Malachi Flynn

Pistons Notes: Williams, Rotation, Wiseman, Grimes

February 24th, 2024 at 8:20am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Pistons went 11 deep into their rotation through the first 13 minutes of their Thursday loss to the Pacers. According to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, it felt like Detroit was auditioning for players who might be on next season’s roster, even though coach Monty Williams denied that was the case a day earlier.

“I’m not going to be throwing combinations on the floor to just be looking at certain combinations,” Williams said Wednesday. “We’re done with that, in my opinion. We’re trying to develop guys, for sure, but we’re going to try and win every game we can so that we can create what we feel [will give us momentum] going into the summer.”

In Edwards’ view, it doesn’t feel like there’s much synergy with the rotations Williams is putting on the floor. If the team is prioritizing winning, Edwards writes, it doesn’t make sense that James Wiseman is earning minutes over Mike Muscala and there’s been no staggering the minutes of franchise guards Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey. But it doesn’t feel like development is the priority in the rotation either, according to Edwards, because rookie Marcus Sasser played fewer minutes than Evan Fournier and Malachi Flynn.

The deep rotations and new faces are making it difficult for any consistency to develop in Detroit and too many minutes are being given to players who might not be on the roster next season, Edwards writes.

In response to questions surrounding his 11-man rotation on Thursday, Williams explained that he told the coaches he’d prefer to run with about nine rotation players but Sasser bumped his knee and that’s why he ended up using Flynn more (Twitter link via Omari Sankofa II of Detroit Free Press).

We have more Pistons notes:

Williams also explained his decision to play Wiseman over Muscala (Twitter link via Sankofa). “I like what he’s giving us, especially on the defensive side,” Williams said of the former No. 2 overall pick. According to Sankofa, Williams said that the rim protection Wiseman provides is more important when smaller guards like Sasser and Flynn are on the floor.
Wiseman is hoping to shed the bust label he picked up after being traded away for a modest return at the 2023 deadline after he was drafted second overall in 2020, according to FOX Sports’ Melissa Rohlin. “I believe I can be a great player,” Wiseman said. His career has been derailed by a combination of injuries, illness and a lack of NBA preparedness, Rohlin writes.
Quentin Grimes, acquired by the Pistons at the deadline, is listed as probable ahead of their Saturday matchup against Orlando, according to Sankofa (Twitter link). Grimes hasn’t played since being traded due to a right knee sprain, but averaged 8.6 points per game while connecting on 37.9% of his three-pointers in his first three seasons in the league.

Pistons Owner Expresses Support For GM Troy Weaver

February 10th, 2024 at 6:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

Pistons owner Tom Gores expressed confidence in general manager Troy Weaver during a session with reporters Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles, writes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. There has been speculation that Weaver may be replaced amid a historically bad start to the season, but Gores didn’t provide any indication that he’s considering such a move.

“I think we just came together and the first thing we did is take accountability for the mistakes we made,” Gores responded when asked about Weaver. “As an organization, you really can’t go forward until you acknowledge what didn’t work. That was the first thing. And being honest about that provides you the future. If you don’t look in your past for a little bit and what was right and what was wrong, it’s very hard to go to the future. We did that along the process. I have confidence in Troy. I have confidence. We leaned on each other through this process, but we also didn’t avoid the idea of what were we accountable for? It gave us a pathway to go forward.”

The Pistons still have the league’s worst record at 8-44 after losing to the Clippers today, but Sankofa points out that they have been more competitive recently, going 5-8 since acquiring Mike Muscala and the recently waived Danilo Gallinari from Washington last month. The roster shakeup continued at Thursday’s deadline as Detroit added six new players — Simone Fontecchio, Troy Brown Jr., Shake Milton, Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier and Malachi Flynn — while parting with veteran shooters Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks, among others.

“We needed to mix up our formation,” Gores explained. “We had to let a few of our players go, all good men. Bojan and Burks contributed a lot to our Pistons. We just needed to change it up a bit and create some more pace-and-space for our young guys. As you know from Troy, we were at it working all last week, so we just needed to, for the sake of the team, let the young guys fly free.”

