While OG Anunoby and RJ Barrett may have more name recognition, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic believes Immanuel Quickley is the “most interesting” and “highest-upside player” from Saturday’s trade between the Raptors and Knicks.
As Vecenie writes, Quickley is a strong three-level scorer who is particularly lethal in pick-and-rolls. Vecenie points to Quickley’s performance in an expanded role last season — he averaged 22.6 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 5.1 APG on .469/.401/.846 shooting in 21 starts (38.6 MPG) — as evidence that the fourth-year guard should thrive with Toronto.
Quickley’s passing, especially to outside shooters, is an area where he can improve, according to Vecenie, who cites on-ball defense as another improvement area. However, he praises the 24-year-old’s ability to limit turnovers on offense and believes Quickly is a plus team defender who makes good decisions.
Quickley’s shooting and ability to play both on and off the ball should fit well with ascendant third-year forward Scottie Barnes, Vecenie adds.
Barrett, on the other hand, is not a smooth fit for Toronto’s current roster, Vecenie writes. While he’s still only 23, Barrett is more or less the same player he was when he was drafted five years ago, according to Vecenie: A talented shot creator who can get to the rim but struggles to finish once he’s there, and a very inconsistent shooter who regularly goes through high variance stretches.
Vecenie notes that Quickley has struggled early in his career in the postseason, whereas Barrett had some strong performances last season against Cleveland and Miami. But Vecenie still likes Quickley’s long-term prospects much more than Barrett’s.
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca has a fairly similar view of the two players, writing that Quickley looks like a better fit on Toronto’s roster than Barrett due to former’s ability to draw defensive attention with his shooting and quick release. People around the league view Barrett as having roughly “neutral value” in the first season of his four-year, $107MM+ extension, Murphy writes in another piece focusing on the Raptors’ cap situation post-trade. Murphy points out that Quickley shares an agent with Precious Achiuwa (who was sent from Toronto in New York in the deal), and says Toronto likely wouldn’t have made the trade without an idea of what it will take to sign Quickley as a restricted free agent.
- Quickley thought he was dreaming when he found out he was traded, as it transpired while he was awoken by a phone call from his agent, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca, who passes along quotes from Quickley and Barrett’s introductory press conferences. “I was in Indy [Friday], I was planning to play that night [against the Pacers],” Quickley said. “Really, I was asleep. My agent called me, and he said, ‘Call me right away, you’re getting traded.’ Thought it was still a dream because I just woke up. … It’s been unbelievable. Couldn’t ask for anything better. Great city, great culture, the camaraderie of the team is great. You can tell people care about each other around here. And you couldn’t ask for anything better than that.”
- Toronto native Barrett is also excited to play for his hometown team, as Grange relays. “I think for anybody to go home there is going to be, you know, a different feeling than for anybody else,” Barrett said. “[Basketball] is the sport I play. This is what I do. I’m just going to be here to do my job [but] — I believe in this team. I believe that we can, we’re gonna figure it out and figure out a way to be one of those top teams, you know. And so I think once we get to that point, over there, it’s gonna feel even sweeter.”
- Fred Katz and Eric Koreen of The Athletic weigh the pros and cons of the trade from the Knicks‘ and Raptors’ perspectives. Koreen believes Anunoby is a major defensive upgrade for New York, but his offense may not have much room for growth going forward. Katz thinks Quickley will excel in Toronto, and should have no trouble translating his per-minute numbers to a larger offensive role. Both Quickley and Barrett are known for having a strong work ethic, Katz notes.
This Trade is kinda leaving me with an “OK …..I guess” sort of feeling .But I guess time will tell. Go Knicks !
Same here. Going to take time getting used to not seeing them.
Hope Masai sent Dolan a tube of lube for Christmas.
At first I thought the Knicks fleeced them.
OG without giving up a first, excellent business
But on the other hand Toronto from their perspective got their franchise point guard and shooting guard in Quickly and Barrett. Whereas OG didn’t really fit with Scottie the franchise piece at SF and Pascal occupying the PF spot. OG was ofcourse also needing an extension and was looking to get paid and the results haven’t justified giving him and Pascal that money.
Knicks got a great deal getting OG for RJ, they now don’t have to overpay IQ to stay as a back up PG, they get Precious who will give them valueable back up minutes and it didn’t cost them a first. Toronto got two long term starts while giving up a player that didn’t really fit amongst there starters and was going to be expensive to keep around without getting wins.
So overall good deal for both teams
Knicks: A
Toronto: B
This trade enabled the franchise PG Toronto already had in place. This gives Barnes two wing scorers/secondary playmakers to play off him and open up the offense. Pick and rolls and dribble handoffs between Quickley and Barnes should be fun to watch. At 23 and 24 they’re also more in line with Barnes age.
For the Knicks they get a better player than Barrett in OG and they’re not on the hook for a $25mm+ dollar contract to a player that for whatever reason is a backup in Thib’s rotation.
LOL, “most interesting”, “highest upside” ? Just say it, it’s OK, the AAU buttboys can’t get to you. IQ is the BEST player in the deal. If the HC is smart enough to hand him the ball tonight, I expect IQ to have an impact performance.
WS this season and the past 2 seasons:
2023 IQ – 2.0 OG – 1.4 RJB – 0.9
2022 IQ – 6.7 OG – 4.7 RJB – 2.2
2021 IQ – 4.2 OG – 3.7 RJB – 2.3
And to think he did it all without starting. Enough to blow a 2k’ers mind.
Watching Knicks game on MSG Network right now. Listening to the Knicks announcers OG Trade was an A+…A+…A+…A+ …A+ Trade !
Hmmm …In his first game as a Knick OG just Fouled out of the Game.
35 mins 17 pts. Big three to stop a run. Top D on their best player. And guarded their bigs. And it’s only his first game. Better than good.
He was guarding Towns who has 5-6 inches on him and still did well. He needs to anticipate the picks better, though. He got burned a couple of times on the perimeter with picks.
Just listened to OG in post game. He’s articulate and knows the game. Humble guy and is all about team. Like to see that. Off to a great start. Wish Achiuwa would have played better. But time will help them both. I saw a better fit on offense today. And definitely a better team D effort. Looking forward to seeing this team grow.
Actually that was a very accurate representation of what you should expect from each. Maybe not OG fouling out. But the 17-20 points, 5 boards, some stocks and solid defense is what he provides. Precious on the other hand, you will consistently feel disappointed. Mixed in with a random game where he blows you away and there for strings you alone, hoping beyond hope he will figure it out. It’s so maddening because his tools are incredible.
OG is a great fit for you guys though. This is a win win trade I believe.
Imo RJ has more upside than Quickley. RJ has been playing so we tend to think. The guy who hasn’t really played has more to give. Quickley can be a solid starter. But RJ can still be an all star. RJ is 23 yrs old. Quickley is 24 yrs old. Let time tell us who will shine. Why predict who is going to be better. To me the pick is what can turn this deal Raptors way.
Oh oh ……. trouble in the Atl …….
link to soaringdownsouth.com
You forgot to say he led the game with +19. Nice debut
Trade Siakam, Jacob P, Trent Jr and Dennis S for young players, draft picks and expiring contracts. Get players the same age as Barnes and Barrett