At around this time last year, the New York Knicks made an offer to the Toronto Raptors for OG Anunoby which they rejected.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Knicks offered a pick-heavy package.
“The Knicks have gone after OG Anunoby for the last year or so,” Charania said on FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back.“ “Last year around the trade deadline, they offered the Raptors a package around guys like Evan Fournier and [multiple] first-round picks. This year they get him by only giving up one second-round pick but you give up two better players in RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley.”
Apparently, the Raptors did not want to go full rebuild. Instead, they want young players with upside who can they grow with their franchise cornerstone Scottie Barnes.
Knicks Lost Shot Creation
With Barrett and Quickley gone, the Knicks lost some shot creation in the non-Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle minutes.
Before the trade, the Knicks’ second unit had a top-6 offense, averaging 62.6 points per 100 possessions, and tied for fifth in net rating (plus-2.3), per NBA advanced tracking data.
Over their last two games since the trade, that Knicks strength suddenly became their Achilles heel. Their bench’s offensive rating drastically dropped to 45.3 points per 100 possessions and their net rating to minus-14.3, 28th in the league.
Their bench scoring was cut into half from 34.5 points, 14th in the league, before the trade to merely 17.5 points per game over their last two games, which placed last among all 30 NBA teams.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau tried to mitigate that by staggering Brunson and Randle’s minutes with their skeleton second unit. But it’s not sustainable in the playoffs.
Thibodeau said they want to take a look at Malachi Flynn, who was included in the trade. Flynn, the 29th overall pick in 2020, had been upgraded to questionable for Friday’s road game in Philadelphia.
Isaiah Hartenstein Thrives in Mitchell Robinson’s Absence
Knicks backup center Isaiah Hartenstein is thriving as the fill-in starter for Mitchell Robinson, whom they lost to a season-ending ankle injury.
In 13 games since Robinson went down, Hartenstein averaged 10.0 rebounds, 7.8 points on 62.3% shooting, 2.4 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.8 blocks in 32.4 minutes. Twice he’s grabbed career-high rebounds in that span.
The Knicks posted a 7-6 record during that span.
Fresh from grabbing a new career-high 20 rebounds that went with 10 points and career-high-tying five blocks, Hartenstein said he’d learned that he can thrive as a starter in the NBA.
“That I can play this role. I’ve always had the confidence that I could play but I was never really in that situation. Before I finished games but now I’m consistently playing 30-plus minutes,” Hartenstein told reporters after helping the Knicks to a 116-100 win over the shorthanded Chicago Bulls on January 3.
Knicks Unwilling to trade Mitchell Robinson for Karl-Anthony Towns
Even with Hartenstein’s emergence, the Knicks remain committed to Robinson, who was the league’s leading offensive rebounder when he went down with the injury.
According to Action Network’s Matt Moore, the Knicks have no intention of moving Robinson in a potential run at Minnesota Timberwolves’ three-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns.
“Notably, the Knicks have no intention of including the injured Mitchell Robinson, even if he were healthy. Robinson is out another 6-8 weeks before being re-evaluated, with speculation that he could miss the rest of the season. Multiple sources said the Knicks have indicated they want to start Towns next to Robinson, similar to how the Wolves have had what come considered surprising success with Towns next to Gobert.”
