Immanuel Quickley Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Quickley, Sixers, Maxey, Tatum

September 12th, 2023 at 9:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks have touched base with Immanuel Quickley‘s representatives, but there have been no serious discussions on a rookie scale extension, according to Sean Deveney of Heavy.com.

While talks are expected to heat up in October, there’s some pessimism regarding an extension agreement, Deveney says. Without an extension, Quickley will be a restricted free agent next summer.

Quickley averaged 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists and finished second for the Sixth Man of the Year award last season, but as Deveney points out, the Knicks have an abundance of guards.

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Nick Nurse was one of the pioneers of load management during the Raptors’ championship season, when he limited Kawhi Leonard‘s playing time to keep him fresh for the postseason. With the NBA imposing new penalties for load management, Nurse will have to carefully navigate how much he tries to rest MVP Joel Embiid, as well as James Harden if Harden remains on the Sixers, Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Embiid has publicly acknowledged that proving his durability has been a personal goal, Mizell notes.
Tyrese Maxey has already dramatically improved his shooting during his short NBA career. If he can do the same as a play-maker, then the Sixers can search for a third wheel to join him and Embiid, rather than finding another guard to run the show. That could make next year’s free agent class much more enticing, since the Sixers are positioned to have more cap space than any other team, Derek Bodner of Allphly.com writes.
Could Jayson Tatum eventually carve out a space on the Celtics’ Mount Rushmore, as he openly expressed a desire to accomplish? Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston explores that topic, opining that Bill Russell, Larry Bird and John Havlicek would occupy the first three spots. Forsberg writes that delivering titles, and staying in Boston long-term, would boost Tatum’s candidacy.

Atlantic Notes: Quickley, Knicks, Pritchard, Porzingis, Giles

September 7th, 2023 at 6:42pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Teams are getting closer to training camp, which means lingering questions facing NBA clubs will be answered sooner than later. The Knicks, like every team, have several issues to sort out either before training camp or shortly before the season begins writes Zach Braziller of the New York Post in a mailbag.

The biggest question the Knicks must answer is whether or not Immanuel Quickley will get a rookie scale extension before the regular season tips off. In his own mailbag, SNY’s Ian Begley writes that New York and Quickley are expected to negotiate a contract sometime this month. However, if the Knicks decide to make him available via trade, they’ll have plenty of suitors, per Begley.

Begley hears that the Knicks had several trade talks with teams surrounding Quickley at the beginning of the 2022/23 season, prior to his breakout that saw him finish as the Sixth Man of the Year runner-up. However, Begley ultimately expects Quickley to extend with New York, and believes the team will begin extending other core players – Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle and Quentin Grimes – down the road.

Braziller concurs with Begley, and sees the two sides agreeing to a deal that winds up in the four-year, $90-95MM range. Other topics included in Braziller’s mailbag include the future of Evan Fournier and what a matchup between Team USA and Canada in the 2023 FIBA World Cup would look like, with Brunson and Josh Hart potentially squaring off against RJ Barrett.

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Celtics guard Payton Pritchard has never averaged more than 19.2 minutes per game in his first three seasons in the league, with his playing time declining in each subsequent season. Jared Weiss of The Athletic explores what Pritchard’s role may look like in 2023/24, which will be instrumental in determining his future with the organization. Pritchard, who wished to be moved at last year’s deadline, could be in line for more minutes with Marcus Smart‘s departure, but will need to improve. Weiss does a full video breakdown of the guard’s game to determine how he can take the next jump.
Battling plantar fasciitis, Kristaps Porzingis was forced to be a spectator as Latvia made the final eight of the World Cup and fell to Germany in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston writes that Porzingis choosing to preserve his body in such a crucial moment for his national team is a key indicator that he’s all in on the Celtics this year. Porzingis, whom Boston traded Smart for, is expected to be ready to go by the time the NBA’s training camps begin.
While Harry Giles has an uphill climb to make Brooklyn’s roster out of training camp, the Nets have one of the more interesting roster battles on deck, Lucas Kaplan of NetsDaily writes. Giles, Trendon Watford and Darius Bazley appear to be in direct competition for two roster spots on the Nets. Giles, who hasn’t appeared in a game since 2020/21, only has 142 games of NBA experience and is just 25 years old, indicating he may have plenty left in the tank.

