This is DEVASTATING for the Sixers…

This is DEVASTATING for the Sixers…

The first major shoe has fallen of NBA trade season as the Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks have agreed upon a trade to send OG and anobi to the east coast and join the Knicks I’m here to break down why this is an issue for the Sixers

How much of a missed opportunity this is and what the full options are from here for Philadelphia now I want to start off with the initial report from W which we got earlier today which just said the Toronto Raptors are finalizing a trade to send OG anobi to the New York Knicks

For a package including RJ Barrett Emanuel quickley and consideration sources tell ESPN so there was a couple details leaking out precious auua also included in the deal and to give the full breakdown of what the deal is how now we have the Knicks getting ogan anobi and precious auua the Raptors

Getting RJ Barrett manual quickly and a second round pick so to start with just gut reactions of that deal I kind of like this deal from both sides when I talk about this trade specifically that for the Knicks that neither RJ Barrett nor Emanuel quickly were a part of their

Long-term future that I think RJ Barrett is a little bit overpaid not quite good enough for his expectations and he’ll get a bit of a reset button in Toronto where he’s from in Canada as well as Emanuel quickley is a guy that I believe in on a significant amount as a talent

But there was always a ceiling in what his impact could be in New York because of Jaylen Brunson being in front of him that even in the success that he’s had this season it’s only short burst Off the Bench where he’s able to change a game in Toronto he’s going to have a

Longer leash he’s going to be able to do his thing have an opportunity and play through the growing pains in a way which would not have been the case in New York and then from the Raptor side of things it is a little frustrating giving up OG anobi for this price tag considering

There were reports last year them receiving offers with three first round picks things like that so I don’t think it was the most bang for the buck that they could have got for OG but obviously he’s going to be a free agent this summer and one of the things that WJ

Alluded to in this report is this will give the Knicks a head start on negotiating a long-term deal but not necessarily mean that he is there for the long term so that is a risk and that is why the price tag was not as high as

You would think for a player like OG and on the other side of things I like how the Knicks continue to build up this infrastructure that they still are missing this Superstar talent but it feels like they’re building up all the right pieces around him that I do

Believe in OG to be a successful complimentary piece on a winning team I know that he wants a little bit bigger of a role and we will see how things shake out we will see what he looks like in a new system because I do think that there were the overlapping strengths and

Weaknesses with Scotty Barnes and with Pascal sakam that there’s a little more complimentary role in New York and then Jaylen Brunson another guy who’s just purely a winner that yes they still need this super star superstar it’s absolutely not Julius Randall but it feels like that the the roster is being

Constructed properly around them and they’re just getting that missing piece now from the Sixers perspective this is a little frustrating that you look at a price tag like this RJ Barett manual quickly and a second round pick and you have to think that the Sixers could have

Contended with that that there is no emanu quickly on this roster and I do think that is the biggest Difference Maker that yes there’s Tyrese Maxi but Tyrese Maxi is a significantly more valued piece than emanu quickly and frankly the Sixers should have no business is even considering trading him

For ogan and noi that those scales would tip the opposite direction and I believe especially when you can take in fact the contract issue and things like that that the Raptors would have to give up additional assets and make it work plus the finances would be a disaster the

Bottom line Tyrese Maxi will not betrayed from the six years team nor should they even consider that but I did believe that OG anobi could have been the missing piece on the six years team that was the guy that I had cired as the primary target the number one piece and

The reasoning for that has always been that it’s very clear this six team has it two stars Joel embiid and Tyrese Maxi are the guys you now have to fill in the rest with complimentary pieces around him having OG as a two-way piece a guy that can guard other Wings opposing

Wings like Jason Tatum that would be incredibly appealing to me but the bottom line is it did not happen and one of the biggest reasons why which I have not seen get enough Buzz shout out to Tyrone Johnson of 975 here uh but he tweeted we do know that Morty can’t

