While the New York Knicks have been praised for smart spending and team-friendly deals in recent years, they were not able to get much of a bargain from OG Anunoby this offseason.
The versatile 3-and-D forward was set to hit the open market, with plenty of suitors interested in his services. The Knicks ended up locking down Anunoby before free agency began, signing him to a five-year, $212 million deal.
It's a whopping number for a player who isn't an All-Star, but the Knicks had little choice — rumors indicated that other teams would offer Anunoby a max contract in free agency. The Knicks used the advantage of being able to offer a fifth year on a contract to give him a deal that surpassed $200 million. It's the largest contract on the Knicks.
More: Jalen Brunson says OG Anunoby will now buy all Knicks' team dinners after $212 million contract
However, former Phoenix Suns executive and ESPN analyst Amin Elhassan is not a fan of the deal, calling it one of the worst contracts in the NBA while appearing on Sirius XM radio.
"I'm not saying OG Anunoby's not good, I'm not saying he's not responsible for a lot of success [the Knicks] have had," Elhassan said. "I'm saying when you guarantee every last dollar of $212 million to a guy who's been extremely injury-prone, including this awesome season you just had with him where he missed a bunch of time ... you have to protect yourself somewhere."
Elhassan pointed out that Anunoby has played over 60 games just once in the last four years. Elhassan said the Knicks should have protected themselves from injury with contract language — e.g. guarantees for games played.
"I think in a perfect world, he earns every last dollar of his contract," Elhassan said, adding, "But, alas, we don't live in a perfect world."
Elhassan also took aim at Jalen Brunson's team-friendly extension and rumors that Mikal Bridges may also eventually sign a team-friendly extension with the Knicks.
"Understand that the less that they are taking is so this guy [Anunoby] gets paid $42 million a year ... which is why, Mikal Bridges, I tell you, do not give these people discounts; it's their job to figure it out. It's not your job to clean up their mess."
While Elhassan isn't wrong that Anunoby's deal is a lot of money for a player who has frequently missed time due to injury, that contract unlikely to become a burden for the Knicks. They did get somewhat of a discount in that they are not paying Anunoby the max, when he likely would have gotten a max from other teams; the fifth-year made up the difference.
Furthermore, with the NBA salary cap set to rise by 10% in each of the coming seasons thanks to the new TV deal, Anunoby's contract will take up less and less of the Knicks' payroll, as it does not grow by 10% each season.
For instance, in 2026-27, when Anunoby is 29 and set to make $42.5 million, Spotrac projects that his contract will take up 24.9% of the Knicks' cap. He is currently set to be the 25th highest-paid player in the league that season, and that's before any new contracts are signed. While it's undeniably a lot of money, it's not a back-breaking deal for the Knicks.
And because Anunoby has been so valuable when he plays, even if he misses 20 games per season (not a guarantee), his services when he's healthy will make the deal worthwhile when he is on the floor.
Audio of Elhassan's comments can be heard below:
OG Anunoby is one of the worst contracts in the NBA and Mikal Bridges should not give the Knicks a discount, says NBA Radio's Amin Elhassan: "I'm not saying he's not good…I'm saying when you guarantee every last dollar of $212M to a guy who's been EXTREMELY injury-prone…you… pic.twitter.com/InuXoFb1tr
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) September 18, 2024
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