Atlantic Notes: Giles, Adams, Knicks Roster, Hart, Quickley

September 2nd, 2023 at 9:37am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Nets are signing Harry Giles to a contract and, according to SNY’s Ian Begley and Garrett Stepien, Giles picked Brooklyn over two other suitors who had strong interest in the big man. It’s unclear who those two suitors were, but his agent Daniel Hazan of Hazan Sports Management said the Nets showed interest in his client all offseason.

Brooklyn’s persistent interest has been a factor in free agent decisions this summer, with Dennis Smith Jr. also picking the Nets over other offers because the team made him a priority.

Giles, the No. 20 overall pick in the 2017 draft, hasn’t played in the NBA since 2021. Still just 25 years old, he joins a rotation of centers that include Nic Claxton, Day’Ron Sharpe and Noah Clowney.

As SNY points out, and we wrote Friday, Giles is eligible for a two-way deal this season due to a change to the Collective Bargaining Agreement despite the fact that he has four years of NBA service, since he missed a full year to injury. It’s still unclear whether his deal includes Exhibit 10 language, but if it does, Giles could have the deal converted to a two-way contract. Currently, Brooklyn has no spots open on its 15-man standard roster but has one two-way spot available.

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Former Sixers assistant Brian Adams is leaving Philadelphia to accept a head coaching job with the Taipei Taishin Mars of Taiwan’s T1 league, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Wojnarowski notes that Adams had a storied history with former Sixers head coach Doc Rivers, with whom he coached for each of the past nine seasons with the Clippers and Sixers. Adams was also the head coach of the Agua Caliente Clippers, L.A.’s G League affiliate, from 2018 to 2020, before he joined Rivers in Philly.
While the Knicks have just 14 players on standard contracts and room under their hard cap of $172.34MM to add a 15th, Begley doesn’t see New York signing another rotation-level player. Begley writes that prior to the World Cup, Knicks decision-makers wanted Josh Hart to play more of the power forward position next season. While it wouldn’t surprise Begley to see the Knicks add someone who can have a positive impact on team culture (he mentions Taj Gibson and Ryan Arcidiacono), Begley writes New York could look to keep the roster flexible for someone who interests them mid-season.
The deadline to sign a rookie scale extension is one day before the regular season, or Oct. 24, and Immanuel Quickley is in line for a new deal. Begley writes that he would be surprised if Quickley and New York don’t reach an agreement before opening night. However, Begley notes that if the Knicks sign Quickley to an extension, it would make the Sixth Man of the Year runner-up difficult to trade in 2023/24 due to the poison pill provision. If the former Kentucky guard and New York don’t agree to a deal this year, he’ll reach restricted free agency in 2024.

Atlantic Notes: Siakam, Porzingis, Wilson, Knicks

August 16th, 2023 at 9:28pm CST by Rory Maher

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported last week that the Raptors and All-Star forward Pascal Siakam have yet to seriously engage in negotiations on a possible contract extension.

Should Toronto offer him a max extension, which would start at 30% of the 2024/25 salary cap? Eric Koreen of The Athletic weighs the pros and cons of a new deal for Siakam, who is entering the final year of his contract.

While he believes Siakam is worthy of a max deal and that extending him makes more sense than losing him for nothing, Koreen wonders if a lengthy extension would leave the Raptors stuck in the middle again in the short term. However, if Siakam continues to play well, an extension could boost his trade value down the line, since he would be on a long-term contract instead of an expiring deal, Koreen adds.

