You’ve got questions after the Knicks’ blockbuster deal with the Raptors on Saturday, we’ve got answers. The Post’s Stefan Bondy breaks down the 10 most pressing questions from the blockbuster:
Q: What was the motivation for the deal?
A: The Knicks, as I noted in a previous column, were poorly constructed. They have too many guards, too many players who need the ball in their hands to be effective offensively. A couple of players griped about it publicly.
And it felt like the Knicks reached their ceiling with the configuration.
By swapping out RJ Barrett for OG Anunoby, the Knicks get a 3-and-D wing who is a better defender and spaces the floor without dominating the ball.
There also had to be a realization that Barrett, despite averaging close to 20 points, was never going to become the All-Star the Knicks envisioned when they drafted him third overall in 2019. His jump shot never improved.
Q: Wasn’t Immanuel Quickley an important part of the Knicks success?
A: Yes, but as noted in the first question, his minutes were limited by sharing a rotation with Donte DiVincenzo and Quentin Grimes.
Plus, Quickley became a trade candidate the moment he and the Knicks couldn’t agree to a contract extension in the summer.
The Knicks acquired OG Anunoby from the Raptors on Saturday. APQuickley will look for a major payday in the summer — he was gunning for nine figures in negotiations with the Knicks — and is more valuable to a team that will actually play him 30 minutes per game.
Q: Does this mean the Knicks are now contenders?
A: No. In terms of sheer basketball talent, the Knicks didn’t get better.
Anunoby is not close to an All-Star; he just theoretically fits better next to Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson.
With that being said, the Knicks made an even smaller move last season — acquiring Josh Hart for a first-round pick — and the revamped rotation pushed them to a higher level.
Q: So is this the mega-blockbuster we’ve been hearing about for so long?
A: It certainly doesn’t have to be.
Despite trading two of their better young players, the Knicks held on to all their first-round picks and could use them in any future trade.
They also still have the expiring contract of Evan Fournier, who has survived on the Knicks’ roster despite all indications he’d be gone by now.
And the Knicks don’t even have to trade Fournier by the February deadline.
They could wait until after the season to pick up his one-year, $19 million team option to use it in the summer as an expiring trade chip.
Q: Isn’t Anunoby going to be a free agent after the season?
A: Probably, yes.
He has a $19.9 million player option for next season and likely will look for a huge deal in 2024 free agency.
Assuming he declines the option, Anunoby will be an unrestricted free agent, but the Knicks, by trading for him, can offer the 26-year-old the most money while using his Bird Rights to go over the cap.
The Knicks, I’m guessing, already discussed the possibility of re-signing Anunoby with the player and/or his representation.
Q: Who is Anunoby repped by?
A: You don’t normally have to ask this question after a trade but it’s more pertinent with the Knicks, who have strong ties to CAA, the agency formerly run by team president Leon Rose.
In the summer, Anunoby left Klutch Sports — the agency that has been reluctant to do business with the Knicks — to join CAA.
Among Anunoby’s listed agents is Sam Rose, the son of Leon.
Q: Aren’t the Raptors and Knicks suing each other?
RJ Barrett hadn’t developed into the star the Knicks imagined. Robert Sabo for the NY PostThere has been some nasty mudslinging in civil court over the Knicks’ allegations that the Raptors stole scouting information through their video coordinator (who used to work for the Knicks).
But the animosity obviously didn’t prevent a deal.
Q: Haven’t the Knicks been fleeced by Raptors president Masai Ujiri in the past?
A: Definitely in the 2013 trade for Andrea Bargnani, when the Knicks gave up a first-round pick for a center who was hurt and unplayable.
Before that, when Ujiri was running the Nuggets, he played hardball with the Knicks until they gave up more assets than they hoped to acquire Carmelo Anthony.
One of those draft picks turned into Jamal Murray.
Q: What should we know about Precious Achiuwa?
A: He’s a strong center who will immediately be in the mix for a rotation spot.
Mitchell Robinson remains out indefinitely following ankle surgery, and Jericho Sims — while close to a return — hasn’t played since spraining his ankle Dec. 18.
The circumstances thrust Taj Gibson into action, even though the 38-year-old was originally signed as a locker-room presence. But now Achiuwa, who played high school ball in The Bronx and Newark, can serve in that spot after averaging 7.7 points and 5.4 boards in 17.5 minutes with the Raptors this season.
The Knicks need to replace the backup point guard in their rotation with Immanuel Quickley traded. Charles WenzelbergHe’s also an option at backup power forward, which was another hole for the Knicks after trading Obi Toppin in the summer. Achiuwa is undersized for a center at just 6-foot-8, but makes up for it with strength and athleticism.
Q: Is Malachi Flynn now the backup point guard?
A: Maybe. It’s either Flynn or Miles McBride.
With Quickley gone, however, nobody is good enough to step into that role.
Malachi Flynn (22) looks to pass against the Washington Wizards during the second half at Capital One Arena. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters ConThat might not mean much if Jalen Brunson is healthy and logging his 35-plus minutes per game, but it does present issues with an injury.
Flynn is a career 38 percent shooter in four seasons and only secured a regular spot in Toronto’s rotation this year.
He’s fine for a few minutes, but he’s certainly not Quickley’s equal.








