Former Raptors Wing OG Anunoby’s Free Agency Future isn’t ‘Cut and Died’

OG Anunoby’s return to the New York Knicks is supposedly no guarantee.

It seemed like a foregone conclusion when the Toronto Raptors traded the 26-year-old earlier this year that Anunoby would re-sign with the Knicks once he entered unrestricted free agency this summer. A team would rarely give up so much in a trade without some sort of assurance that Anunoby would at least be open to re-signing and the fact that Anunoby’s agent Sam Rose is the son of New York’s president Leon Rose wasn’t lost on anyone.

But apparently it’s not so simple.

“There was word circling among team officials at last week’s NBA Draft Combine that Anunoby’s situation with the Knicks is not as cut and dried,” Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports wrote. “Various teams left Chicago with the belief that Anunoby could reach unrestricted free agency and consider deals from other franchises in addition to New York, sources said.”

It’s unclear where Anunoby will end up if he doesn’t re-sign with New York. The Philadelphia 76ers have the cap space and are reportedly interested in pursuing Anunoby this summer, per SNY’s Ian Begley.

Toronto could be among the teams with cap space this summer if the organization parts ways with Gary Trent Jr. and Bruce Brown. That would leave the Raptors with just under $30 million in space to use this summer, but that’s not going to be enough to sign Anunoby who’ll likely see a contract that exceeds that amount in annual value. Toronto would have to find a way to move Chris Boucher without taking back salary to have any shot at pursuing Anunoby this summer.