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The Memphis Grizzlies nearly made a swing in 2022-23 for Toronto Raptors forward O.G. Anunoby.
In an appearance on the Brian Windhorst and the Hoop Collective podcast, Tim McMahon of ESPN said that the market for Anunoby may be drying up and that the Grizzlies had significant interest in him last season, which may now be a missed opportunity.
“When you talk about a case of waiting too long I think Anunoby very well could end up being something like that,” McMahon said. “There’s a lot of talk about Anunoby getting traded but I don’t believe there were a lot of trade discussions involving him. I know for example that the Memphis Grizzlies had high, high interest and I don’t know exactly what they would have given up but there were talks for Mikal Bridges and they put four first-round picks on the table there.”
McMahon said that the Grizzles may not have been willing to offer four first-round picks for Anunoby but certainly were prepared to offer “multiple first-round picks.” However, since the team pivoted for Marcus Smart and Tyus Jones, they are not as prominent of a trade partner as they were last season.
“The likelihood of that being a potential trade partner has diminished significantly over the summer,” McMahon said. “Just because of the business the Grizzles did over the summer and the tradeable contracts that are no longer there and the picks that are no longer there.”
Anunoby averaged 16.8 points, five rebounds and two assists across 67 games for the Raptors in 2023. He was involved in trade rumors throughout 2023 but Eric Koreen of The Athletic reported in July that the Raptors were not “seriously listening to offers for Anunoby right now.”
He has one-year remaining on his contract but does have a $19.9 million player option for 2024-25. Should he choose to enter free agency, the Raptors could offer him more money than anyone else but risk losing him for nothing like they did with Fred VanVleet in 2023.
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