the motivation.
Anunoby’s potential market is not surprising. Philadelphia was a sleeping giant when New York traded him in December.
The Knicks therefore have no other choice. They need to present their top free agent with a lavish offer – and from there, their future is in Anunoby’s hands.
(Photo by OG Anunoby: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)