BREAKING: OG to Sign 5-year, $212 million deal to stay in NY

Knicks fans can breathe a sigh of relief. OG ain't going anywhere…

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported this evening that Anunoby and the Knicks have agreed in principle to a five-year, $212.5 million contract. The deal will include a player option and a trade kicker.

My gut reaction is that it's an undeniably hefty payday, but OG is a player you don't let go once you get him in your building. Leon Rose and the Knicks front office knew they'd have to pony up and pay through the nose the moment they pulled the trigger on the trade that brought OG to NYC. 

Anunoby had all the leverage imaginable this summer. With the Sixers potentially waiting to pounce, the Knicks couldn't risk letting Anunoby hit the open market.

Here's what OG's annual salary will look like, assuming an ascending structure and max 8% raises:
2024-24: $36.6 million 
2025-26: $39.6 million 
2026-27: $42.5 million 
2027-28: $45.4 million 
2028-29: $48.4 million 

Yes, that's the largest contract the Knicks have ever handed out in the franchise's history.

However, just looking at the raw numbers is misleading. It's imperative to note that the new TV rights contract the NBA will sign next year is expected to bring in a whopping $76 billion over the life of the agreement. The league learned its lesson from the chaos that ensued when the salary cap abruptly jumped 34% the last time TV money kicked in. Consequently, the NBA will institute a cap smoothing mechanism this time around. The league-wide cap will climb a steady, predictable 10% each year going forward. 

This will have a direct impact on long-term contracts signed this summer. Take OG's deal, for instance. While his salary increases 8% annually, that number is outpaced by the 10% rise in the salary cap (which compounds annually). 

As CBS's Sam Quinn detailed recently, "The cap is going to rise faster than contracts can grow with it. In other words, the longer you sign a player now, the more relative value you can squeeze out of those deals at the end of them. They are worth a smaller and smaller percentage of the cap each year." Quinn adds. "The expectation of stable, annual cap growth means that teams should feel relatively comfortable signing long-term contracts at the moment because those contracts are going to cost them a thinner and thinner slice of the overall cap pie with each passing year."

With that in mind, here's a different (more accurate way) of examining OG's new contract:

As you can see, OG will account for less than 24% of the Knicks' cap room by the end of the decade. 

With Anunoby's contract now public knowledge, it's probably safe to assume NY will operate as a second apron team this season. This will give them a bit more roster and spending flexibility. 

We'll dive into all the details (and how iHart is impacted) in the days and weeks ahead.

Before I settle in for tonight's draft, here are a few of my favorite OG stats:

With Anunoby on the floor during the 2033-24 regular season, the Knicks:

• Scored 122.6 points per 100 possessions (higher than the league-leading Celtics).

• Allowed 100.9 points per 100 possessions (lower than the league-leading TWolves)

• Posted a Net Rating of +21.7 (the highest individual Net Rating in the NBA)

With OG on the bench, the Knicks:

• Averaged 115.7 points per 100 possessions

• Allowed 120.4 points per 100 possessions 

• Posted a Net Rating of -4.7

To sum up, with OG on the court, New York somehow operated as the most efficient/effective offensive team in the NBA and the best/stingiest defensive team in the league. When they played without Anunoby, they were a below-average club. 

🏀 NY traded for Anunoby in late December; he has yet to play a regular-season game in a Knicks uniform in which he posts a negative plus/minus. 

🏀 In the 801 minutes OG spent on the court during those three months, NY outscored their opponents by 353 points. In 2024, he ranked fourth in the NBA in +/-, joining Nikola Jokic, Jayson Tatum and Brunson as one of five players with a plus/minus north of +350.

🏀 Of the 385 different two-man lineups league-wide that logged more than 500 minutes together this season, only one posted a plus/minus north of +23: Brunson and Anunoby. 

🏀 In Game 4 of the first round vs. Philly, OG racked up 16 points, 14 rebounds, and three

blocks. He became the first player in franchise history to record at least 15 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks in a playoff game since Patrick Ewing (2000).

🏀 Prior to his hamstring injury in Game 2 vs. Indiana, NY went 26-5 in the 31 games OG played (83.8% winning percentage). They went 14-19 in the 33 games OG has missed (42.4% winning percentage)

🏀 Dating back to the start of the 2022-23 season, only four players have made more than 100 corner three-pointers while converting over 42% of their attempts. Three of those four are now Knicks: Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Donte DiVincenzo.