Raptors pick up team option on OG Anunoby

Vivek Jacob
·Contributing Writer
OG Anunoby #3 of the Toronto Raptors looks at before the Toronto Raptors vs New York Knicks NBA regular season game at Scotiabank Arena on March 18, 2019, in Toronto, Canada (Toronto Raptors win 128-92) (Photo by Anatoliy Cherkasov/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
OG Anunoby looks up during the Toronto Raptors vs New York Knicks NBA regular season game at Scotiabank Arena on March 18, 2019. (Anatoliy Cherkasov/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

OG Anunoby can enter the 2019-20 season with a bit more clarity in his mind as the Toronto Raptors announced they have picked up their team option on the player worth $3.87M.

This means the third-year forward is signed through the 2020-21 season, a move that was largely expected despite a difficult sophomore year.

Anunoby initially burst onto the scene during his rookie campaign, starting 62 of the 74 games he played and offered excellent defense to go along with highly respectable 37.1 percent clip from three-point range. Unfortunately, his father passed away early in the 2018-19 season and while injuries also played their part in disrupting his regular season, it was an appendectomy procedure that ruled him out for the Raptors’ entire championship run.

Both players and coaches have spoken highly of Anunoby’s mindset and improved skills entering the 2019 season, and the departures of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green should provide ample opportunity to get his NBA career back on the upswing.

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