Jaden McDaniels and the Minnesota Timberwolves just tacked on a one-year, $40 million contract extension to the end of his deal. It’s a big-time sum of money for one of the best defensive forwards in the NBA. It helps set the market. And OG Anunoby is absolutely part of that market. So, when the time comes, the New York Knicks should be willing to pay a premium price.
Getting guys like McDaniels and Anunoby is not easy. Those types of players are extremely rare. When you get one on your roster, you cannot afford to let him go. So if the McDaniels one-year extension has taught the Knicks anything, it’s that no matter how shaky the second-apron situation gets, Anunoby is not a guy they can lose.
Those types of players get paid the big bucks, not let loose because of a lack of desire to be a second-apron team.
Jaden McDaniels extension only proves Knicks need to pay OG Anunoby
After winning the NBA Championship this past season, nobody in New York would disagree with the sentiment that Anunoby is one of the most important pieces on the Knicks.
If the Knicks were to let him go at any point in the foreseeable future, there would be riots in the streets. Everyone would lose their minds, and rightfully so. You just can’t lose Anunoby.
McDaniels already makes a ton of money. And with his new one-year extension, he’s going to make even more, especially since the new contract means he’ll be able to earn more money on his next contract extension.
And it’s going to be well worth it. McDaniels is one of the best defenders in the NBA on a team that has been one of the best defensive teams in the league for years.
For the Knicks, it’s no different. If anything, Anunoby is even more valuable to them because of the major difference in defensive infrastructure. The Wolves just have a better defensive unit.
Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are two of the best offensive players in the league, but they aren’t incredible defenders. They hold their own, but having a guy like Anunoby is even more valuable when Rudy Gobert isn’t there to back him up.
You pay defenders. In today’s NBA, you pay the guy who can do the dirty work and step up on offense when you need him to. That’s what McDaniels does for the Wolves. That’s what Anunoby did for the Knicks throughout the playoffs.
Paying Anunoby should never be a question of “if.” It’s merely a question of “when.”
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