As a forward who was traded to the Knicks by the Raptors in the middle of the season, Anunoby refused to exercise his player option in the 2024 offseason, and soon received a five-year, $212.5 million super-cap contract from Knicks management. The forward was drafted by the Raptors with the 23rd pick in the first round in 2017 and quickly developed into the top 3-and-D coveted by many teams in the small-ball era over the course of several seasons. The reason why the Knicks traded him was to improve the offensive and defensive capabilities of the wing and share the pressure on Brunson's shoulders.
During the regular season in the 23-24 season, Anunoby played a total of 50 games, averaging 14.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game, shooting 48.9% from the field and 38.2% from three-point range. Although he is not a top shooter, he is still more than enough to produce three-point shots, and he can play a consistent game on the defensive end. Unable to become the star of a team, Anunoby has brought his ability to the best of the three and four masters, becoming an indispensable member of a championship team, and also catching up with the dividends of the small ball era.
In the Knicks' deal to get Anunoby, Quickley became a trade chip and was sent to the Raptors; He played 38 games with the Raptors in the '23-24 season, averaging 33.3 minutes per game, contributing 18.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.2 blocks while shooting 43.4% from the field and 39.5% from three-point range. Such a consistent performance made him the league's best sixth man at one point, and he lost to Brogdon in the selection to finish second.
With this performance, Quickley will receive a five-year, $175 million contract from the Raptors and will be seen by the team as part of the building blocks of the team going forward. Relative to his role player position with the Knicks, Quickley was entrusted with a major role with the Raptors, and he will have the opportunity to grow into the team's second leader.
As a guard selected by the Thunder with the 25th pick in the first round in 2020, Quickley has a height of 1.88 meters, and he is only 25 years old at the moment and is slowly entering the prime of his career. Since he entered the league, he has averaged more than 10 points per game, and in the 23-24 season, he played the best performance of his career, with a three-point shooting target of 39.5% and nearly 40%. Still, Quickley is still a long way from becoming an All-Star; But with the Raptors' massive ball possession, he has a chance to grow into a player of this calibre.
After sending away Siakam and Anunoby, the Raptors officially established forward Barnes as the cornerstone of the team, and intend to give him a five-year, $275 million super contract, which will be the most expensive contract in Raptors history. So, as a forward who was selected by the Raptors with the fourth pick in the first round in 2021, the current Barnes is only 22 years old, with a height of two meters and one and a weight of 108 kilograms, what is his personal level?
During the 23-24 regular season, Barnes averaged 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 47.5% from the field and 34.1% from three-point range. In his third year, he averaged nearly 20 points per game and was able to play a solid game on the defensive end, but his three-point shooting percentage was still relatively low. Of course, this is due to the requirements of a leading star, and Barnes's shooting efficiency is still on the low side.
Without Leonard's top-notch projection ability, Barnes has a long way to go to become a superstar in the league. The Raptors are quite generous when it comes to contract extensions, but they lack the prospect of superstars and a unique vision.
In this way, this team is the big philanthropist of the NBA, and I don't know when it will be able to replicate the glory of winning the championship in 2019.