Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley intends to sign a five-year $175 million deal to return to the Toronto Raptors, according to Shams Charania. The 25 year old shooting guard began the 2023-2024 season in New York and finished in Toronto as part of the OG Anunoby trade.
Quickley now joins Scottie Barnes as players who locked up long term deals with the franchise this offseason, and will look to take it up another notch next season.
Quickley’s Production in 2023-2024
New York Knicks (30 GP)
24.0 MPG
15 PPG
2.5 AST
2.6 REB
45.4 FG% and 39.5 3P%
Toronto Raptors (38 GP)
33.3 MPG
18.6 PPG
6.8 AST
4.8 REB
42.2 FG% and 39.5 3P%
After coming off the bench in all 30 games in New York, Quickely increased his production in every category and starting in all 38 games in Toronto, proving that he was able to handle a higher workload.
Quickley’s Adjustment in Toronto
On a per 36 minute rate, Immanuel Quickely’s PPG decreased from 22.5 with the Knicks to 20.1 with the Raptors (due to his 2P% decreasing). However, his AST to TOV rate improved significantly, from 2.39 to 3.67.
One issue with Quickley’s game is that his scoring didn’t drastically increase like many expected, even after getting nine more minutes per game in Toronto.
Quickley’s Struggles From 2P Range by Distance
Distance: Knicks vs. Raptors (Career %)
zero to three feet: 64.7 % vs. 72.1% (66.9%)
three to ten feet: 47.1% vs. 37.1 % (43.5%)
ten to sixteen feet: 52.9% vs. 37.7% (42.6%)
Quickley’s efficiency at the rim improved as a Raptor, whereas every other two-point shot efficiency dropped significantly. From a midseason trade to personal off the court issues keeping him out of the lineup for multiple games, the Raptors guard is going through an adjustment period.
With his career percentages from two-point range being much more efficient than what he showed in Toronto, his efficiency issue should be an easy fix.
Salary/Cap space
Raptors staff writer Eric Koreen states that this deal was more hefty than he expected with Immanuel Quickley signing for a $35 million AAV compared to the average starting point guard salary of $25 million.
With Toronto also paying Scottie Barnes the five-year $270 million max rookie extension, fans may be confused at the amount paid to two of their young pieces who statistically have not played to the level of their contracts. However, this should not be a problem as Quickley and Barnes are entering their 25 and 23 year-old seasons respectively. At their young age and consistent improvement, their production and salary will line up eventually.
The Raptors now have a decision to make with their remaining cap space. If Toronto picks up Bruce Brown’s team option as expected, and commits to their newly signed and drafted rookies, they will be left with around $10.5 million to spend this offseason. Senior NBA writer John Hollinger believes Toronto will target a power forward with their remaining cap space, seeing how guard heavy their roster currently is.
Quickley’s Future
After showing flashes of excellence in New York during inconsistent playing time, Quickley looks to provide the Raptors with scoring and playmaking at a high level for the next half decade. With the Toronto Raptors in an in between phase, not contending but not bad enough to tank, Immanuel Quickley looks to be the guard for their future as he also holds playoff experience at a young age.
Check out our podcasts!
Follow Fantom Sports on Instagram!
Click here for more basketball content!