Raptors' Anunoby says he's "not mad" about offseason trade rumours
Toronto Raptors forward O.G. Anunoby has a well-earned reputation of short, succinct answers to most questions.
But for a few weeks this summer, all anybody around the team wanted to know was “what’s on Anunoby’s mind?”
Back in May, then-employee of Bleacher Report Jake Fischer first floated the rumour that Anunoby is “unhappy with his role” with the Raptors, with “rival executives” reportedly interested in acquiring the forward.
With Anunoby not particularly active on social media (or making too many traditional media appearances), Toronto fans were left wondering if they’d end up losing a key starter in a trade — possibly even for Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant.
Ultimately, Durant stayed in Brooklyn, Anunoby stayed in Toronto, and in a league known for chaos, the Raptors’ core stayed virtually the same as it entered the offseason.
“It’s a good feeling that they believe in me. And like, I’m not mad at them or not mad at anyone. It’s part of the business,” Anunoby said in a sit-down interview with TSN’s Kate Beirness.
Anunoby added that he was “surprised” to see his name in headlines.
“I don’t know. I can’t really control it,” Anunoby said. “So just, I was like, I don’t know, surprised. I just woke up one day and someone sent me an article about it. [I was] surprised, but I can’t control it. I can’t do anything about it.”
This isn’t the first time that Anunoby has expressed his confusion with seeing his name in rumours, addressing them publicly for the first time prior to Raptors’ training camp.
“Even when the report came out I was kind of surprised by it. I just kind of woke up one day and saw that. I haven’t really had talked with Nick [Nurse] about [my] role,” Anunoby said at Raptors’ media day in September. “I just try to get better every summer and everything will fall into place.”
Anunoby has averaged 15.9 points and 6.1 rebounds, but most impressively, 3.1 steals in 11 games this season with the Raptors. His 34 steals this season are tops in the NBA.
Further in the interview, Beirness and Anunoby discuss a penguin-viewing trip to the zoo that never happened, although Anunoby swears he was there, despite the Toronto Zoo’s official Twitter account saying he wasn’t.
The full interview can be viewed below:
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