TORONTO 鈥� A year ago the Toronto Raptors made a trade that officially signalled that the team was going to rebuild.
Toronto acquired guards Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont., and a 2024 second-round draft pick in a deal with the Knicks on Dec. 30, 2023, sending forwards OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and reserve guard Malachi Flynn to New York in return.
Nobody 鈥� not even the players 鈥� knew what to expect from the surprising trade between two Atlantic Division rivals who were locked in litigation at the time of the deal.
"Honestly, when I first got traded, I didn't know if it was going to be the right fit. I didn't know if it was the best situation for me," said Quickley. "Realizing that change is good has helped me out a lot as far as where I want to go in my career, what I want to do, how I want to impact people, and how I want to change people's lives.
"I think this trade has been good for me."
It was a big change for both the Raptors and the Knicks.
Toronto had taken Anunoby 23rd overall in the 2017 NBA Draft and he had been a key part of its 2019 NBA championship run. The move, followed by the trade of Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers just 18 days later, effectively dismantled that team.
New York had also been invested in Barrett, drafting him third overall in 2019.
It was also a shift in the Raptors' team-building philosophy.
Drafting athletic wings had long been the calling card of president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster but Quickley and Barrett typically play guard. Further, Anunoby and Achiuwa are renowned for their defensive prowess 鈥� the former led the NBA in steals in 2022-23 鈥� whereas Barrett and Quickley are more scorers.
"They were really good on defence and I think we just bring something different offensively, shooting a three ball, attacking the rim, pace, kind of where the NBA is going and how you have to be effective," said Quickley. "Defence is a big part of that, and we're going to continue to push, make strides on the defensive end. That's how you win games.
"But I think offensively, we just add something a little different."
It's difficult to compare the four main players in the trade because of how differently they play the game. Quickley, Anunoby and Achiuwa have also spent long stretches with injuries since the trade.
Entering play Sunday, Barrett has averaged 21.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.4 blocks over 84 games since the start of the 2023-24 season. He's on pace for career highs this season in all five categories.
Quickley, who shifted from reserve shooting guard to starting point guard when he moved to the Raptors, has averaged 16.9 points, 4.8 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 0.1 blocks over the same time period. He has started all 41 of his games in Toronto.
Predictably, with his minutes and usage increased, Quickley has enjoyed career highs too. He was rewarded for his impactful play last July when he re-signed with the team on a five-year, US$175-million contract.
"The direction we are taking and how we want to develop our team, I think it was very important for us to have RJ, who is a really good scorer, he fits in with his age group as well, we have a young core," said Toronto head coach Darko Rajakovic. "That鈥檚 pretty much the same with Immanuel Quickley.
"I think both of those guys are a really good fit with our team, they fit in what we鈥檙e doing in the court, the strategic long plan. We like our guys."
Anunoby has averaged 15.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.8 blocks over 81 games since the start of last season. He missed a month after undergoing right elbow surgery last February.
Achiuwa has averaged 7.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.9 blocks over his last 84 games, 19 of them starts.
"Just different skill sets. I thought RJ and Quick added a lot to our team, OG was different, so his versatility and size were something that we were looking for," said Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau.
"You have to give good players up and so I think it was a good deal for both teams."
Win shares, a comprehensive stat that considers a player's offence, defence, and playing time, may give a more accurate accounting of who won the trade.
For context, last year's win share leader was Denver Nuggets centre and NBA MVP Nikola Jokic (17.0). Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (6.2) of Hamilton leads the league this season.
Scottie Barnes led the Raptors last season with a 4.3 win share, in a year where he made his first all-star appearance. The median win share in 2023-24 was 1.3 and it's 0.6 so far this season.
Barrett earned a 1.7 win share for Toronto last season and has a 1.2 so far this year. Quickley had a 2.5 for the Raptors in the 2023-24 campaign but only has a 0.1 over three games this season as he has dealt with a right pelvic contusion and a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament.
Anunoby had a 1.6 win share for the Knicks last season and a 2.6 so far this year. Achiuwa had a 3.0 win share for New York last season but only 0.5 after he was sidelined by a hamstring injury in the pre-season.
"The more games I play, the more comfortable I get," said Achiuwa on his injury-shortened season. "As I recover, our goal as a team is to have the best offence in the NBA.
"So our goal is just to continue to improve (any) way that we can."
A cumulative win share of 3.1 this season gives the Anunoby/Achiuwa pairing an advantage, as does New York's 22-10 record, significantly better than Toronto's 7-24 mark.
There is one more factor to consider, however.
Toronto's second-round pick became power forward/centre Jonathan Mogbo, drafted 31st overall by the Raptors last summer.
Flynn, meanwhile, was packaged off in another trade on Feb. 8, heading to the Detroit Pistons. He now plays for the Austin Spurs, the G-League affiliate for San Antonio.
Mogbo is averaging 5.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.5 blocks over 31 games in his rookie season, six of them starts. His 1.0 win share brings the Raptors' side of the deal up to a total of 2.3 so far this season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 29, 2024.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