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Jay King and Josh Robbins of The Athletic examine how Kristaps Porzingis will fit with the Celtics. Robbins points out that the Wizards had a good deal of success with a two-big lineup featuring Porzingis and Daniel Gafford, which could be beneficial for Boston’s frontcourt, since Al Horford and Robert Williams are more well-rounded players than Gafford is. Having Porzingis as another weapon alongside Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown could make the Celtics’ second-ranked offense even more potent in ’23/24, according to King. Both writers state that the biggest question mark surrounding the acquisition is Porzingis’ health — in case you missed it, the Latvian big man recently revealed he’s dealing with plantar fasciitis, though the Celtics expect him to be ready for training camp.
Nets second-rounder Jalen Wilson was a star in college last season for Kansas, but he knows he won’t have the ball in his hands very often entering his rookie season, he tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News (subscriber link). “College for sure, was different,” said Wilson. “I had the ball in my hands a lot. I had to do a lot of things for my team. Take a lot of tough shots. Now, I think as I showed in Summer League and moving forward in the NBA, I won’t have to take those tough shots at the buzzer. I won’t have to take contested shots over double teams. This isn’t Kansas. This is the Brooklyn Nets. So I feel like the load being less, my numbers (efficiency) will increase. And I feel like I showed that in Summer League. And I’m excited to continue to show it.” The young forward, who is on a two-way deal, was named to the All-Summer League Second Team last month, Bondy notes.
Fred Katz of The Athletic covers a number of Knicks-related topics in his latest mailbag, including where they might finish in the East during the regular season, their most likely trade candidates, and the team’s power forward depth. As far as trade candidates go, Katz believes Evan Fournier, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley are the top three options. Fournier is an obvious one since he doesn’t want to return after being benched most of last season, and his expiring deal could be useful for salary-matching purposes. Barrett is mostly included for financial reasons, particularly if the Knicks want to trade for a star. League sources tell The Athletic that Quickley’s name has popped up in trade discussions this summer, though the Knicks have placed a high value on the Sixth Man of the Year runner-up. Quickley is eligible for a rookie scale extension, Katz notes, but there doesn’t appear to be any rush to get a deal done.

New York Notes: Knicks Future, Hart, Quickley, Nets Picks

August 10th, 2023 at 10:59pm CST by Tristan Tucker

With Josh Hart under contract well into the future, the Knicks could turn to extending another core member of their rotation, SNY’s Ian Begley writes. An Immanuel Quickley extension is the logical next step for the Knicks to take before he becomes a restricted free agent next summer. Begley notes that if Quickley and the Knicks are able to come to an agreement on an extension, it would give the Knicks seven players under contract through at least 2024/25, all of which are rotation pieces.

The deadline for the two sides to reach an agreement on an extension is on the eve of the ’23/24 season.

Signing Quickley would put the Knicks on track to surpass the luxury tax line, according to Begley, but owner James Dolan has never shied away from spending luxury tax money in the past.

The Knicks are hard-capped at the first tax apron this season, meaning they can’t spend more than a total of roughly $172MM in team salary. The Knicks are roughly $6.6MM shy of that apron at the moment, according to Begley, which they could use to augment the roster further. If Quickley signs an extension, it would be difficult to trade him until his extension kicks in. Hart is ineligible to be traded until the 2024 offseason.

Begley notes that while Hart’s $81MM of total salary appears large, it won’t account for more than 14% of the team’s salary cap in any year of his deal, which Begley argues is fair value for a starting-level rotation piece.

