The New York Knicks may have to extend Immanuel Quickley’s contract this summer, regardless of how it impacts their salary cap situation in the years to come.
The third-year guard has been exceptional on both ends of the court, consistently contributing to the team’s success over the last three months.
Quickly played a key role in the Knicks’ latest victories against the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics, scoring 21 and 38 points, respectively, while filling in for injured starter Jalen Brunson.
Despite Quickley’s impressive performance, ESPN salary cap expert Bobby Marks believes that the Knicks may prioritize cap space in 2024 over extending Quickley’s contract. Quickley’s current cap hold for the 2024-25 season is $12.5 million, a figure tied to where he was selected in the draft, 25th overall in 2020.
An extension would pay him more than that, and Marks estimates that a reasonable deal for both parties would be similar to the four-year, $95 million extension the Hawks gave De’Andre Hunter last October.
Quickley’s recent form has been outstanding, with the Knicks outscoring teams by 5.3 points on average when he is on the court. He has scored in double figures in 11 straight games and 32 of 35 contests, and his defence has been equally impressive.
His overall 107.3 defensive rating is the best of any Knick in the rotation, and when he is the primary defender, opponents are shooting only 43.1 per cent from the field, one of the best figures in the NBA.
The Knicks were reportedly shopping Quickley for draft capital earlier in the year, but as his performance improved, they decided to hold onto him at the trade deadline.
Now, they face a difficult decision about extending his contract and potentially cutting into future cap space. Marks suggests that the next month and a half and the playoffs will determine whether the value of an extension outweighs prioritizing cap space.
»New York Knicks may have to extend Immanuel Quickley’s contract«
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