New York Knicks Must Re-Sign OG Anunoby

The New York Knicks enjoyed a highly successful 2023-24 campaign, winning 50 games and earning the second seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time in eleven years. Despite the rash of injuries that affected this team, they refused to be dragged down by a lack of depth and made it to Game 7 of the second round before they finally ran out of gas vs. the Indiana Pacers.

Knicks fans will lament what could’ve been had the injury bug not struck midway through the season, losing Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, and Mitchell Robinson for significant amounts of time, then dealing with more problems in the postseason. New York can look forward to next season knowing that they were one of the league’s very best teams when they were whole.

However, the Knicks have to handle business this off-season to get a chance to run it back with the same squad or better in 2024-25. Both OG Anunoby and Isaiah Hartenstein are unrestricted free agents and should be brought back to the Mecca, but it won’t be cheap.

Everything is riding on Anunoby returning to New York.

Knicks Were Historically Dominant With Anunoby on the Floor

Even with other players hurt, New York just needed OG’s presence

When the Knicks traded away franchise cornerstones Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett to the Toronto Raptors for Anunoby, no one could have anticipated the massive, instant upgrade he would make to the franchise. Quickley and Barrett were good players for New York who helped turn around the organization and lift it from the depths of misery, but Anunoby’s two-way production was exactly what the Knicks needed.

Within one game, Anunoby changed the formula of Knicks basketball from a deep team with uncertain roles across the roster to a squad with one of the best offensive and defensive units in the NBA. His ability to guard one-through-five while also stretching the floor completed New York’s starting lineup in a way that Barrett couldn’t.

The Knicks started off the Anunoby era 12-2 with blowout wins over the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers, and Miami Heat, posting a historically great net rating in the process. Unfortunately, in that Heat game, NY lost both Randle and Anunoby to significant injury, putting their dominance on hold.

Randle would be gone for the season with a shoulder injury, but New York continued its destruction of the league when OG returned to the lineup, albeit with a more defensive identity than with their three-time All-Star. Throughout the rest of the regular season and playoffs, the Knicks rarely ever lost a game when Jalen Brunson played alongside Anunoby, regardless of the competition.

*NBA Rank of record/net rating in that time-span

New York’s dominance with Anunoby even after Randle’s departure speaks not only to his incredible impact on the team, but also the depth of their roster. The growth of players like Donte DiVincenzo, Deuce McBride, and Josh Hart with increased roles due to injury was one of the biggest stories of the season, and sets up NY with an exciting future.

Anunoby is a Special Two-Way Player

His defensive versatility is unmatched across the league

We know Knicks’ head coach Tom Thibodeau is a defensive guy. His commitment to that end of the ball makes it certain New York will always be a defensively-minded group, which also resonates with the hard-nosed mentality of the Big Apple itself. Anunoby fits perfectly into this culture, as he’s one of the very best and most versatile defenders in basketball.

Very few players can truly switch onto a player of any size, skill, or position and at least hold their own, and Anunoby is one of those rare gems. He has switched onto Joel Embiid and done an effective job slowing him down in the playoffs, while also guarding Tyrese Maxey in the same series, a lightning quick, shot-creating guard. Anunoby can legitimately be used to guard any superstar player in the league, and will do it better than almost any other defender, no matter the opponent.

These types of do-it-all defenders are extremely rare, but a few names come to mind, such as Draymond Green, Anthony Davis, and Jrue Holiday. Anunoby does it through a combination of quickness, instincts, toughness, and cyborg-like strength, which allows him to guard the perimeter but also wall up in the paint against bigs like Embiid.

New York will undoubtedly need him to make it through the East next year, as he is a perfect matchup for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Paolo Banchero, and many other stars in the conference.

New York is in a Great Position to Re-Sign Anunoby

Other teams are interested, but the Knicks have his bird rights

Although reports have indicated that several other teams are considering offering Anunoby a lucrative contract, the Knicks remain the favorites to sign him because they have his “Bird Rights”. This essentially means New York can exceed the salary cap to bring the star forward back to NYC, as long as they are willing to match whatever deal other teams throw in his direction.

One possible complication to Anunoby’s massive impending contract is Brunson’s upcoming decision to take much less than his maximum money by signing an extension this off-season, which could create internal pressure for him to take less.

Simply put, the New York Knicks must offer Anunoby whatever it takes to have him suit up at Madison Square Garden in the fall, or risk losing the greatness the team saw flashes of when they were healthy. With the two-way stud in the lineup, New York could win the 2025 NBA Championship. Without him, the future is completely unclear.

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