Don't expect Knicks to lose star forward in free agency despite rumors

Despite reports that OG Anunoby may test free agency, don't expect him to leave the Knicks family. Literally.

The Philadelphia 76ers have a former MVP in Joel Embiid and an All-Star in Tyrese Maxey, plus a max-salary slot to use on a free agent. Unfortunately, the New York Knicks have a trump card when it comes to potential free agent Anunoby: His agent is Knicks president Leon Rose's son.

Anunoby is represented by CAA, where the elder Rose was employed until taking the Knicks job in 2020. His son Sam represents Anunoby, who was traded to the Knicks in December for a package that included former No. 3 pick R.J. Barrett and Immanuel Quickley. While the NBA doesn't allow tampering, it's hard to imagine that the Knicks gave up two talented young players without any sense of Anunoby's future.

The All-Defense forward has a player option for $19.9M for next season, one he'll almost certainly decline. SNY's Ian Begley reported that Anunoby expects to get a long-term deal in the area of $35M per year. Since NBA rules limit the value of any extension he could sign to $117 million over four years, becoming a free agent is a no-brainer for Anunoby.

Could Anunoby be leveraging the threat of Philly's interest to get a bigger offer from New York? It's possible, and it's possible that the Sixers want to drive up the price for their Atlantic Division rivals, whom they faced in a hard-fought first-round series this year.

But it's hard to imagine that Leon Rose and his son can't work out a deal in the next five weeks to keep Anunoby in a Knicks uniform. Much like the Sixers' rumored pursuit of Paul George, their interest is certainly real, but the result is most likely that the player stays put, just with a richer contract.