Today marked Gores’ first public comments on the team since late December when he promised fans that changes were going to be made. In today’s media session, Gores told reporters that he was involved in the process “almost every day.”

“The first month after that, I did a lot of it on a couple days of Zooms and calls and all that stuff,” Gores said. “Over the last 10 days, the team will tell you, Troy will tell you, we had a lot of all-nighters and up really late just making sure we make the right decision for this team. It’s a pivotal moment and you have to know when it’s pivotal. For us, it was important to get the right makeup and I thought we made pretty good moves. We also have a lot of cap space now in the summer, and we gained some good players.”

Gores added that he learned a lot about coach Monty Williams and people throughout the organization by watching how they responded in difficult times. He also indicated that several of Thursday’s additions could be in the Pistons’ long-term plans.

“This is just the beginning, and it’s our responsibility to do this,” Gores said. “We have to learn from what didn’t work, so we have to take that forward now. As I told the team and front office and everyone else that if we don’t win from our losses, then what are we doing? We have to be better because of our losses, and that’s our opportunity.”

Pistons Trade Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks To Knicks

February 8th, 2024 at 3:09pm CST by Rory Maher

3:09pm: The trade is official, per announcements from the Pistons and Knicks.

The two second-rounders headed to Detroit in the deal will be 2028 and 2029 picks, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic. Those picks will be New York’s own, according to Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press.

The Pistons didn’t officially announce any cuts in their press release, but previous reporting indicated they’re waiving Killian Hayes, Joe Harris, and the newly acquired Danuel House. Arcidiacono will likely also be released after being acquired from New York, per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link).

10:27am: The Pistons and Knicks are finalizing a trade that will send Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks to New York in exchange for Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Malachi Flynn, Ryan Arcidiacono, and two second-round picks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Bogdanovic (41.5%) and Burks (40.1%) are two strong three-point shooters who will help bolster New York’s rotation, particularly when it comes to scoring and spacing the floor. Burks, 32, is an impending unrestricted free agent, while Bogdanovic’s $19MM salary for 2024/25 is only partially guaranteed for $2MM.

However, as Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets, the Knicks are expected to fully guarantee Bogdanovic’s contract for next season, possibly to flip him to a new team in the summer or during the ’24/25 season. Burks, meanwhile, was favorite of head coach Tom Thibodeau during his first stint in New York from 2020-22, Katz observes (via Twitter).

Once the deal is official, the Knicks will have two open roster spots and will be about $2.5MM below the luxury tax threshold, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. They’ll have plenty of flexibility to sign players on the buyout market, Marks observes, since they’re well below the first tax apron.

Flynn cannot be aggregated with other salaries in a trade, but the outgoing contracts of Grimes, Fournier and Arcidiacono are just enough to cover the money owed to Bogdanovic and Burks. That means the Knicks will create a traded player exception worth $3,873,025, which is Flynn’s cap hit.

According to Ian Begley of SNY.TV (Twitter link), the Knicks were motivated to add depth on the wing in part due to concern over OG Anunoby‘s right elbow injury. As Begley notes, New York recently changed Anunoby’s injury status from elbow inflammation to bone spur irritation. Anunoby has missed the past five games with the injury and will miss his sixth straight contest tonight against Dallas.

As for the Pistons, they’ve been extremely active leading up to the 2:00pm CT deadline, and they will need to cut two players to complete this trade.

James Edwards III of The Athletic hears rival teams were unwilling to meet Detroit’s asking price for Bogdanovic, and the Pistons felt Grimes was more valuable than any picks being offered (Twitter link). According to Edwards, the Knicks “have been unwilling to trade firsts to any team,” with New York likely saving its draft arsenal to chase a star player in the future.

That reporting suggests the trade, from Detroit’s perspective, could be viewed as Bogdanovic for Grimes, with Burks netting two second-round picks.

Grimes, 23, is in the third season of his rookie scale contract, and was reportedly open to a change of scenery after having his role reduced in 2023/24. He showed plenty of 3-and-D upside last season, however, averaging 11.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists while frequently defending opposing teams’ top perimeter scorers. He’ll make $4.3MM next season and will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in the 2024 offseason.

