We’re still weeks or months away from knowing what Daryl Morey has in mind for his big offseason plan. With plenty of cap space and Draft picks at his disposal, Morey has plenty of options to explore, both in free agency and on the trade market. Whether it’s Paul George, LeBron James, Jimmy Butler or Brandon Ingram, almost every big name rumored to be available is apparently linked to the Philadelphia 76ers at least superficially. Now, let’s make sure to include one more name when reciting that list.
Discussing New York’s offseason, SNY Knicks reporter Ian Begley shares Philadelphia 76ers insight on OG Anunoby:
“As previously reported, members of the Philadelphia 76ers have viewed Anunoby as a target throughout the offseason. Paul George is also a target for Philadelphia. But if the Sixers can’t get George, I could imagine they would make Anunoby a big offer, if only because he would force New York to match the money.”
Additionally, Yahoo! Sports’ Jake Fischer floats the idea of Anunoby coming to Philly:
“Anunoby is widely expected to decline his $19.9 million player option for next season after being traded to New York before the trade deadline. Of note: While league personnel think Siakam will certainly re-sign with Indiana, there were rumblings among team officials at last week’s NBA Draft Combine that Anunoby’s situation with the Knicks is not so simple. Perhaps those signals to opposing teams will only help Anunoby get a higher dollar figure from the Knicks. But several teams left Chicago with the belief that Anunoby could hit unrestricted free agency and consider deals with franchises other than New York, sources said.
Anunoby represents an interesting path that the Sixers didn’t take. The Knicks acquired the former Raptors forward in December by sending RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and a 2024 second-round pick to Toronto. Although Toronto reportedly preferred the Barrett-Quickley package over others, you have to imagine Morey could have trumped it with an all-in type move for the soon-to-be free agent. With Anunoby in the fold, how much better could 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 of the here and now, there are interesting factors in Anunoby’s pursuit of free agency. First of all, will Anunoby really be available? Fischer indicates he could be, but the Knicks sent a decent package to acquire him, presumably with the assurance that he would stay for more 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 are too many dots to connect here to reasonably believe Anunoby will play for a team other than the Knicks next season.
So, in a vacuum, would you like Anunoby to be the Sixers’ big acquisition in free agency? Certainly the outstanding wing defense would be attractive, as would the fact that Anunoby is only in his mid-twenties. However, there would be things you would lose on the offensive end. While Anunoby is by no means negative in that regard, you would lose the high-volume shooting of a Paul George or the creation ability of even a Brandon Ingram.
However, signing Anunoby would have team-building advantages. Like George or James, signing OG as a free agent would allow the Sixers to preserve their draft capital for other moves, rather than making a trade for someone like Butler or Ingram. Additionally, given their respective years of service, a max contract for Anunoby would be lower than it would be 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 another piece to help develop the squad.
Ultimately, I still believe Anunoby will return to the Knicks and expecting otherwise is not a realistic line of thinking. Still, if the Sixers want to drop these kinds of details about their interest to ensure the Knicks are forced to pay a lot of money to keep him, I’m all for it.
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