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Peter Botte of the New York Post also writes that the Knicks should sign Quickley to a new deal before he becomes a restricted free agent. Quickley, a Sixth Man of the Year finalist, is in the final year of his rookie contract, which is worth approximately $4.17MM. The 6’3″ guard averaged 14.9 points and 3.4 assists per game last season while knocking down 37% of his 5.6 attempts from downtown per game.
Hart’s new four-year, $81MM extension with the Knicks includes a team option on the fourth and final year, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link). That means just $58MM of the contract is guaranteed, with the option being worth $22.3MM in 2027/28. Hart’s extension kicks in during the 2024/25 season.
In a recent article, CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn ranked every traded future NBA first round draft pick. In total, Quinn ranks 56 picks that have shifted hands via various trades. The 2029 Suns first round pick grades out as the most valuable in Quinn’s eyes and that pick belongs to the Nets by virtue of the Kevin Durant trade at last season’s deadline. Quinn argues that it’s hard for teams to win championships and that Phoenix doesn’t have much room to improve beyond the next couple of years since the franchise traded virtually every pick it owned in exchange for Durant and Bradley Beal. In total, Quinn ranked two incoming Nets picks in the top three, and Brooklyn controls four of the top six picks Quinn ranks. The 2029 Mavericks first round pick that now belongs to the Nets via the Kyrie Irving trade comes in at No. 3, while the Suns also owe Brooklyn their unprotected 2027 first round pick and a 2028 first round pick swap, which rank No. 5 and No. 6 in Quinn’s list.

Eastern Notes: Knicks, Sixers, T. Jones, Black

July 28th, 2023 at 8:23pm CST by Rory Maher

The Knicks might not be championship favorites entering 2023/24, but they’re in a strong financial position going forward, without any of the NBA’s 50 highest-paid players, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News.

As Bondy outlines, the Knicks’ top earners rank just outside the top 50, headlined by point guard Jalen Brunson ($26.3MM, No. 52) and forward Julius Randle ($25.7MM, No. 53). Bondy hears Josh Hart will receive an extension next month in the neighborhood of $75MM over four years (similar to what Ian Begley of SNY.tv reported three weeks ago), while Immanuel Quickley is looking for more than that on a rookie scale deal.

Having good players on reasonable long-term deals should help the Knicks avoid the restrictive second tax apron for the foreseeable future, Bondy notes, and could help the club swing trades in the future.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com answers several Sixers-related questions in his latest mailbag, writing that the Clippers have been “fairly unserious” in trade offers for James Harden to this point, a sign that teams around the league might not value the former MVP the same way they used to. Neubeck is skeptical Paul Reed will attempt many three-pointers in ’23/24, despite talk of a potential expanded role.
The Wizards‘ acquisition of Tyus Jones flew under the radar a bit due to the bigger names involved in the three-team deal, but he’s a solid player with plenty of desirable attributes. Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington examined Jones’ career statistics to get an idea of what he might bring to the table next season.
Anthony Black, who was selected No. 6 overall last month by the Magic, recently spoke to Sam Yip of HoopsHype about a number of topics, including which NBA players he enjoys watching and what he needs to improve on entering his rookie season.

Knicks Rumors: George, Barrett, Hart, Embiid, Roby, Quickley

July 6th, 2023 at 12:28pm CST by Rory Maher

On June 22, the night of last month’s draft, the Knicks contemplated sending the Clippers a trade package that featured Obi Toppin, Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier and three first-round picks in exchange for star forward Paul George, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

When New York later agreed to trade Toppin to the Pacers for a couple second-rounders, the Clippers briefly brought up RJ Barrett to take his place in the aforementioned trade framework, says Scotto. The Knicks balked at that proposal, believing the asking was price too steep for George, who will make $45.64MM in 2023/24 and is eligible for an extension this offseason, per Scotto.

The Knicks control multiple protected first-round picks from other teams, so it’s unclear whether the first-rounders Scotto mentioned were protected in some fashion or were their own unprotected picks. Either way, apparently the talks didn’t advance.

