Contract extension news was flying around on Monday afternoon as the deadline rapidly approached, and for the Toronto Raptors they managed to work out a pretty terrific deal for all sides with OG Anunoby.
Anunoby is coming off of his best season as a pro, taking on a bigger role after the departure of Kawhi Leonard and thriving, averaging 10.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game for the Raptors on strong efficiency, hitting 50.5 percent from the field and 39 percent from three. There was some significant money being spent on the extension deadline day, headlined by Jonathan Issac and Luke Kennard, with Anunoby somewhat surprisingly falling in middle of those two deals at four years, $72 million. However, the big reason for that apparent bargain was the Raptors giving Anunoby a player option for 2024, which will allow him to enter free agency right as he hits his prime years, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Toronto Raptors forward O.G. Anunoby has agreed to a four-year, $72 million extension, including a player-option for the 2024-2025 season, @KlutchSports Head of Basketball Omar Wilkes tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 21, 2020
The player option is often overlooked in terms of the value players and agents put on that, and it helped the Raptors get his overall salary down considerably in order to maintain flexibility for next summer — his cap hit next year will be just over four million more than his cap hold as a restricted free agent.
Anunoby has become a fast rising star for a Toronto team that has become one of the best in the league at developing home grown talent. They now have Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, and Anunoby locked in for four more years, making for a very intriguing young core that they’ll look to add a splash signing to in 2021 to try and make a push for another title run.
