Knicks' Immanuel Quickley 'Wants Nine Figures' on Next Contract

Immanuel Quickley is due to be paid his first big NBA contract a year from now. Will the New York Knicks be the ones to pay up?

New York Knicks point guard Immanuel Quickley isn't a free agent this summer, but he is eyeing the open market a year from now.

Quickley, the runnner-up for the most recent Sixth Man of the Year Award, is a serviceable backup guard who can rise to the occasion when asked, but he wants to be paid like a superstar.

“He is going to want nine figures,” one league executive told Heavy Sports. “That’s for four years. I can’t say the Knicks will go that high but they might have to. He is not a guy you want to send to restricted free agency.”

This means that Quickley wants a contract of at least four years, $100 million, the same contract Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons signed a year ago. Simons averaged 17.3 points per game in the year leading up to his big extension.

This past season, Quickley averaged 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists, ahead of Simons' career paces. 

So while the "nine figures" seems a little pricey and catches the eye, it actually isn't far off of what Quickley is actually worth.

Whether or not the Knicks are the team that inks him to this extension is another question. New York signed Jalen Brunson to a nine-figure contract last year and is pretty set at the point guard position.

Quickley is a restricted free agent, 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 that they can get some value for him, or the Knicks can hope for the best and either match or deal him in a sign-and-trade in a year's time.

There are so many routes that Quickley can go in for the next year, but one thing's for certain: he will get paid.

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