When Will Knicks' Immanuel Quickley Receive Extension?
Ever since the free agency market opened, New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley has constantly been in contract disputes or trade rumors. Quickley said that he wants "nine figures over four years" regardless of which city he'll call home within the next couple of seasons.
The 24-year-old is a restricted free agent after this coming season, meaning the Knicks can match any offer he gets on the open market, but if it is nine figures, New York may have a difficult time matching it.
This means that Quickley could be a trade target leading up to the season, so the Knicks can get some value for him. New York can also hope for the best and either match or deal him in a sign-and-trade in a year's time.
SNY's Ian Begley doesn't believe the Knicks are waiting to gain cap flexibility by not paying Quickley. However, he believes a deal will get done around October.
"Most often these things get done right before the season," Begley said. "I think the deadline is right before rosters get set for the regular season."
Begley explained that early draft picks get extensions done much earlier than the rest of the class. Quickley averaged a very solid 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 2022-23, but was selected with the 25th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. The SNY insider believes Quickley's performance last season, which ended in the runner-up slot in Sixth Man of the Year voting, was good enough for the Knicks to go past the contract extension norms when it comes to draft placement.
"(It's) not often you see a player at that spot in the draft get their extension early on," Begley said. "However, I would expect the Knicks to be aggressive in trying to get a multi-year deal done with Quickley."
If and when he's extended, Begley believes Knicks president Leon Rose will trade him away because his contract is more valuable, leading to more realistic trade offers for All-Star caliber players.
"Quickley being traded after he's extended makes the deal a lot easier than if he was traded on his rookie contract because the new price matches his performance. I'd expect a deal maybe not to get done immediately, but the Knicks to be aggressive and get a deal done before the deadline."
You can follow Hunter De Siver on Twitter @HunterDeSiver.
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You can follow Hunter De Siver on Twitter @HunterDeSiver.
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