It's only been four episodes, but Carmelo Anthony is already stirring up controversy in his new podcast.
On an episode of 7pm in Brooklyn, the former New York Knicks forward discussed the trade between the Raptors and Knicks that sent RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to Toronto for OG Anunoby, which elicited a strong reaction from both fanbases.
"He's just a bland player, bro," said Anthony. "It's just like, he's good, he get it done sometimes, but he's not an exciting player. You don't know if he got four or 26.”
Since arriving in Toronto, Barrett has seen a huge uptick in his stats. In New York, the 23-year-old averaged 18.2 points per game on 42 per-cent shooting, 33 per cent from three and 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 26 games this season.
In six games for the Raptors, he's averaged 21.8 points on nearly a 60-per-cent clip from the field, with a whopping 53 per cent from three. He had a season high 37-points in a win against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, just a point shy for the most scored by a Canadian in a Raptors uniform, held by current Raptor Chris Boucher.
The conversation surrounding the trade continued as Anthony threw out his opinion on the differences in the various roles that Anunoby brings versus what Barrett "demands."
"OG could do the same thing RJ doing, he just don't demand it the way RJ demanded to be a part of the offence," said Anthony. "OG is cool sitting on the wing, and moving around and cutting and waiting for someone to swing it to him and knock down the three; he's still going to go play defence, no matter what.
"Whereas RJ, he gotta score 20 ... your 24 is the third option on that team. So now you feel like you're putting up 24, I'm the third option ... I got to go ... he probably was feeling that."
In 27 games with the Raptors this season, Anunoby averaged 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steal per game, with 48.9 per cent from the field and 37.4 from three. His usage per game with his former team was 19 percent.
In his seven years with Toronto, there had been various reports that Anunoby had been unsatisfied with his role with the Raptors. In the off-season before the 2022-2023 season, Anunoby told Sportsnet's Michael Grange that the rumours were untrue.
“No. It is what it is," said Anunoby. "Just trying to get better every day. Some games you get a bigger role. It’s the same for everyone. It changes game to game."
Since moving over to The Big Apple? Anunoby's points and assists have dropped to 13.5 and 1.2, while his shooting splits have seen a slight uptick to over 52 from two and 39 from three.
His usage rate is currently at 14.3 percent, whereas Barrett's sits at 23.7 in six games, currently first on Toronto since the trade.
That's not to say Anunoby's presence hasn't been noticeable. He's currently on a historic pace with plus/minus, as he was the first player in NBA history to hold a plus minus of 100 plus in his first five games, and helped bring an already stout defensive team to a 5-1 record over that span.
He's been the Anunoby that Raptors fans knew and loved, even down to the deadpan goofy interviews, where he responded to a question about what he thought of the Madison Square Garden faithful chanting his name by saying:
"It was really cool, y'know? It was really cool."
Sound familiar? When Anunoby drilled his three-point buzzer beater in Game 3 of a playoff series against the Boston Celtics to prevent Toronto from going down 3-0, the then-Raptor said three words:
"It was cool."
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