Still, the Knicks remain on the lookout for a third star to complement Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle, according to Scotto.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv, Josh Hart will sign a long-term extension with the Knicks in August once he becomes eligible. His maximum extension number would be $81MM over four years, and Begley hears the veteran wing will receive “slightly less” than that figure. It seems highly likely that Hart exercised his player option in order to give the team more financial flexibility in free agency, with a handshake agreement on an extension.
Begley hears from sources who say the Knicks haven’t budged on their asking prices for star players on the trade market, including Damian Lillard and James Harden, and both players are unlikely to wind up in New York. Like Zach Lowe of ESPN, Begley continues to hear the Knicks might be eyeing Joel Embiid in the future.
Prior to using their mid-level exception to sign Donte DiVincenzo, the Knicks were interested in several unrestricted free agents, including Bruce Brown, Max Strus and Yuta Watanabe, Scotto states. Brown signed with the Pacers; Strus landed in Cleveland via sign-and-trade; and Watanabe signed with Phoenix.
Losing Toppin means New York has rotation minutes available at backup power forward. Scotto hears Isaiah Roby will be given an opportunity to win the job, with Hart an option in small-ball lineups. Roby signed with the Knicks on the last day of the ’22/23 regular season, receiving a significant upfront payment ($400K) that suggested he could be in the team’s future plans.
Sixth Man of the Year runner-up Immanuel Quickley‘s floor in a rookie scale extension is expected to be $20MM annually, and Scotto’s sources say the Knicks would consider a deal in that range. However, if the two sides don’t reach an agreement and Quickley continues to improve next season, Scotto says New York might contemplate using him as part of a trade package for a star.

Eastern Notes: Hornets, Quickley, Bulls, Dobner

June 29th, 2023 at 8:44am CST by Arthur Hill

A report last Thursday that the Hornets were giving renewed consideration to taking Scoot Henderson with the No. 2 pick was a late attempt to get the Trail Blazers to trade up, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports said on the Basketball Illuminati Podcast.

“I don’t think this was done (with) betting markets, conspiracy, blah, blah, blah,” Fischer said (hat tip to Real GM). “I think the Hornets tried to get a little savvy.”

Fischer points out that Charlotte general manager Mitch Kupchak tried a similar tactic in 2015 when he had the No. 2 pick as GM of the Lakers. Kupchak was deciding between D’Angelo Russell and Jahlil Okafor and didn’t communicate to their agents what he planned to do.

“I believe the Hornets did not tell Brandon Miller or Scoot until right on the clock that they were going either direction to continue that misdirection, mystery or whatever you call,” Fischer added. “I think it was a concerted effort by the Hornets to drum up some trade interest there.”

There’s more from the Eastern Conference:

An NBA executive tells Sean Deveney of Heavy.com that he thinks Immanuel Quickley will want “nine figures” over four years in his extension talks this summer. The Knicks guard helped his bargaining position with an outstanding third season that saw him finish second in the Sixth Man of the Year voting. “I can’t say the Knicks will go that high but they might have to,” the executive said. “He is not a guy you want to send to restricted free agency.”
The Bulls didn’t address their need for outside shooting in the draft, so they’re likely to look for shooters in free agency, per Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. Chicago’s only pick was Julian Phillips, who shot 23.9% from behind the arc on 46 attempts last season at Tennessee. The Bulls ranked last in three-point attempts per game the past two years, and general manager Marc Eversley believes recently hired shooting coach Peter Patton will help. “Peter comes to us not only as a shooting coach but somebody who can oversee our player development function,” Eversley said. “… And we feel like he can help the overall look and feel of how we play the game and shoot the ball.”
Sidney Dobner will be the first female assistant coach in the history of the Bucks, the team stated in a press release announcing Adrian Griffin‘s staff. This will be Dobner’s sixth season with the franchise.

Eastern Notes: Pacers, Quickley, Hawks, Bucks, Beal

June 15th, 2023 at 8:04am CST by Luke Adams

No team holds more picks in the 2023 NBA draft than the Pacers, who have had another full week of pre-draft workouts at the Ascension St. Vincent Center in Indianapolis.

The Pacers hosted Marcus Carr (Texas), Kendric Davis (Memphis), Zvonimir Ivisic (Croatia), Drew Peterson (USC), Julian Phillips (Tennessee), and Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky) for a group workout on Monday, then brought in D’Moi Hodge (Missouri), Colby Jones (Xavier), Omari Moore (San Jose State), Kevin Obanor (Texas Tech), Olivier-Maxence Prosper (Marquette), and Malachi Smith (Gonzaga) on Tuesday.