While Grimes was a regular contributor for New York, Fournier, Flynn and Arcidiacono hardly played at all for the Knicks. Fournier has been openly seeking a trade for well over a year — his wish was finally granted, but it’s unclear if he’ll have a role for the Pistons. They’ll hold a $19MM team option on his contract for next season, which could be useful for salary-matching purposes in the future, if they decide to retain him.

Knicks Notes: Anunoby, Flynn, Sims, McBride, Gibson

January 6th, 2024 at 6:27pm CST by Arthur Hill

OG Anunoby had a rough shooting night Friday in Philadelphia, but his defensive impact showed why the Knicks were determined to acquire him, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Anunoby guarded everyone from Joel Embiid to Tyrese Maxey as New York limited the Sixers to 40.7% from the field, and the Knicks outscored Philadelphia by 20 points in his 37 minutes on the court.

“I think we have a good core that’s been together for a while now. So I think that can absorb people coming in and then a guy like OG is very serious,” coach Tom Thibdoeau said. “He wants to do well, and I think his mind is open. He plays incredibly hard on every possession, so even if it’s not perfect right now, it’s still gonna be good.”

The Knicks have won their first three games since last weekend’s trade, and Anunoby has played a significant role in all of them. His scoring is down slightly and he’s only connecting at 46.9% from the field since coming to New York after Friday’s 3-of-11 performance, but he’s finding other ways to make a difference.

“Your hustle can make up for a lot. And that’s really what he’s doing,” Thibodeau added. “And each day, he’ll get better and better and guys are starting to figure him out, as well. So that takes a little bit of time. But help where you can, hustle, be in passing lanes, get deflections, help out on the boards, play physical, run the floor, move without the ball. Those are things that he does great. And then as time goes on, he’ll find more places where he can get scoring opportunities, too.”

There’s more from New York:

Malachi Flynn, who was also acquired in the Anunoby deal, made his Knicks debut on Friday night, playing just one minute at the end of the game, Bondy adds. Flynn is considered “situational,” which Bondy notes is a word Thibodeau uses to describe players who aren’t in his rotation. Jericho Sims played two minutes Friday, having been bumped from the rotation when New York acquired Precious Achiuwa from Toronto.
Miles McBride, who is hoping to establish himself as the team’s new primary back-up point guard, had his best performance since the trade in Friday’s win, per Steve Popper of Newsday. This is McBride’s first opportunity at regular minutes in his three-year career. “I think what I bring to the table is a great thing for the team,” he said. “I think I can push the pace. I can obviously knock down shots and on the defensive end, really get stops and just keep the team positive and be a leader out there.”
Thibodeau would be open to making Taj Gibson an assistant coach when the 38-year-old big man is done with his playing career, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.

New York Notes: Knicks, Towns, Simmons, Walker, Nets

January 3rd, 2024 at 6:30pm CST by Rory Maher

While Sam Vecenie of The Athletic recently said he views the Knicks/Raptors trade as the “Immanuel Quickley trade” rather than the “OG Anunoby trade,” he likes what Anunoby will bring to New York.

According to Vecenie, Anunoby is one of a select few players who can credibly defend all five positions on the court. That defensive versatility, plus his ability to convert threes and make timely cuts, has made Anunoby a “great role player.” The question is if he can develop more on offense, Vecenie writes.

As Vecenie details, while Anunoby has an impressive physical profile and uses it very effectively on defense, he can look a little awkward on offense when given on-ball opportunities, as he doesn’t finish well in the paint and doesn’t have a reliable pull-up jump shot.

Still, Vecenie believes Anunoby has the potential to be “the third-best player on a title team” if he’s in the right situation, and there’s a reason so many teams wanted him. Vecenie also examines what Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn will bring to New York.

