The biggest storyline for the New York Knicks entering training camp in 2023 was the contract status of Immanuel Quickley. The No. 25 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft was eligible for a rookie-scale extension and the two sides were working hard to get a deal done.
Unfortunately, the deadline to finalize a contract came and went without something getting done. That meant Quickley will be heading toward restricted free agency next summer, which is a major risk for the franchise.
Why weren’t the two sides able to complete a deal? From the sounds of it, there was just too large of a gap in the money. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, via KnicksNation on X, formerly known as Twitter, Quickley was seeking $25 million annually on an extension. That wasn’t a number the Knicks were willing to go up to at the time, as they were coming in with offers closer to $18 million.
Tommy Beer reported that the Knicks were willing to go up to $20 million annually, offering a five-year, $100 million deal to Quickley. Regardless of what the actual numbers were that New York was comfortable offering, it wasn’t close enough to what Quickley and his camp were seeking to get a deal done.
Team president Leon Rose has done an excellent job of handling contracts, and keeping the team’s salary cap clean. There are numerous contracts currently on the roster that New York receives immense value from as players are outperforming the deals that they signed.
However, not getting a deal done with Quickley could be his first major miss. The Kentucky product has been excellent once again this season, not letting the failed extension talks impact his performance on the court negatively.
To this point, Quickley is playing fewer minutes per game than he did last season but he has seen an uptick in his scoring. He is averaging a career-high 16.3 points per game on a strong .446/.378/.893 shooting split.
His playmaking and decision-making have taken another leap as he is coming into his own as the lead ball handler on the second unit. Quickley is also an elite shotmaker in the midrange with an array of floaters and pull-up jumpers, which he has a knack for drawing fouls on as well.
After finishing second in the Sixth Man of the Year award voting last season, Quickley looks to be gunning for the No. 1 spot this season. Failing to get a deal done with him before the deadline is something that the Knicks could soon regret, as he will be one of the most popular targets in free agency next summer.
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