The Celtics restructured their roster last offseason, dropping players such as Smart, Gwee, Lowe, and bringing in Pozin and Holiday to bring in Porzin and Holiday as the Celtics' big swing paid off and they had a hugely successful 2023-24 season. They won 64 in the regular season and won the championship in the playoffs with a 16-3 record after playing only seven games in Pozin. Celtic are aiming to defend their title in the new season, and with their squad, they are seen as the top favorites to win the title this season.
The strength of the Celtics has forced other teams aspiring to win the championship to also make up for it, the Knicks are one of them, the Knicks have recently reached 2 blockbuster operations, they reached a deal with the Nets yesterday, and came to Bridges in an 8-for-2 chip trade, the specific plan is: Bojan + four unprotected first-round picks (2025, 2027, 2029, 2031) + 1 protected first-round pick (2025 Bucks' top four protected picks) + 1 draft swap right (2028) +1 second-round pick (2025), from Nets: Bridges + 1 second-round pick (2026).
After trading Bridges, the Knicks today left Anunoby, who has become a free agent, on a five-year $212.5 million contract, which is worth mentioning that the five-year $212.5 million contract is the largest contract in Knicks history. The reason why the Knicks are willing to give Anunoby such a big contract is that Anunoby has proven his worth in the playoffs, especially in the first round of this year's playoffs in the Knicks vs. 76ers, Anunoby played a huge role.
In this round of the game, the Knicks core player Randle couldn't play due to injury, and on paper the 76ers had more hope of advancement, but I didn't expect the Knicks to eliminate the 76ers 4-2, and the Knicks were able to advance in this round because they contained Embiid's play very well, although Embiid averaged 33 points per game in this round, the shooting rate was only 44.4%, and mainly relied on the outbreak of G3 to improve the average data, Embiid G3 13 of 19 (5 of 7 three-pointers) plus 21 free throws 19 of 50 points, except for G3, Embiid's performance in other games is average, so the Knicks can eliminate the 76ers.
Anunoby defended Embiid for many rounds in this round, and the effect was excellent, Embiid faced Anunoby with a total of 7-of-21 shooting, shooting just 33.3%. In addition to defending Embiid, Anunoby also defended Maxey and Harris for a large number of rounds, and the effect was also very good, and they scored a total of 27 points against Anunoby with a total of 11 of 26, so it can be said that Anunoby locked the three main players of the 76ers in this round.
In addition to his strong performance on the defensive end, Anunoby also performed well on the offensive end of this round, averaging 15 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1 steal and 1.3 blocks per game, shooting 51.3% from the field.
Anunoby can contain Maxey, can also contain Embiid, and can score efficiently, which makes him favored by many teams, so the Knicks can only offer the largest contract in team history to keep him, and the Knicks know very well: only by keeping Anunoby, the Knicks will have the strength to compete with the Celtics in the new season and have the strength to impact the championship.