Here’s more from the two New York-based teams:

On Run It Back (Twitter video link), Shams Charania of The Athletic suggested the Knicks will “always” have interest in Karl-Anthony Towns, who presumably won’t be going anywhere this season, as Minnesota has the best record in the Western Conference. Towns’ former agent is Leon Rose, New York’s current president of basketball operations.
Even after dealing away Quickley, RJ Barrett and the Pistons’ 2024 second-rounder, there are people within the Knicks who think they have the requisite remaining assets to land a star player, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv. As Begley writes, the Knicks could trade up to four of their own future first-round picks, plus some protected picks from other teams.
Multiple sources tell Brian Lewis of The New York Post that Ben Simmons is “progressing well” in his recovery from a nerve impingement in his lower back, and he’s expected to be cleared to play 2-on-2 when the Nets return home on Thursday. Simmons would then play 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 before possibly being ready to return, Lewis writes. Simmons has been sidelined since November 6. As for Lonnie Walker, who has missed the past 16 games with a hamstring injury, he could return for Friday’s contest against OKC, Lewis adds.
They Nets are spiraling down the standings, having lost four straight and nine of their past 11 games, with the two victories against Detroit. Tuesday’s loss to New Orleans marked a new low point, Lewis writes for The New York Post. Mikal Bridges said the team took its foot off the gas pedal. “We got punched in the mouth and just sat back,” Bridges said. “We didn’t keep going forward after. And that’s on players, right there. It’s going to be like that. They might make a run … you’ve got to have accountability on ourselves to get back up and fight, and besides just lay down. Like I said, I’ve got to do better just personally being more vocal and be more physical and being on both ends. You just can’t let up.”

Knicks Notes: Fournier, Anunoby, Achiuwa, Flynn, Defense, McBride

December 31st, 2023 at 6:32pm CST by Arthur Hill

As Knicks players became aware of the team’s trade with Toronto Saturday morning, Evan Fournier grabbed his phone to see if he was involved, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. Fournier has been stuck in limbo for about a year, seeing little playing time as he’s kept outside coach Tom Thibodeau’s rotation, but still valuable because of an $18MM expiring contract that could be useful for salary matching in a major deal.

Fournier explained to Popper that he’s not looking for a way out of New York, but when he heard about the Raptors deal he wanted to know if he was part of it.

“Well, the thing is the way I learned it, I think it said it was a trade package surrounding RJ,” Fournier said. “So of course you see that, you’re like, ‘Oh.’ You check your phone and stuff. I sleep well at night. I don’t check my phone to see if there’s a trade or anything. I just focus in on the moment because that’s the business.”

There’s more from New York:

The Knicks will host Minnesota Monday afternoon, so some of the players acquired from Toronto might be in the lineup without practicing with their new team, Popper adds. “I don’t know what the logistics of everything are yet,” Thibodeau said. “But whatever it is, we just gotta find a way.” New York is listing Malachi Flynn as out for tomorrow with a right ankle injury, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv, but OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa aren’t on the injury report.
The Knicks’ need for a defensive presence like Anunoby was evident in Saturday’s loss at Indiana, observes Peter Botte of The New York Post. New York surrendered 140 points overall and 76 in the second half while dropping its third straight game. “Just as simple as I can: terrible,” Jalen Brunson said. “We can do a lot better defensively. Offensively, it is not a problem right now. I can be better defensively. We can be better defensively. We just need to step it up on that side of the ball.”
Miles McBride can’t be traded for six months after signing his new extension, Begley points out (Twitter link). Begley’s sources confirm that McBride’s new deal is front-loaded and that his salary will decline each season.

Latest On Knicks/Raptors Trade

December 30th, 2023 at 6:23pm CST by Arthur Hill

With the Knicks and Raptors both playing tonight, the two head coaches were able to talk about their new acquisitions in pregame sessions with reporters.

New York’s Tom Thibodeau started by saying he has handled personnel decisions before, so he understands how much work went into today’s trade. He added that it was difficult to part with RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, but OG Anunoby brings too many positives to pass up (video link from Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files).

“I think what OG has done and what he has shown is, one, he has positional size,” Thibodeau said. “Two, he can guard multiple positions. Three, he’s a terrific three-point shooter so he can space the floor. He’s also good in transition, very good finishing. And he’s young, so he still has a lot of development left in his game.”

