Raptors' asking price to Warriors for Anunoby trade "too high": report

The Toronto Raptors had a chance on Thursday to shake up the NBA, with nearly every key player on the roster coveted by the NBA’s top contenders.

But the 3 pm trade deadline came and went, with all of Toronto’s regular starters remaining on the roster.

One player that was particularly surprising to stay in Toronto was forward O.G. Anunoby, who was coveted by several top teams around the league.

And according to San Francisco Chronicle writer C.J. Holmes, the Golden State Warriors were one of the teams interested in Anunoby’s services.

The Warriors made a hard push for Raptors forward OG Anunoby at the trade deadline. However, I'm told Masai Ujiri's asking price was too high. Wanted Jonathan Kuminga, others, plus picks.

— C.J. Holmes 🚀 (@CjHolmes22) February 9, 2023

However, the Raptors reportedly had “too high” of an asking price, wanting Jonathan Kuminga “and others,” plus draft picks, in exchange for Anunoby.

Kuminga is in his second season with Golden State, having been selected seventh overall in the 2021 draft and winning the NBA title in his rookie season.

A 20-year-old forward from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kuminga has averaged 8.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 43 games this season.

It’s been a season of speculation surrounding Anunoby, who had seen his name in headlines dating back to last summer about his apparent unhappiness with his role in Toronto.

Anunoby himself had frequently dismissed the rumours.

Anunoby has averaged 16.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.1 steals in 45 games this season. Over the course of his six seasons in the NBA, all with the Raptors, he has averaged 11.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in 346 regular-season games.

While always regarded as a strong two-way player, Anunoby has taken a step up this season and earned some early consideration for Defensive Player of the Year.

And it appears that his defensive prowess at guarding elite players helped push the deal along, with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reporting that teams had been taking an extra look at Anunoby to offset Phoenix’s blockbuster acquisition of Kevin Durant.

Toronto's talks on forward O.G. Anunoby are rolling into the final hours of the trade deadline. The landing of Kevin Durant with the Suns could escalate Anunoby's value among Western Conference teams pursuing an elite forward to defend Durant.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 9, 2023

“The landing of Kevin Durant with the Suns could escalate Anunoby’s value among Western Conference teams pursuing an elite forward to defend Durant,” Wojnarowski shared last night at 2:07 ET.

Of course, nothing came to fruition, with Anunoby sticking around in Toronto. He is in the second year of a four-year deal, worth $72 million over the course of the deal, and a player option for 2024-25.

The Raptors’ only trade this season ended up being when they acquired Jakob Poeltl overnight, who was originally drafted by Toronto in 2016 before being flipped to San Antonio as part of the DeMar DeRozan/Kawhi Leonard trade.

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