Per The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami, the Raptors passed on Jordan Poole in a potential OG Anunoby deal.
Before sending Jordan Poole to the Washington Wizards in a trade package for Chris Paul, the Golden State Warriors front office called the Toronto Raptors to see if they were interested in trading wing OG Anunoby in a comparable deal, according to a report by Tim Kawakami of The Athletic. Per Kawakami’s report, Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri was not interested.
“One of the Warriors’ calls, I’m told, was to check with Toronto about a proposal centering on Poole for 25-year-old forward OG Anunoby,“ Kawakami wrote. “But the Raptors weren’t interested.”
Anunoby’s name has been swirling around trade rumors for some time due to his youth, contract, and proximity to free agency. With comparable wings Pascal Siakam, Scottie Barnes, and Chris Boucher already on the Raptors, Anunoby seems like a trade chip that could help improve other areas on the roster. But, so far, Ujiri has maintained the team’s glut of wings without any departures.
It’s easy to see why the Warriors targeted Anunoby. He is an excellent defensive player with the ability to guard multiple positions that could help lessen the team’s reliance on Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins on that side of the floor. Offensively, Anunoby has been a consistently efficient scorer, averaging 16.6 points per game over the past three seasons while shooting 38.2% from three, 53.5% from two, and 79.8% from the free-throw line. He’s also nabbed 5.3 rebounds per game.
While a player option in his contract likely means Anunoby is destined for free agency next offseason, he’s making less than $19 million next season, which would have also significantly cut the Warriors luxury tax burden in a swap for Poole. In fact, to help match salaries, Golden State might have hoped to take back Otto Porter Jr. to add another floor-spacer to the roster.
For what it’s worth, the Dubs still have ways to make a trade for Anunoby if he does end up traded. However, the Raptors would either have to be enthralled with the prospect of adding Chris Paul or a package built around Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody. For now, the Warriors will move forward with CP3.