Knicks sending RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley to Raptors in deal for OG Anunoby

There’s where an organization wants to go in the future, and then there’s what that organization has to do to stay afloat in the present.

Amid a logjam at the guard spot and a slew of injuries at the five, the Knicks somehow found a way to prioritize both.

But it’ll cost them in the arena of public perception because on its surface, it appears Masai Ujiri, the asset grifter, strikes again.

New York agreed to a deal to send RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and the Detroit Pistons’ 2024 second-round pick to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa, the team announced on Saturday.

That’s a former No. 3 overall pick (Barrett), a reigning Sixth Man of the Year runner-up (Quickley), and what will likely be pick No. 31 in this year’s upcoming draft for Anunoby — who has never been an All-Star — and Achiuwa, who has only started a handful of games.

Just like everything else in this league, and especially with this Knicks team, there’s nuance to every transaction.

THE KNICKS HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO MOVE QUICKLEY

The second Quickley’s camp and the Knicks landed far apart on the average annual salary in his contract extension talks, the clock began ticking on a deal to move him elsewhere.

It’s the nature of the business: Any time a player can threaten to leave for nothing in free agency, the organization does its due diligence assessing his long-term fit with the team.

In this case: Quickley is the backup to Jalen Brunson, and overpaying the backup guard is exactly the kind of move that’s left the Knicks stuck in quicksand in past seasons.

Quickley’s camp reportedly sought a $25 million average salary (five years, $125 million), while the Knicks only wanted to offer $18 million a year (five years, $90 million).

Quickley is undoubtedly talented, but in New York, the lion’s share of the minutes at the one go to Jalen Brunson. It’s a lot of money to commit to a player destined — at least in New York — for a backup player’s minutes, and there’s not enough data suggesting Quickley and Brunson can be sustainable on defense.

Plus it was clear that with Quickley, Donte DiVincenzo and Quentin Grimes jockeying for burn, there just weren’t enough minutes to go around at the two.

Now in Toronto, Quickley may quickly become the starting point guard over Raptors’ veteran starter Dennis Schroder.

ANUNOBY IS A CLEAR UPGRADE OVER BARRETT

Kevin Durant once said it’s a wing’s league, and with Brunson and Julius Randle performing at an All-Star level, it became clear through Barrett’s skid the Knicks needed an upgrade at the three.

Anunoby is an upgrade over Barrett in every aspect for a Knicks team that wants to shoot a ton of threes, play defense and crash the glass:

— He is revered as a shutdown defender at the three. Barrett is not. Anunoby is the NBA’s reigning 2023 steals leader and made the league’s All-Defensive Second Team last season

— He is a career 37.5 percent three-point shooter. Barrett shot 40 percent in Year 2 but has failed to eclipse 34.2 percent in each of the other four seasons, including this one

— He has averaged at least five rebounds four times in his career. Barrett has never

Most importantly, Anunoby is an NBA champion playing alongside Kawhi Leonard in The Klaw’s lone season in Toronto. He knows what it takes to play alongside superstar-caliber players and should be a seamless fit alongside Brunson and Randle.

It’s fair to mention, however, that Anunoby’s scoring has regressed this season, likely because he’s been sandwiched between All-Star Pascal Siakam and franchise cornerstone Scottie Barnes.

Anunoby averaged 15.1 points but shot 48.9 percent from the field and 37.4 percent from three on six attempts per game this season with the Raptors.

It’s also fair to point out that Anunoby can and likely will decline the player option on the final year of his contract given it’s only worth $19.9 million.

Doing so would make Anunoby an unrestricted free agent, free to sign with the highest bidder.

Working in the Knicks’ favor? Anunoby is a CAA client, and at this point, the Knicks are a CAA operation. The topic of Anunoby’s looming contract extension has likely already been broached.

THE KNICKS DESPERATELY NEEDED PRECIOUS ACHIUWA

Mitchell Robinson’s potential season-ending surgery left the Knicks in a bind, Jericho Sims’ sprained ankle complicated matters, and as a result, Isaiah Hartenstein is frequently getting into foul trouble because of the extended minutes.

The Knicks have been so depleted at the five, they’ve played Randle small-ball center minutes and are riding 38-year-old Taj Gibson for extended stretches at a time.

Those desperate measures project to end now that the Knicks have acquired Achiuwa, an energetic fourth-year big man who shoots the three at a career 31.4 percent clip.

Achiuwa has started 44 of a possible 214 regular-season games in his time in Toronto. He averaged 13.4 points and 9.7 rebounds, about a steal and a block in 12 starts with the Raptors last season.

Achiuwa, who is of Nigerian descent but grew up in the Bronx and played HS ball at noted programs Our Saviour Lutheran (Centereach, NY.) and St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark before going to NBA farm Montverde in Florida, also double-doubled six times as a starter in the 2021-22 season and hung 21 points and nine rebounds on Joel Embiid in a victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Without Robinson for an extended period of time, the Knicks need two things out of the center spot: extra bodies and extra production.

Achiuwa projects to bring both.

It must be noted, however, that Achiuwa, like Quickley, is in the final year of his rookie contract and will hit restricted free agency next summer unless he and the Knicks agree to a deal at the end of the season before he tests the market.

Hartenstein is also set to become a free agent next summer.

Decisions, decisions.

KNICKS PROTECT PRECIOUS DRAFT CAPITAL

To recap, the Knicks:

— Moved on from a player (Quickley) they weren’t interested in overpaying

— Upgraded at the NBA’s premier position (according to Durant)

— Added depth at the five with Robinson out an extended period

— Only surrendered a second-round pick, albeit their best one — likely 31st overall in the 2024 NBA Draft

In a perfect world, Anunoby should be this team’s fourth option at best. The Knicks are primed for another deal.

Maybe even two.

The going price for a star has been four first-round picks and either matching salary or matching salary plus a young player.

If they wanted to acquire Dejounte Murray, for example, the Knicks could send the Hawks Evan Fournier’s expiring contract plus any three first-round picks and a first-round pick swap — a comparable trade to what the Hawks gave the Spurs to acquire Murray in the first place.

That would still leave the Knicks with at least four more picks eligible for trade.

Decisions would then need to be made about which players to use as salary filler, but after trading Barrett and Quickley to the Raptors, it’s clear this front office is prioritizing its future over feelings.

The future could be bright in New York, even if it looks like Ujiri fleeced the Knicks once again.

One thing a mid-season trade isn’t good for? Chemistry.

Barrett has been part of the Knicks’ core for longer than Tom Thibodeau has been coach in New York City. He’s gone, so is Quickley, and now, the Knicks need to put things together on the fly.