Immanuel Quickley Reacts to Knicks Trading BFF Obi Toppin

Getty Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley

Life goes on for Immanuel Quickley, who will play for the first time without his draft classmate and New York Knicks‘ best buddy Obi Toppin by his side.

The Knicks traded Toppin, their 2020 NBA Draft lottery pick, traded him to the Indiana Pacers for a pair of late second-round picks.

“That’s my guy,” Quickley told reporters during the Knicks Media Day on Monday. “He got traded. It’s business. It happens. We move on with the team that we have now. Obi’s still my guy. We still text and call and stuff like that.”

Quickley and Toppin have been inseparable since they were drafted. Over the last three years, they have ushered in every turn of the calendar year. But they will celebrate the new year separately. Hopefully, by that time, Quickley would already have a new extension and Toppin enjoying a breakout season as a starter for his new team.

The best buddies will face off for the first time on Dec. 30 when the Knicks visit the Pacers in Indianapolis.

Toppin, the No. 8 pick of the 2020 NBA Draft, never realized his potential with the Knicks as he lagged behind the giant shadow of two-time All-Star forward Julius Randle.

A verbal altercation with coach Tom Thibodeau during a Knicks loss in the playoffs proved to be the last straw for the disgruntled forward.

“I didn’t get the minutes I wanted. But now it’s a new start. I’m here in Indy,” Toppin said in July during his first interview since the trade.

Obi Toppin Expected to Have a Breakout Season

Now that he’s out of Randle’s shadows and Thibodeau’s doghouse, Toppin is expected to be a breakout candidate this season.

“To me, this is not a knock on the Knicks’ organization, but the way that Obi Toppin was used and the way that the Knicks want to play more deliberate — I think they were in the bottom 5 in pace last year — it didn’t fit him, it didn’t suit him, and I’m excited to see him in Indiana,” former NBA player-turned-ESPN analyst JJ Redick said on his podcast “The Old Man and The Three.”

Toppin’s trade to the Pacers made it to Redick’s list of top three under-the-radar moves this offseason.

“One of the reasons that I love this fit, Tyrese [Haliburton], in terms of his ability to get rebounds and get out in transition, the throw-ahead passes, all that stuff, Obi Toppin running the floor, it just makes sense,” Redick explained.

“Obi Toppin was 25th in the league last year in transition points per possession. This team wants to play fast. They were fifth in pace. They were first in transition points per game. … So, I’m excited to see him in Indiana, and I’m not willing to give up on Obi Toppin as a really good NBA player,” he continued.

Tom Thibodeau’s Cold Response to Evan Fournier’s Discontent

Thibodeau did not sugarcoat when asked about Evan Fournier‘s growing discontent about his demotion.

“I have great respect for him, and I didn’t go into the season thinking we were going to do the things that we ended up doing,” Thibodeau told reporters during the Knicks Media Day on Monday. “We did it because we weren’t having success one way. So we adjusted, and then the next group that went in, it’s hard to argue with 37 and 22 [record] and a plus five net rating.”

In a bombshell interview this summer with French news outlet L’Equipe, Fournier said he wanted to spit on everyone and was filled with hatred after he was removed from the rotation last season.