Immanuel Quickley hopes to work out long-term deal with Raptors
Restricted free agent is set to be paid and it will be by Toronto, where he's been a great fit
Article content
Last October Immanuel Quickley and the New York Knicks couldn’t come to terms on a new contract. Don’t expect that to be the case where Quickley and his new team, the Toronto Raptors are concerned.
The 24-year-old point guard said at his season-ending media session on Monday in Toronto that he has been a fan of the fit since being acquired by the Raptors in a blockbuster New Year’s deal that also saw OG Anunoby and RJ Barrett as headliners.
“Absolutely. Love Toronto since the day I got here, they’ve done nothing but show me love. Love is an action word. It’s not just something you just throw around,” Quickley said. “They’ve done that from the day I got here to today. So obviously, the team and my agent have to handle everything, but I love being here in Toronto absolutely.”
Quickley likely raised his asking price thanks to some strong play in his first crack at being a starting point guard in the NBA after being more of an off-the-bench scoring machine while with the Knicks. He said when he arrived he wanted to be seen as a complete floor general and then showed he could be. Quickley averaged 6.8 assists in 38 games, all starts, with Toronto, after averaging three a game in his four seasons with the Knicks. He also a career-high 39.5% of his three-point attempts this season (hitting the same mark in New York and in Toronto, on a lot more attempts), which was a career high and added 4.8 rebounds, also a new high.
Quickley will become a restricted free agent though and Toronto has plenty of room for a big new deal and can match any offer. So as sure as Quickley is going to get a substantial raise from the $4.1 million he earned this season, you can bet on Quickley being back to run the team going forward, with help from point forward and franchise player Scottie Barnes.
In New York he was buried behind All-NBA point guard Jalen Brunson on a team that had too many cooks in the kitchen (which also impacted Barrett, who has also thrived since coming to Toronto). That isn’t the case in Darko Rajakovic’s system. Quickley is going to be a major part of the puzzle for the Raptors for a long time.
He isn’t satisfied with his progress up to now either.
“There’s a lot of work to do this coming summer and I think I’m willing to do that, well actually, I know I’m willing to do that,” he said. “So I’m looking forward to that. And also just doing it with a group of guys that enjoy doing the work as well because the work is not easy. But when you have guys that are willing to sacrifice their time sacrifice other things and things like that, you know, you have a chance to do something great.”
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.