The NBA trade deadline is right around the corner (Feb. 9), and teams are having to make decisions that could change the course of their franchise. One team that is in the hot seat is our cold friends in the North. Over half the league is waiting for the big decision that Masai Ujiri and the Toronto Raptors organization are going to make. The Raptors have a slew of players that would fit many teams, but they also have a player that fits on any team–OG Anunoby. His ability to fit on any team and avoid off-court antics had made him more valuable than even Kyrie Irving.
OG Anunoby is on many GM’s minds this week. He is the prototypical 3&D player that every team wants. Anunoby is in the conversation for DPOY and has shot the ball well enough to start on any NBA team. We all know what he can do, so why hasn’t he garnered this much attention until now? If we compare his stats between this season and last season, the numbers are largely similar:
| 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 |
Games Played | 48 | 45 |
PPG | 17.1 | 16.9 |
APG | 2.6 | 2.0 |
RPG | 5.5 | 5.5 |
SPG | 1.5 | 2.1 |
BPG | 0.5 | 0.8 |
3pt% | 36% | 36% |
Clearly OG hasn’t taken a massive offensive leap to warrant the hype; however, his defense has teams thinking he has what it takes to assert themselves as title contenders. Furthermore, him being only 25 years old and not even in his prime yet has rebuilding teams getting in on the conversation. Here are a few clips why:
OG plays smothering defense and hustles like few other players in the NBA. He’s also got the physical tools needed to muscle off strong attackers and to contest lethal jump shooters. Despite his own increase in defense, the Raptors have seen a decline in team defense. In the 2021-2022 season, the Raptors had a defensive rating of 109.9, good enough for the 9th best defense in the league. However, this season, they have a 114.2 defensive rating giving them the 21st best defense. Hurassic Park has lost its flair despite Anunoby pretty much already posting the same number of games played as last season.
Teams are more than willing to overlook this in order to acquire OG Anunoby. Per Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes, “the Pelicans and Grizzlies are most interested in a trade and could have a bidding war between each other.” Other teams that are in the conversation are the Suns, Pacers, and Knicks. Let’s look at how the two most interested teams see OG fitting with them.
Pelicans
The Pelicans have been the worst team in the NBA since Zion’s injury, posting a 2-10 record over the last twelve games. While we can’t fully judge this team because we’ve yet to see them at full strength, it’s clear they need some change. As we’ve discussed, OG is able to fit on any team like a glove, so naturally he’s someone the Pels would have their eyes on in order to get them back on the path of contention. The only issue is that he plays a very similar role to other young Pelicans such as Trey Murphy and Herb Jones. OG is almost a combination of the two and would definitely be a plus, but does that move the needle?
It’s rumored that the Raptors may ask for the 19 y/o Dyson Daniels on top of picks. Dyson is quickly becoming one of the better defenders in the league and is the best rookie perimeter defender since his other two teammates: Herb Jones and Jose Alvarado. It’s clear the Pelicans aren’t lacking on perimeter defense. The main upgrade the Pelicans need is 3-point shooting. As we saw before, OG is a good, not great shooter. He’s currently shooting 36%, which puts him just below league average (37%). Someone that might make more sense for them would be Bojan Bogdanovic, who is currently averaging over 21 ppg. on 42% from beyond the arc. Moreover, his asking price is only one unprotected first compared to OG’s three first rounders.
Grizzlies
The Grizzlies currently own the second best defense in the NBA. Adding OG to this already ball stopping core could take them over the top. Memphis envisions closing games with a lineup of Morant, Brooks, Bane, Anunoby, and Jackson. With this lineup, the Grizz would be able to switch everything and have a plus perimeter defender guarding-up at all times. This lineup would pretty much be the Raptors current lineup on steroids.
As we know, the Raptors are wanting three first rounders in the OG deal. We’ve seen in the past few seasons the Grizzlies be reluctant with trading first round picks because, frankly, they’ve been hitting on them. They may not want to give up these picks for a guy who has one year left on his deal after this season and would command a large figure on the open market. Paying Anunoby may get tricky for the Grizz financially seeing that Desmond Bane is expected to get a bag himself.
So, why a bidding war between these two teams?
The Pelicans and Grizzlies are set to become rivals for the foreseeable future. Both teams have young cores that are ahead of schedule. The Pelicans especially don’t want the Grizzlies to acquire OG Anunoby because they’d be able to play the switch everything lineup. Combining one of the best perimeter defenders in OG and one of the best rim protectors in Jaren would cause nightmares for Zion and his ability to put up shots at the rim, which is clearly how the Pelicans get the lion’s share of their offense. On the flip side, the Grizz don’t want the Pels to get OG because it gives the Pelicans a switch heavy lineup. Having Anunoby and Herb Jones on the court together is bound to cause any team offensive issues, including the electrifying Morant and the rest of the Grizzlies. Ultimately, the best thing for both teams might just be for OG to stay on the Raptors and away from the West.
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