Thibodeau added that Precious Achiuwa will give the team much-needed size and offensive rebounding, and he called Malachi Flynn “a good young player as well.”

Prior to tonight’s game in Detroit, Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic discussed how adding Barrett will affect the offense, tweets Eric Koreen of The Athletic.

“RJ is a very dynamic player,” Rajakovic said. “He is a very good cutter, good driver, an improved spot-up shooter as well. I’m really excited to see how he’s going to jell with our team.”

There’s more on today’s blockbuster trade:

Raptors president Masai Ujiri was in Detroit with the team and broke the news of the trade to Anunoby, Achiuwa and Flynn, tweets Kayla Gray of TSN Sports. She hears that Barrett and Quickley are expected to travel to Toronto tomorrow and meet with the media on Monday (Twitter link). They’ll likely make their debut in Monday night’s game against Cleveland.
Knicks veteran Taj Gibson talked to both Barrett and Quickley this morning after the deal became public, relays Steve Popper of Newsday (Twitter link). Gibson said it was “gut-wrenching” to lose the two players, but he told them they’ll have great opportunities in Toronto.
Although Anunoby is a nice addition to the roster, the Knicks don’t believe they’ll be able to obtain a true star player before next summer, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic. New York still owns a wealth of draft assets, Katz adds, along with the salaries of Josh Hart, Evan Fournier, Donte DiVincenzo and Quentin Grimes to use in a trade for a max-salary player.

Knicks Notes: Anunoby, Flynn, Achiuwa, Thibodeau, Skapintsev

December 30th, 2023 at 3:54pm CST by Luke Adams

When OG Anunoby decided to leave Klutch Sports this past offseason, he had meetings with several agencies and told prospective representatives that he would like a larger offensive role, one that would be commensurate with an annual average salary of $40MM, reports Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Anunoby is earning $18.6MM this season and has the ability to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason, at which point he’ll be in line for a substantial raise.

But the Knicks didn’t acquire the forward without a clear understanding of his contract situation, according to Fischer, who suggests that Anunoby may be more willing to sign a team-friendly deal with New York than he would have with another team. Sources tell Yahoo Sports that agents who met with the 26-year-old in the offseason got the impression he’d be willing to accept less than $40MM per year if he were to end up in New York.

As Fischer observes, it’s also worth noting that Anunoby ultimately ended up signing with CAA, an agency that works closely with the Knicks. One of Anunoby’s representatives is Sam Rose, the son of Knicks president Leon Rose.

Here’s more out of New York:

Posing 10 pressing questions for the Knicks in the wake of the Anunoby deal, Stefan Bondy of The New York Post explores the motivation for the move, considers whether Malachi Flynn or Miles McBride will become the backup point guard, and examines what to expect from Precious Achiuwa, among other topics.
It was apparent that the Knicks’ pre-trade roster had reached its ceiling, says Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post, arguing that the acquisition of Anunoby is exactly the sort of core shakeup the team needed. The deal also sets up the Knicks well for a follow-up trade, Vaccaro adds, given that the front office still has Evan Fournier‘s expiring contracts and all of its first-round picks to work with.
The newly acquired Knicks players won’t be active tonight in Indiana, but should be available for Monday’s game vs. Minnesota, assuming all goes well with their physicals, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau seems likely to hear from the NBA after criticizing the officiating following Friday’s loss to Orlando, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. Thibodeau said that he was “sick and tired” of Jalen Brunson getting “hammered” and not earning foul calls. “Like, I watch. I send it in. I see it all. And they’re fouls. It’s plain and simple, they’re fouls and there’s no other way to say it, except they’re fouls. They’re fouls,” Thibodeau said. “No one drives the ball more to the rim than this guy does. And if you rake across his arm, you rake across his arm. And if you hit him in the head, you hit him in the head. Those are fouls. Those are fouls. [I’m] sick and tired of it.”
In a story for The Athletic, Mike Vorkunov takes a closer look at the journey that new Knicks two-way player Dmytro Skapintsev has taken from Ukraine to the G League to the NBA club.

