Immanuel Quickley Talks Upcoming Free Agency & Love for Raptors
Immanuel Quickley wants to stay in Toronto.
It’ll come down to his contract and if the Toronto Raptors want to match any potential offer sheets that come Quickley’s way, but it doesn’t sound like this isn’t going to be some uncomfortable negotiation for the two parties.
“Obviously like I said earlier business is always business, but I love Toronto,” Quickley told FanDuel TV’s Run it Back show. “I love being in Toronto since the day I got there. I say it all the time, they’ve done nothing but show me love.”
Quickley will head into restricted free agency this summer and it’s widely expected he’ll be back with the organization on a new contract paying him roughly $25 million per season.
Toronto acquired the 24-year-old from the New York Knicks in the deal for OG Anunoby. Quickley had been a backup point guard in New York, but Toronto viewed him as the kind of player who would fit perfectly alongside Scottie Barnes in the starting lineup moving forward.
“I’m so glad that it happened,” Quickley said of the trade. “It was probably the best thing for my career as far as just trying to think next steps and trying to be a great basketball player and also a development as a person. So I think it was good for me in all aspects.”
Quickely blossomed in Toronto, averaging 18.6 points and 6.8 assists per game with the Raptors, well above his career averages in New York.
But that step forward is also going to attract attention from other suitors this summer and it’s possible a rival team tries to make it tough on Toronto. Orlando and Detroit both have avenues to cap space and Quickley is the kind of young, dynamic point guard that cap space teams are going to be looking for.
It may create some competition for Quickley, but considering what Toronto gave up to get the 6-foot-3 floor general, it’s hard to see the Raptors letting him get away even if it means overpaying by a little.