Toronto hosts New York on October 13, the first of two preseason meetings in three days before the clubs cross back at Madison Square Garden. Kawhi Leonard, cleared after sitting out the win over the Clippers, returns to a lineup still built on the trade that sent OG Anunoby to the Knicks three years ago.
One Trade, Two Rosters
On December 30, 2023, Toronto sent OG Anunoby to the Knicks for Quickley and Barrett. Tonight's preseason game is the first time this season both sides of that trade share a court, with a rematch at Madison Square Garden two days later. Barrett averaged 19.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists last season for Toronto; Anunoby averaged 16.7 points and 5.2 rebounds for a Knicks team that went 53-29 under Mike Brown. Quickley, the other piece Toronto received, added 16.4 points and 5.9 assists of his own.
A Franchise That Trades Its Stars
Toronto's roster has turned over through deals like that one before. Masai Ujiri sent DeMar DeRozan to San Antonio for Kawhi Leonard in 2018, and Leonard delivered the franchise's only championship a year later before leaving for Los Angeles that same summer. He is back now through another trade, one that closed September 14 after a league investigation and a $700,000 fine, and he is listed as cleared heading into tonight — a reversal from October 10, when Toronto beat the Clippers without him. Pascal Siakam's 2024 trade to Indiana left Scottie Barnes, who averaged 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists last season, as the roster's new face.
What Tonight Measures
New York arrives on zero rest, the back end of a back-to-back, while Toronto is on two days off. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks at 26.0 points a game last season and Karl-Anthony Towns added 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds. For Toronto, the preseason has already pushed Jamal Shead and Ja'Kobe Walter into extra minutes while regulars cycle through the injury list — the kind of internal reshuffling that has followed nearly every major trade in franchise history, from Vince Carter's exit to Chris Bosh's. Whether this group looks different against the team on the other end of its last big trade is what tonight actually tests.
Why do the Raptors and Knicks have extra history right now?
Toronto's December 2023 trade sent OG Anunoby to New York for RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, so every meeting between the two puts both sides of that deal on the floor.
Is Kawhi Leonard playing against the Knicks tonight?
Leonard is listed as cleared after missing Toronto's October 10 win over the Clippers, following a trade back to the Raptors that closed September 14.
