As the Raptors season comes to an end, Immanuel Quickley talks about free agency.
The 24-year-old point guard will almost certainly sign a new contract. Of course, talking to Quickley before the Toronto Raptors acquired him from the New York Knicks in December would have been tampering.
However, in all likelihood, the Raptors conducted thorough research on Quickley before finalizing the original Anunoby trade. Nevertheless, it can take some time before Quickley signs a new contract.
With his next contract projected to pay him $25 million a season or less, Quickley’s cap hold going into the summer is $12.5 million. The NBA is only withholding $12.5 million of the Toronto organization’s salary limit, which presents an opportunity for the Raptors to sign other free agents with their cap space before finalizing a deal with Quickley.
The only caveat is that Quickley needs to play ball, which should be an easy task. Quickley found exactly what he was seeking in Toronto. From being a bench player in New York, he became the primary ball handler in Toronto and an indispensable member of the team going forward.
“I adore Toronto,” he declared on Monday. “They have only shown me love since the day I arrived. Love is a verb of action. It’s not something you merely sling around. From the day I arrived till now, they have done that.”
This summer, Quickley will be a restricted free agency. It’s possible that a team in desperate need of a point guard will offer him a huge contract and force Toronto to match. For instance, Utah or Detroit might challenge Quickley. Orlando may also be able to pull it off. But really, that doesn’t seem plausible.
Teams don’t frequently make outrageous offer sheets to restricted players, so by the summer, Toronto should have a good idea of what Quickley can anticipate.