New York Knicks: 3 Kemba Walker replacements on their roster

New York Knicks Replacement #3: Immanuel Quickley

Immanuel Quickley should definitely be the Knicks’ starting point guard for the rest of the season.  As I said, I love Alec Burks, he’s great, but Quickley has to be the guy.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, the Knicks are not built to contend with the current top NBA teams. They are built for the future.  RJ Barrett is 21, Quickley is 22, Obi Toppin, Jericho Sims, and Mitchell Robinson are all 23. Also, Randle is 27. It’s not like he’s old or anything.

The Knicks are also chock full of draft picks, with the second most draft capital over the next five years only behind the OKC Thunder.  Quickley is good enough to start, and it will be helpful to see if he has the tools to be the point guard of the future for NY.

Quickley has shown the confidence that one needs to be in such a role while playing in the Mecca, and he has every reason to be confident. Every time Quickley as much as breathes, for some reason, it is exciting.

IQ averages 9 points, 2.5 assists, and 2 rebounds in 19 minutes per game. Those stats do not jump out at you, but shooting a 37% clip from deep is always impressive, especially when the majority of your threes are pull-up attempts.

Quickley shoots 36% on pull-up three-point attempts this season while attempting almost 3 pull-up threes per game.

Similar to Burks, Quickley is not a floor general, however, he can play the point guard position and has shown decent pass vision.

IQ also averages 17 points and 5 assists per 36 minutes, which is good enough to be a starting point guard today, and certainly would be impressive for a second-year player.

Giving Quickley the keys to running the offense at a young age with a team of decent playmakers surrounding him work out in his favor and will give him the experience of being a starting point guard on a successful team.

I believe heavily that the best experience a player can have is experience.  That essentially means if you want a player to get better, play them.  The only way to learn how to deal with NBA defense is to go up against it at the highest level.

It won’t always be pretty, but Quickley is good enough to take on this role and has been one of the best players on the team.  He is a true guard, more than Alec Burks, and should become the Knicks starting point guard for the rest of the season, and possibly beyond that.