Reports: OG Anunoby an offseason target for the Sixers

We’re still weeks to months away from knowing what Daryl Morey has in mind for the grand offseason plan. With an abundance of cap space and draft picks at his disposal, Morey has plenty of options to explore, in both free agency and the trade market. Whether it’s Paul George, LeBron James, Jimmy Butler, or Brandon Ingram, nearly every big name rumored to be available is seemingly linked to the Philadelphia 76ers in at least a cursory fashion. Now, let’s be sure to include one more name when rattling off that list.

In discussing New York’s offseason, SNY Knicks reporter Ian Begley shares some intel about the Philadelphia 76ers concerning OG Anunoby:

“As previously reported, members of the Philadelphia 76ers have seen Anunoby as an offseason target. Paul George is also a target for Philadelphia. But if the Sixers can’t get George, I could see them making a big offer to Anunoby – if for no other reason than it would force New York to match the money.”

Additionally, Yahoo! Sports’ Jake Fischer floats the idea of Anunoby coming to Philadelphia:

“Anunoby is widely expected to decline his $19.9 million player option for next season after being dealt to New York before the trade deadline. Of note: While league personnel are of the mind Siakam will certainly be re-signing with Indiana, 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. Perhaps those signals to rival teams will only help Anunoby elicit a larger dollar figure from the Knicks. But 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.”

Anunoby represents an interesting path not taken for the Sixers. The Knicks acquired the former Raptors forward back in December by shipping out RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and a 2024 second-round pick to Toronto. Although Toronto reportedly preferred the Barrett-Quickley package to some others, you have to imagine Morey could have topped it with an all-in type move for the soon-to-be free agent. With Anunoby in the fold, how much better would the Sixers have been able to weather Joel Embiid’s absence during the regular season? Would they be playing Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals right now? We’ll never know, but it’s certainly plausible.

As for the reality in the here-and-now, there are interesting factors in a free agency pursuit of Anunoby. First and foremost, is Anunoby actually going to be available? Fischer indicates he might be, but the Knicks sent away a decent package to acquire him, presumably with the assurance that he would be sticking around for longer than half a season. Knicks President Leon Rose’s previous career at CAA seems particularly relevant considering his son, Sam Rose, is OG Anunoby’s agent. There’s too many dots to connect here for me to reasonably believe Anunoby will be playing for a team other than the Knicks next season.

Then, in a vacuum, would you want Anunoby to be the Sixers’ big free agency acquisition? Certainly, the outstanding wing defense would be enticing, as would the fact that Anunoby is only in his mid-20’s. There would be things you lose out on the offensive end, though. While Anunoby is by no means a negative on that end, you would lose out on the high-volume shooting of a Paul George or the creation ability of even a Brandon Ingram.

Signing Anunoby would have team-building advantages, however. Similar to George or James, signing OG as a free agent would allow the Sixers to keep their draft capital for other moves, versus making a trade for someone like Butler or Ingram. Also, given their respective years of service, a max contract for Anunoby would be less than it would for other veteran star targets (roughly $42.3 million next year for Anunoby versus roughly $49.4 million for George, for example). That could mean the difference in getting one more piece to help flesh out the roster.

Ultimately, I remain of the belief that Anunoby will be back with the Knicks, and hoping otherwise is not a realistic line of thinking. Still, if the Sixers want to drop these sorts of nuggets about being interested in order to ensure the Knicks are forced to pay top dollar to retain him, I’m all for it.