Knicks’ Immanuel Quickley Has Fans From Rising West Team: Report

Getty Immanuel Quickley #5 and Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks talk during a free throw against the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden.

New York Knicks‘ Sixth Man Immanuel Quickley continues to draw fans from rival organizations as he soars in his contract year.

Count the current Western Conference leader Minnesota Timberwolves as part of Quickley’s growing fan base, according to Hoopshype’s Michael Scotto.

“While the Knicks were linked to Timberwolves forward Karl-Anthony Towns earlier in the season, there are several factors that make a trade difficult at this time and potentially through the trade deadline. First, Minnesota is rolling as one of the top teams in the West and doesn’t want to break up a good thing. Second, while Quickley has fans in Minnesota’s front office, the same cannot be said for Julius Randle, league sources told HoopsHype,” Scotto wrote.

There is a $7 million per year gap between Quickley’s camp and the Knicks at the negotiation table, which led to the Sixth Man of the Year finalist becoming a restricted free agent next summer, per Scotto.

“Quickley was offered around $18 million per year in extension talks, league sources told HoopsHype. However, Quickley was looking for closer to $25 million annually, league sources said,” Scotto wrote.

Rivals Teams Monitoring Immanuel Quickley’s Availability

The Knicks can still retain Quickley by matching offer sheets from other teams. But they could enter next season as a luxury team, hence their trepidation to pay Quickley. So, there is a risk of losing Quickley in the offseason without anything in return to a team with large cap space. That is unless they can coax Quickley to agree to a sign-and-trade. Or they could cash him in at the February trade deadline.

“Rival teams are monitoring” his availability, Scotto added.

An NBA executive told Scotto that Quickley “might be New York’s best trade asset besides Jalen Brunson.”

Quickley is averaging a career-high 16.3 points on 45% shooting along with 3.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists off the bench. His dynamic scoring and perimeter defense have gone one notch up this season, helping the Knicks to a 10-7 start good for fifth in the East entering Thursday’s game against the lottery-bound Detroit Pistons.

Immanuel Quickley’s Timberwolves Fit

If the Timberwolves move on from Towns and decide to send him to New York, near his New Jersey home, they will likely seek a Quickley-headlined package with multiple picks.

A Towns trade for the Timberwolves will get them rid of his four-year, $224 million max extension that will kick in next year and have the wiggle room for the looming expensive extensions of Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels. Plus, they could recoup draft capital they forked out for Rudy Gobert.

Minnesota has the perfect Towns replacement in Naz Reid. Like Quickley, Reid is the Timberwolves Sixth Man who can be a solid starter on a bargain deal — a three-year deal worth only $42 million.

Quickley fits the Timberwolves timeline with Edwards, McDaniels and Reid as Mike Conley’s heir apparent at the starting point guard spot. The Knicks’ Sixth Man isn’t shy in his bold ambition to start and run a team someday, something that will not happen in New York with Brunson in town.

“One’s reality becomes what one believes. And I believe I’m him,” Quickley posted on his Instagram after scoring 20 points in the Knicks comeback win against arch-nemesis Miami Heat on November 24.

He believes he’s a starter. And if the Knicks can’t give that, a breakup is inevitable.