Raptors Trade OG Anunoby To Knicks For Barrett, Quickley

December 30th, 2023 at 2:48pm CST by Tristan Tucker

2:48pm: The trade is official, the Knicks confirmed in a press release (Twitter link).

“We’re ecstatic to welcome OG, Malachi, and Precious to the Knicks family,” Knicks president Leon Rose said in a statement. “OG’s complete offensive game and ability to defend multiple positions will enhance our team on both ends of the court. Malachi and Precious are well-rounded players that will complement the hardworking and talented nature of our group. OG, Malachi, and Precious are perfect additions to the type of team and culture we are building in New York.”

The Raptors also announced the deal in a press release of their own.

“We’re excited about welcoming Immanuel and RJ to our team,” Raptors president Masai Ujiri said. “Immanuel is a young, talented playmaker who we believe will provide a spark on both ends of the court. RJ is a versatile wing who is, of course, well-known in his hometown, and seeing him in a Raptors uniform will be a special moment for our fans and for all Canadians.”

11:27am: The Raptors are finalizing a trade that will send OG Anunoby to the Knicks in exchange for a package consisting of RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and a 2024 second-round pick, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Forward Precious Achiuwa and guard Malachi Flynn are also headed to New York along with Anunoby in the deal, according to Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).

The 2024 pick the Raptors are acquiring originally belonged to the Pistons, Wojnarowski tweets, so it currently projects to be atop the second round.

The deal will see the Knicks land one of the most coveted two-way players in the league in Anunoby, who has been viewed as a prime trade candidate for much of 2023. New York has been pursuing him for “a significant period of time,” according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), having reportedly offered multiple first-rounders for him at last season’s deadline.

The Knicks will now get a head-start on trying to retain Anunoby ahead of his potential 2024 free agency. The 26-year-old has a player option next season worth $19.9MM, which he’s expected to decline to secure a more lucrative contract.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, Anunoby will technically be extension-eligible after being acquired by the Knicks, but for the next six months, he’ll only be permitted to sign for up to two years and $40MM. On June 30, those limits will increase to four years and $117MM.

In all likelihood, whether or not he intends to re-sign with the Knicks, the seventh-year forward will opt to become a free agent, since his elite three-and-D skill set should put him in line for an even more substantial payday than he could get on an extension. Anunoby was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive team last season and has averaged 16.4 points per game with a .381 3PT% since the start of the 2020/21 season.

Moving Barrett and Quickley should help clear up a logjam and clarify the rotation in New York’s backcourt, with wings like Donte DiVincenzo and Quentin Grimes primed to take on larger roles alongside star point guard Jalen Brunson. Flynn likely won’t play regular minutes for his new team, but he’ll provide some depth at guard, while Achiuwa will give the Knicks another option up front with Mitchell Robinson out for the season.

Toronto, meanwhile, won’t get a first-round pick back for Anunoby but will instead bring in Quickley, who finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting last year, and Barrett, a Canadian and former No. 3 overall pick. Quickley will be a restricted free agent in 2024, while Barrett is under contract through 2026/27.

Barrett loved New York and enjoyed playing for the Knicks, but if he was going to be dealt, he viewed his hometown of Toronto as a great option, sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). The 23-year-old played for the Canadian national team in the FIBA World Cup this past summer.

Both Barrett and Quickley had seen their playing time with the Knicks dip a little in the first half of this season. Barrett averaged 18.2 points per game on .423/.331/.831 shooting in 26 starts (29.5 MPG), while Quickley posted a career-best 15.0 PPG on .454/.395/.872 shooting in 30 appearances off the bench (24.0 MPG).

The lack of first-round draft capital heading to Toronto indicates the Raptors are content with retooling, rather than outright rebuilding — that aligns with a report earlier this week, which indicated that the organization has “no appetite for a reset, teardown, or rebuild.”