The most notable workout of the team’s week so far is happening on Thursday, with the Pacers scheduled to host Gradey Dick. The Kansas guard could be a player Indiana considers with its lottery pick at No. 7.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

With Immanuel Quickley becoming eligible next month for a rookie scale extension, Fred Katz of The Athletic polled 15 front office members around the NBA to get a sense of what a “fair” extension for the Knicks guard would look like. Of those 15 participants, 11 projected an annual salary between $16-20MM, with five specifically suggesting $72MM over four years.
Discussing his newly completed coaching staff, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder told Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he wanted a strong player development group made up of “selfless” individuals who would help instill that philosophy in Atlanta’s players. “It’s like putting any team together that whether it’s, tactical experience, analytics experience, literally different cultures and genders and all the different things that go into making a unique, strong group,” Snyder said. “But ‘The Thin Red Line’ to me that runs through all of it was, just selfless people that are able to put the group in front of themselves and I really want our staff to model that because that’s what we’re asking of our team.”
Eric Nehm of The Athletic breaks down the rumor identifying the Bucks as a possible Bradley Beal suitor, examining how Milwaukee could build a package to acquire Beal and weighing whether or not the star guard would actually make a better long-term building block than Jrue Holiday or Khris Middleton. As Nehm notes, while Beal is younger than Holiday or Middleton, he’s not as solid a defender as either of those current Bucks.

Suns Rumors: Harden, Lillard, Paul, Irving, Russell, More

June 9th, 2023 at 8:04pm CST by Rory Maher

There have been rumors linking James Harden to Phoenix. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM shut down that notion (via Twitter), writing that there’s a “zero percent chance” the Suns would pursue the former MVP.

Gambadoro also said it was “highly unlikely” the Suns would have interest in Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard, pointing out that his large salary might be unpalatable for a roster that’s already top-heavy (Twitter link). On his Burns and Gambo radio show (Twitter link), the plugged-in local reporter stated in stronger terms that the Suns won’t pursue Lillard.

“They’re not getting James Harden, and they’re not getting Damian Lillard,” Gambadoro said.

Here are more rumors on the Suns:

Gambadoro’s reporting on Lillard was seemingly in response to a new piece from Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, who hears from sources who say that the Trail Blazers have shown interest in Deandre Ayton in the past. However, Fischer also downplays Phoenix’s chances of landing Lillard, noting that the Suns don’t have the requisite assets to land a player of his caliber. The Blazers, meanwhile, still hope to build a contender around their all-time leading scorer, and remain intent on re-signing Jerami Grant, sources tell Fischer.
Fischer’s article focuses on Chris Paul‘s uncertain future with the Suns and how it might have a ripple effect around the NBA. Although Lillard and Harden might be unrealistic targets, Fischer writes that the Suns remain intrigued by Kyrie Irving, who is entering unrestricted free agency. As Fischer notes, Irving would basically have to ask the Mavericks for help in a sign-and-trade. Dallas hasn’t shown any interest in helping the Lakers land Irving in a sign-and-trade for D’Angelo Russell, but Fischer wonders if Paul might be more appealing.
Could the Lakers and Suns explore a sign-and-trade involving Russell and Paul? The Suns pursued the 27-year-old impending free agent ahead of the February trade deadline when he was still on the Timberwolves, sources tell Fischer. Big man Naz Reid, who’s also set to hit unrestricted free agency, was another player Phoenix desired in talks with Minnesota, Fischer adds.
Hornets guard Terry Rozier has been linked to Phoenix in the past, but the Suns didn’t pursue him ahead of the trade deadline, sources tell Fischer. Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley, Celtics guard Payton Pritchard, Kings guard Davion Mitchell, and Heat guard Gabe Vincent are among the other backcourt options the Suns have monitored, per Fischer.
Agents that Fischer has talked to believe Paul could get at least part of — if not the full — mid-level exception if he’s waived and becomes an unrestricted free agent. While Paul has been linked to his former club, the Clippers, Fischer notes that they can only offer the veteran’s minimum, and there’s “mutual interest” in a reunion between Russell Westbrook and the Clips.