Really make a move for two days right January 1st is when all the guys the Sixers got in the Harden deal are movable they couldn’t even bid on OG yet now I thought that date was January 15th I’m going to have to double check that but the point still being that they did

Not they weren’t able to get a horse in this race that they weren’t able to put their off for and yes it could have been a Tobias Harris conversation you can make these opportunities but when you’re kind of looking at things I would be more than comfortable of tossing in more

Draft assets than the Knicks did in this deal I would even like two first round picks but then we get back to the point where I think Emanuel quickly was valued that highly from the Raptors and you can absolutely believe in why that is the case said there’s a real chance that

This guy becomes a budding star on the in Toronto now so good for him and good for them to get a potential Cornerstone piece we will ultimately see what his strengths and weaknesses are we’ve seen this massive growth from Tyrese Maxi here in Philadelphia Maxi and quickly obviously college teammates at Kentucky

Share a lot of similarities in their game they both have a similar joy in the way that they play and just impact on the floor as a whole but the bottom line being that these Sixers weren’t unable to step up to the plate in the same way

As these teams due to that and the other reason behind that is patience can be both a strength and weakness of Daryl Mor that I love that he plays his cards close to the vest but there is a point where you have to go in and make a deal

And he clearly did not feel OG anobi was that guy now the reason for that I still believe is cu he’s in the evaluation period of his mind that we’re coming off a win last night against the Rockets these Sixers are one of the better wins

Of the entire season 131 to 127 was the final 42 points from Tyrese Maxi in what felt like just another day of the office he got a got to line a career high points but beyond that is the pieces that I want to talk about Tobias Harris

Last night 22 points seven assists four Steals and three blocks he would did an impressive job uh penetrating kicking out to others making his impact felt and defensively he was awesome he was active in passing Lanes he was getting his hands everywhere that is not the type of

Effort that we see from Tobias that regularly so it is important to highlight and if he plays like that then what’s the point of giving up the farm to get a guy like OG anobi now I don’t think that is here to stay we’ve seen

The ups and downs of Tobias we know this cycle but the point being that when you look beyond that look at these guys like Robert Covington Off the Bench in 16 minutes with seven points four rebounds and three steals his hands were everywhere Marcus Morris hit a dagger three-pointer which ultimately

Essentially sealed the deal for these Sixers he had 14 points five rebounds shot four of eight from the field two of five from three he also went with Nick nurse went with Marcus Morris as the small ball five for pretty much the entire second half in that matchup moama

Didn’t get any minutes and he pulled Paul Reed pretty early it that feels relevant to me that the backup center position has unfortunately become a position of concern for the Sixers once again to bring up the elephant in the room there has been some Paul Reed regression this year and moama has been

Very up and down in his tenure him going with Marcus Morris as the small ball five was pretty telling to me and that is something that this is now Morris playing himself into a role that the way he’s shooting the ball the way that he’s playing he’s making plays for this

Sixers team and there was two plays two plays specifically that stood out to me in that matchup number one of course was the dagger three-pointer which led to Patrick Beverly immediately getting in Fred Van fleet’s face and talking trash and it was very much a signature moment

For that win and for that game but then prior to that there was a play where Morris got an offensive board and then just outmuscled shenon put it back up and had a bucket and one and that was a moment where it’s like okay this guy is

Earning a real opportunity here he is earning his role and Marcus mois specifically has been a guy that I was very down on from the beginning of the trade that I believed his best years behind him that he was pretty cooked as a player did not have much left in the

Tank and he is straight up proving me wrong hand up I’ll be the first to admit it and I’m happy that that is the case I’m glad to see Marcus Morris succeeding it’s very clear that he’s happy to be in Philadelphia that he is a Philadelphia

Kid grew up here in North Philly all these things this is a HomeTown hero and he’s just seizing his moment he’s giving this Team Real Deal positive minutes and if this continues how do you move on from a guy like that but the question for the Sixers is still what is the