It remains to be seen what Toronto does with Pascal Siakam, whose name has also come up in trade rumors in recent weeks and who is also a candidate for an extension. Depending on their plans for Siakam, the Raptors could generate a significant chunk of cap room in the 2024 offseason while still being able to re-sign Quickley, notes Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype (via Twitter).

In the shorter term, the move will open up a spot on Toronto’s roster and will keep team salary slightly below the luxury tax due to the inclusions of Achiuwa and Flynn, both of whom will be restricted free agents in 2024.

The Knicks will have to waive someone to complete the deal. According to Charania (via Twitter), that roster casualty will be DaQuan Jeffries, who was on a non-guaranteed contract and had seen limited action in just 10 games for the team this season.

Finally, it’s worth noting that the two Atlantic rivals came together to make this deal despite being engaged in a bitter legal feud off the court.

The Knicks filed a lawsuit against the Raptors in August, alleging that former employee Ikechukwu Azotam illegally took confidential files with him when he was hired by Toronto. The two teams have gone back and forth in court filings in the months since then, but it seems their front offices had no problem working with one another.

Luke Adams contributed to this story.

Atlantic Notes: Robinson, Pritchard, Flynn, Oubre

November 11th, 2023 at 4:01pm CST by Rory Maher

Knicks center Mitchell Robinson is generating early buzz for Defensive Player of the Year, according to Steve Popper of Newsday (subscriber link).

As Popper writes, the 25-year-old effectively stymied No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama on national TV earlier this week, with the French phenom going 0-of-6 with Robinson as his closest defender. Robinson also made a strong national impression in last season’s playoffs, dominating the paint in New York’s first-round series against the Cavs, who feature a “heavily hyped” two-big lineup.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau is always eager to discuss how well Robinson has been playing, specifically pointing to his net rating, Popper adds. The Knicks are plus-7.6 when Robinson is on the court vs. minus-1.3 when he’s off, for a net rating differential of plus-8.9 — the second-best mark on the team among rotation regulars.

“His defense is incredible,” Thibodeau said. “Excellent pick-and-roll defender. Rim protection. Defensive rebounding. Multiple effort guy. Really come a long way.

“It’s been steady growth. I think when you look at it, to me, probably the most important statistic there is net rating. Scoring margin, net rating tells you impact on winning. So when you look at where he was four years ago to where he is today, it’s been great strides that have been made, and the impact on winning is the most important thing.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic:

Payton Pritchard signed a four-year, $30MM rookie scale extension just before the season started. The Celtics guard has been struggling to make shots early on in 2023/24, but head coach Joe Mazzulla assured him that he’ll continue to receive minutes as long as he’s impacting the game in other ways, and Pritchard finally had a breakthrough performance in Friday’s win against Brooklyn, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “He’s found a way to make a big impact the whole year, and to me, he changed the game for us tonight,” Mazzulla said. “And what we see is, like, it’s easy to look at the scoring of the bench and be like, ‘We’re not producing.’ But there’s so much other stuff that those guys do for us on a daily basis.”
Backup point guard Malachi Flynn struggled to find minutes under former head coach Nick Nurse, but that has changed under Darko Rajakovic, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Flynn, who could be a restricted free agent in 2024 if the Raptors give him qualifying offer, admits he was pressing his first handful of games as a rotation regular, but Rajakovic’s patience in him appears to be paying off, Grange notes. “I think the first couple of games I was still kind of like hesitant, not being assertive,” Flynn said. “But I feel like the last maybe three or four games — and not even going off makes or misses, just going off how I’m feeling and how I’m playing — I think I’m a lot more comfortable and playing confident.”
Sixers wing Kelly Oubre made a strong defensive impression in last night’s win over Detroit, limiting Cade Cunningham to a subpar second half after he started the game strong, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “That’s what I bring to the game,” Oubre said of his defense. “That’s my bread and butter, so just trying to impact the game, and Cade definitely got off to a good start. I started on Ausar [Thompson], but Coach made that change to start the second half. Me guarding Cade and just wanted to pick him up full court, kind of make him uncomfortable a little bit because he’s such a talented player.” Oubre will be a free agent again next summer after signing a one-year, minimum-salary deal with the 76ers.

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