Does Immanuel Quickly Deserve a $100M Contract?
With the recent signing of Josh Hart to his four-year $81 million contract, it begs the question: does Quickly deserve the contract he is asking for? To make a long story very short, yes. If Hart can get $81 million there is space to give Quickly $100 million. I think it’s worth it. In Quickly’s third season in the NBA, he was runner-up for six-man of the year (6MOTY) notching in 14.9 points per game (PPG), 4.2 rebounds per game (RPG), and 3.4 assists per game (APG).
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This speaks numbers for Quickly. During the year, he has struggled with shooting and facilitating the ball. However, somewhere he took a turn, his layups started reminding me of the finishes prime Derrick Rose had back in his day, and then it clicked that D Rose must have taken Quickly under his wing. His form became stronger, and his defense became better. He could keep up with the likes of Luka Doncic on defense. During a bout in Boston against the Celtics, he single-handedly (without the Knicks' starting guard Jalen Brunson) carried the Knicks to a win in TD Garden with 38 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, four steals, two blocks, and 53.6 percent shooting in 55 minutes of play. This was a doozie for him considering that he played most of, if not the entire game, and even went into overtime.
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As my excitement for this future team continues, I have to say it worries me. The front office has a track record of going all in for a star and paying way too much for it. My fear is that they trade for a worse player/older player like James Harden, Paul George, and so on. I think it would be in the Knicks' best interest to sign Joel Embiid. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, the Knicks will undoubtedly take a giant leap if they sign Embiid. But there are a few more options here. For this to work, the Knicks would need to give up their current core of RJ Barrett and Julius Randle, both amazing and young players, however, for this final run the Knicks are going to need more. The goal is to keep Jalen Brunson and the supporting cast of Josh Hart, Immanuel Quickly, and Isaiah Hartenstien.
The Knicks would trade Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, and Evan Fournier with four first-round picks, one unprotected and the others protected including the Bucks's top-five protected pick.
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The next step of the plan is to get Donovan Mitchell, I’m personally a fan of waiting till he gets to free agency because that gives the Knicks a better chance of getting Mitchell for nothing. Then the Knicks would have a core of Brunson, Mitchell, and Embiid. I think with this core Immanuel Quickly can continue to shine in a final run. This year could be a breakout season for him, and I believe Quickly can be the 6MOTY this upcoming year.
