Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard just name-dropped New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley in a new song that he recently put out a preview of, and oh man, has this started a fire.
The six-time All-Star rapped “51 million, that’s annual/get you a Quickley, Immanuel”, mentioning both his contract, before then shouting out Quickley, essentially saying that everyone needs someone like IQ.
Damian Lillard name-dropped Knicks’ Immanuel Quickley in a new song
This is not the first time that Lillard has shouted out the young guard, as a year ago he gave Quickley a shoutout on Instagram, but having him on a rap song is next-level stuff.
Quickley also responded, saying that he has to get back in the “stuuu”, which for anyone wondering, means studio. Quickley basically asked for a feature, which, since it’s IQ, would probably rival Kanye West’s feature on “City of Gods” for the best rap feature of 2022.
Immanuel Quickley‘s reaction to the Dame name drop: “Now I gotta get back in the stuu..” pic.twitter.com/1u5m8bqMHl
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) May 18, 2022
Okay, now, here’s the real question: What in the heck does this mean on a basketball level? Well, I’ll tell you the two directions I can go in. There’s the fun way or the more truthful way, so we’ll do a little bit of both.
I could say that Lillard has shown overt loyalty to the Trail Blazers despite them being a poorly managed small-market team that has the same chance of landing a second star in free agency as I do to become the President of the United States.
Now, it’s time for the more fun part of the article that says more than just “The Knicks will not be getting Damian Lillard” because there have been rumors for a very long time about Lillard and New York.
I honestly thought that I would not speculate on rumors based on things on social media after I wrote about Julius Randle unfollowing the Knicks on Instagram, but I guess not. So, let’s put on our tinfoil hats and Kyrie Irving jerseys, fire up really any episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, and talk conspiracies.
It is a little strange that Lillard did say “get you a Quickley, Immanuel”, right? And no, I don’t mean because he didn’t say “get you an Immanuel Quickley”, as that did not fit his rhyme scheme.
It’s weird because he KNOWS how New York fans and the media will react. ‘Knicks for clicks’ is as real as it gets, and Lillard is well aware of that with all of the New York drama that he’s already gone through.
I think that we’re all curious about if this is Lillard hinting at wanting to play for the Knicks, as Portland desperately needs to rebuild. Lillard is not young, and it does not feel like the Trail Blazers will be able to become a contender in the next two years
Everyone can agree that Quickley is one of the most untouchable players on the team right now. Portland has a depleted roster with only Lillard left to pick up the pieces, so he should be traded.
It would take a haul to bring Lillard to New York, but at 32-years-old and coming off a season where his numbers took a dip before being shut down for the year after undergoing abdominal surgery, he is probably at the cheapest price that he will ever be at.
The idea of pairing IQ and Lillard together in the backcourt is very, very interesting and would make a great offensive duo. If they could also keep RJ Barrett in the process, which is a must, the Knicks really would be one piece away from being a true NBA Finals contender.
This is still a long shot. I really do not think that Lillard hinted that he wants to play in New York in a rap song, and instead was looking for a name to pair a rhyme with, or maybe he just wanted to shout out one of his favorite young players. But maybe Lillard wants to team up with Quickley to form the most exciting backcourt duo in Knicks history.
New York should look into Lillard, but it’s hard to imagine that will happen. However, I do know one thing for sure, and it’s that the Knicks being linked to stars is a tale as old as the Mesopotamians, but they should get them a Lillard, Damian. I really hope I don’t get fired for trying to be cool right there.
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