Grizzlies, pelicans approaching bidding war?

Right now, there aren’t many teams in the NBA that are ready to be sellers before the deadline. All but four teams are within four games of being in the NBA Play-In Tournament, so ways to upgrade the rosters haven’t been worked out yet. One team people are eyeing in that regard is the Toronto Raptors.

Toronto is one of the few teams deciding whether to try to make a run in the postseason or blow things up before the deadline. One of the players garnering the most attention is striker OG Anunoby.

Anunoby is the prototypical wing that teams want to build their rosters around. He is an improving attacking player and already a highly regarded defender. That kind of two-way reward isn’t easy to come by, so the asking price for him is incredibly high.

As shared on another episode of #thisleague uncut, Chris Haynes and Marc Stein discussed what they hear on the trading front. Anunoby was a topic of discussion and it was revealed that three teams show the most interest in him; the New York Knicks, Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans. Haynes mentioned the mutual desire between the Grizzlies and Pelicans to keep the other from making a trade.

NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: OG Anunoby, Toronto Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies & New Orleans Pelicans Updates

It sure is shocking to read that the Knicks are willing to offer three first-round picks in exchange for Anunoby. It feels like a bit of desperation on their part after failing to close the deal on an off-season Donovan Mitchell trade.

If a bidding war ensues, the Knicks could be used as leverage by the Raptors to get as much value out of the Grizzlies and Pelicans as possible. If there’s any suspicion from one of those franchises that the others might do an Anunoby deal, they’ll raise their offer. Leaking that the Knicks made three first-round picks available would be a clever way for Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri to get a high starting price.

NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: OG Anunoby, Toronto Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies & New Orleans Pelicans Updates

There’s no indication that Toronto is on the verge of moving Anunoby, but if they get such substantial offers, it’ll be hard not to pull the trigger. Three picks from the first round are a draw in exchange for each player.