New trade suitor emerges to attempt to pry Immanuel Quickley from Knicks
There are officially 16 days left until the 2023 NBA trade deadline, and for the New York Knicks, there’s a lot that could happen between now and then. With Cam Reddish rumors heating up and teams such as the Raptors deciding whether to be sellers or not, it’s a busy time in the NBA.
On Tuesday, Marc Stein reported (subscription required) that the “word” is that the Suns have started to assess “their post-Paul future and thus identify Charlotte’s Terry Rozier, New York’s Immanuel Quickley and Toronto’s Fred VanVleet as potential trade targets.” Stein went on to emphasize that the “latest signals” from New York indicate that Quickley won’t be made available ahead of the deadline, which is something that’s been echoed after the Knicks reportedly had put a first-round pick price on the third-year guard.
Quickley was given the opportunity to enter the starting lineup when New York was dealing with an injured RJ Barrett and Jalen Brunson. In the eight games that IQ has started this season, he’s averaged 20.3 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.9 rebounds while shooting 44.5% from the field. Although earlier in the year it seemed as if Quickley could be traded ahead of the deadline, that no longer seems to be the case.
Nonetheless, Phoenix is interested in the 23-year-old.
Suns reportedly eyeing Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley as they evaluate their post-Chris Paul future
Phoenix has had a shaky start to the first half of the season and currently, the Suns are 24-24 and sit at No. 7 in the Western Conference. If the season ended today, Phoenix would be competing in the play-in tournament. Devin Booker has been out for the past month with a groin injury and the latest report on his injury doesn’t indicate that he’ll be back anytime soon.
As Stein noted, Chris Paul has dealt with a couple of injuries himself this season and has played in 27 of the Suns’ 48 games. The 37-year-old is averaging a career-low 13.4 points to go with 8.4 assists. Paul is making $28.4 million this season and will make $30.8 million in 2023-24 before having a non-guaranteed $30 million salary in 2024-25.
Paul has spent the past three seasons in Phoenix and has been part of a playoff push in the previous two seasons. The Suns made it to the NBA Finals in 2021 but came up short to the Bucks, so Paul is still in pursuit of his first championship.
Phoenix has been battling a series of issues over the past year, so the Suns are doing the right thing by looking ahead to evaluate their future. Between Quickley, Rozier, and VanVleet, IQ is hands down the best option for Phoenix, but the problem for the Suns is that the Knicks have changed their stance on Quickley in the past few weeks. Trading for IQ would be a great move for Phoenix, but that’s something that New York likely won’t let happen.
The Suns will likely have more luck going after Rozier with the Hornets being one of the worst teams in the league. And of course, the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes are on the line.
Unless something changes between now and Feb. 9, it appears as if the Knicks are going to hold onto Immanuel Quickley.
