The bomb of the famous insider d’ESPN Adrian Wojnarowski fell this Saturday morning, the Toronto Raptors parted ways with OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn who left for New York in exchange for RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and a second-round draft pick.
Toronto native RJ Barrett spent his youth following his father Rowan, also a professional basketball player. This is how he lived for six years in France, while Rowan Barrett played for Dijon, Lyon-Villeurbanne and Chalon-sur-Saône, which allowed him to learn French. He then spent his 9th year of study at St Marcellinus, in the French immersion program of this Catholic high school located in Mississauga, before leaving for the famous American Academy of Montverde in Florida, where he stayed for three years.
The winger who represented Canada at the last Basketball World Cup was drafted by the New York Knicks in 3rd position in 2019 upon leaving the prestigious Duke University. At just 23 years old, he already has four years of experience in the NBA. This season, he is averaging 18.2 points per game and 4.3 rebounds. His areas of improvement are long distance skill (33% success this season, 34 in his career) and his creation for his teammates (only 2.8 passes per game in his career). The Torontonian is under contract until the 2026-27 season.
He arrives in the company of Immanuel Quickley, a young 24-year-old fullback with great potential. The Knicks’ luxury sixth man this season, he averages 15 points with a 3-point percentage close to 40% (39.5). He could settle in as a full-back in the starting 5 alongside Scottie Barnes, promoted to starting playmaker for two games. The problem for the Raptors at the end of the season will be to find common ground with the new arrival who will be a free agent at the end of the season.
Other moves to come?
This will also be the case for OG Anunoby, who is going the opposite way and leaving the Raptors after 7 seasons in Toronto. Highly courted because of his qualities as an elite defender and in view of the summer free agent market, Toronto leaders preferred to part with the player, rather than take the risk of seeing him leave without compensation next summer – as that was the case with Fred VanVleet last offseason.
There are now only two players left on the Raptors who were part of the NBA champion team in 2019. French-speaking Pascal Siakam and Chris Boucher. The contractual situation of the first city is similar to that of Anunoby. We will therefore have to closely monitor what is happening with the only Canadian franchise in the NBA which has undoubtedly not completed the movements within its workforce. The NBA trade deadline is February 8, 2024.
2023-12-30 19:58:18
#Toronto #Raptors #repatriate #Barrett #Canada
