Indiana Basketball: Why this is the most important year for OG Anunoby

After the departure of Kawhi Leonard, what can the Toronto Raptors expect from former Indiana basketball forward OG Anunoby?

The NBA offseason is in full swing as free agency enters week two, and the Vegas Summer League is in day four of their competition. For one former Indiana basketball player though, this is the most important offseason of his young career.

OG Anunoby enters his third NBA season and despite seeing decreases in his stats from his first to second seasons, Anunoby has the opportunity to have a breakout year, and the Raptors are putting the pressure on.

As the No. 23 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, Anunoby has averaged 6.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in his 141 career games. Additionally, he is shooting 35.1 percent from three in his two seasons.

After going from a 62 game starter in his rookie season, Anunoby started just six games this past season due to the addition of Kawhi Leonard ahead of him. Obviously, we saw how things turned out and now there is an empty slot to be filled by whoever wants to step up.

While the Raptors have faith in the young wing, they signed free agents Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to deals over the weekend, both of whom play a similar position to Anunoby.

Despite the departure of Leonard, the newest additions now put the total number of wings on the Toronto roster to six, all of which will expect playing time.

Anunoby has next year guaranteed on his contract but after that, it’s up to the Raptors whether or not they want to bring him back, having a team option available.

While the Raptors still have talent on the roster, now led by the likes of Pascal Siakam, Anunoby needs to show he can be a consistent option on the offensive end in order to give the Raptors faith and confidence in signing the 6-foot-8 wing to another contract.