TORONTO — The Knicks held onto their assemblage of first-round draft picks and emerging young players rather than sacrifice them in a massive trade for Donovan Mitchell over the summer, with the wait-and-see expectation that other NBA stars might be made available before the February trade deadline. 

On Friday night, the Knicks will face a tumbling team possibly headed for a tear-down, in their first of three games to be played against the skidding Raptors over the next 17 days. 

There already has been speculation around the league that Toronto — losers of 13 of its last 18 games to fall to 12th position in the Eastern Conference at 16-22 overall — is considering breaking up its talented core to reload its roster. 

Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby potentially could be blockbuster trade chips for the Raptors, perhaps bringing back returns approaching the hauls the Jazz recouped for Mitchell and All-Star center Rudy Gobert from the Cavaliers and Timberwolves, respectively. 

The 28-year-old Siakam, who scorched the Knicks for a career-high 52 points in a Toronto win at the Garden on Dec. 21, is averaging 25.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists while leading the league for a second consecutive season in minutes played at 37.2 per game over 28 appearances. The 6-foot-8 power forward is earning $35.5 million this year and is signed through next season at $37.9 million. 

The Knicks have had Julius Randle playing at an All-Star level as their power forward over the past month, averaging 29.1 points and 12.4 rebounds per game over his last 15 appearances since Dec. 7. 

The Knicks already had expressed interest in Anunoby earlier this season, according to a recent report by SNY. The 25-year-old, two-way wing also is signed through 2023-24 at a reasonable $18.6 million guaranteed for next season, plus a player option for $19.9 million for 2024-25. 

Anunoby has averaged a career-high 18.5 points this season while shooting 34.8 percent from 3-point range and leading the NBA with 2.2 steals per game through Wednesday’s overtime loss to the Bucks. 

The Knicks own nine first-round picks over the next five NBA drafts, but they resisted including second-year guard Quentin Grimes in trade talks over the summer with the Jazz involving Mitchell, the three-time All-Star who posted a 71-point game on Monday for the Cavaliers against the Bulls. 

In August, the Knicks signed Toronto native RJ Barrett, who will miss his fifth straight game with a lacerated finger, to a four-year contract extension worth $107 million guaranteed. 

The Knicks (21-18) have won 11 of their past 16 games — neatly broken up into an eight-game winning streak, a five-game losing skid, and another three consecutive wins — with young players such as Grimes, Immanuel Quickley, Miles McBride and Jericho Sims playing expanded roles. Obi Toppin also is set to return from a fractured fibula that has kept him out since Dec. 7. 

With Barrett sidelined and with $104 million point guard Jalen Brunson sitting out the Knicks’ three-game Texas trip last week before returning to play in wins Monday over the Suns and Wednesday over the Spurs, Quickley has logged 43.1 minutes per game over five consecutive starts, playing both point guard and shooting guard. He has registered 21.7 points and 7.4 assists per game over that stretch. 

“I feel good, worked on my conditioning all summer to be able to play big minutes. So I’m going to continue to keep trying to get ready,” Quickley said after notching 15 points in Wednesday’s win over San Antonio. “I’ve loved [starting]. When I start, I get in the introduction lineup. When I’m on the bench, I check in with five minutes to go [in the first quarter]. 

“But it’s been great starting, I’ve been playing a lot of minutes, I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve enjoyed getting a win on top of that. That’s the best part about it, is when you can affect winning.”