Pathway to the championship so evaluating which of these players can help on that path and which ones are kind of expendable and what are better suited being flipped in a trade is still a question that Daryl Mo needs to answer so I think it’s frustrating that the

Timeline of this specific deal for OG happened so quickly that I think the Sixers would much Le much rather and will be much more active at the trade deadline letting things stretch out but now they have to turn their attention to other opportunities now there was one

Line in this report by W that I did want to bring up here and it is this quote that says Toronto is expected to continue to explore trades involving Ford Pascal cakam but there are no deals with traction Now sources said both sakam and anobi could be free agents

This summer so that was a telling part of the article for me for starters it’s the right decision by the Raptors to hit the reset button to figure things out that you’re beginning to develop the next generation of the core with Scotty Barnes with uh Manu quickly but Pascal

Cakam you got to move on from him too so that is a piece that is interesting from the Sixers perspective frankly I’ve pounded the table being preferring OG from a fit standpoint there’s no doubt Pascal seak is the better overall basketball player than OG but just on

What the Sixers roster needs I trended to lean toward anobi because of the way that he plays the styles of his game and all those things cakam I think is a little bit stranger of a fit he’s very like Tobias Harris like to some extent in the way that he operates in the

Mid-range he’s better than Tobias Harris absolutely Raptor fans you don’t got to attack me for that one uh but I have called him Tobias Harris with permanent uh green light on many occasions I I I’m not as high on cakam as I think the natural consensus and especially when

You talk about that he could be a free agent as well that you have to really know he’s the missing piece who knows maybe the price tag comes down to a point but then you look around the league at other options Lori Markin is a

Name that has not got enough Buzz to me the price tag is going to be steep on that one but it should be because he’s that talented that this is a guy that’s a real deal Creator he can put the ball on the floor he can shoot the lights out

As a catch and shooter better defensively than he gets credit specifically as a shot blocker there’s a lot to like about Lori and the fact that he does not seem Untouchable in Utah at this point is super appealing to me that I think the Sixers should be all over

That if that is remotely a possibility there’s also been plenty of the Demar D Roan Alex Caruso Zack LaVine mix from the the Bulls and by the way that we are still at the point of the Season where part of the evaluation process and part of the decision by Daryl Mor to continue

Waiting things out is because other teams are going to hit the panic button whether that means them needing to overpay for a player like Tobias Harris or whether that means a player that could be very helpful to the Sixers becoming available on the market those are all valuable things to Philadelphia

To sit back being the driver and figure things out from there so I think that’s with the spot where we’re in it’s frustrating that the OG deal just went down it’s frustrating that he’s pretty much a carbon copy of what the Sixers need and he’ll now be suiting up in New

York just a little bit up the uh up the East Coast there but the Sixers are still in a great spot that they’re off to their best record since the 20201 season they’re coming off back-to-back wins without Joel embiid on the floor Joel embiid set to return to this team

Soon he will be missing tonight’s game against the Chicago Bulls hopefully we’ll be back in action for Tuesday’s game when they return home but that you can’t be mad about the on court product at this point the assets are still in the cupboard ready to strike when the

Time is right and we ultimately got to live with the decision by Daryl mury that OG an anobi was not the right person to strike with so I want to hear all your guys thoughts in the comments as well let me know what you feel about the deal how devastating do you think

This is for the Sixers how much was a missed opportunity is this had to tune in here from work at Fox Sports in Philadelphia today I was in on the radio had to jump in and squeeze into a side side room to make sure I got this out

ASAP so appreciate you guys for tuning in make sure to smash that subscribe button drop a like and drop a comment let me know your thoughts and I’ll be talking with you next time right here on Sixers digest peace

This is DEVASTATING for the Sixers…

NBA Trade season is off to a hot start as the New York Knicks traded for OG Anunoby as the Raptors took their first step in rebuilding. Sean Barnard breaks down the deal and why this was a missed opportunity for the Sixers. He breaks down why they were not in the mix and what the pathway is for Philadelphia to improve and focus on other trade targets.

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