NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 01: Immanuel Quickley #5 of the New York Knicks celebrates teammate Jalen ... [+] Brunson's three point shot late in the fourth quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Madison Square Garden. The New York Knicks defeated the Brooklyn Nets 149-118. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Getty ImagesThe third season for an NBA player is a big one for a number of reasons. It’s the expected year of growth into a meaningful contributor with the contributions depending on the expectations of what kind of player they’ll be. It’s the expected year of reliability from a coaching perspective. It’s also the year that they can get paid.
Teams will try to avoid letting their own players go into restricted free agency after their rookie contract, which means that they have to be proactive in willingly extending their draft picks after the third season. That leads to a lot of analysis surrounding that third year of a player.
Immanuel Quickley had a regular season that would naturally raise the expectations of what he was assumed to get a year ago. But things can change in an instant. The timing of expectations is everything and the postseason can reveal all. Was the poor postseason of Quickley enough to give the Knicks cold feet in coughing over a contract that exceeds $100 million?
The Good
Quickley was struggling. The first two months of the season he was unable to gain any traction and the rumor mill started to swirl. The third year guard was not the vivacious young’un that had ended the previous season on a high note. His placement on the team felt clunky and the shot wasn’t falling– it felt as if the team had run its course on the season and on him.
The stats backed it up. He was averaging just a shade over 9 points per game and a true shooting percentage that barely eclipsed .500. The defense was showing signs of growth, but his offense was not providing the spark that the bench needed. The typical impact of Quickley throughout his career had been the on-off numbers, but even that was taking a dip as that figure sat in the negatives with his time on the court. You couldn’t point to much that was working.
Something changed with the team and Quickley once the calendar turned to December. A lot of coverage has surrounded the improved defense, the shifting of the rotation and the superb play of Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle. This is the point in time in which Quickley became the unequivocal 3rd best player on the team.
The impact metrics painted him as a star by season’s end– he ranked in the 88th percentile in estimated plus-minus, which is one of the in vogue stats of the NBA community. RAPTOR and LEBRON, other statistics that measure impact, liked Quickley even more by putting him in the 90th percentile among players in the NBA. The numbers account for the season as a whole, which shows how amazingly Quickley played over the last few months.
The counting stats weren’t shabby, either. The former Kentucky Wildcat averaged 17 points per game over the last five months of the season while shooting nearly 39 percent on his 3-point attempts. He had the best assist/turnover ratio on the team during that stretch with a net rating of 6.9, which would have ranked as the best among teams in the NBA. He nearly doubled his shot attempts per game while pumping up his efficiency to the second best mark on the team. The Knicks don’t reach 47 wins without him and they certainly don’t sustain a top-3 offense, either.
The Bad
The playoffs were not a pretty picture for Quickley.
He seemed out of sorts from the get-go in the New York Knicks matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He played 24 total minutes, but he had some uncharacteristic turnovers during his time in the first game. The three turnovers and zero made field goals were a surprise that seemed to indicate nerves, but it was only a game. Stuff happens in the first game in the playoffs to a young player.
The blowout of game two gave a false sense of how he would fare during the rest of the playoffs. The guard scored 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter in a game where they trailed by more than 20 points entering the period. Of course you could point to this being part of what led to him having his best game of the postseason during the first night of playoff basketball at Madison Square Garden. This is where Quickley posted over 10 points and hit four of his six shots from the floor. It would be the only game in the playoffs that he shot over 50 percent from the floor.
The ball handling became exploitable along with his inability to generate his own shot. The game seemed fast for Quickley in both series which raised the question of whether he could be an indispensable part of a team that makes a run in the playoffs. The question is fair and warrants discussion. It is part of the calculation that the team will have to make as the extension looms over the front office’s decision making this summer.
The fact that he can play on both ends of the court makes him more coveted, but does it change if he plays as a key cog off of the bench versus being a fixture in the starting lineup? Quickley referenced his desire to start at some point in his career. The team will have to pay him as such if they want to retain his services.
When we look back at his deal it’ll be interesting to wonder whether the playoffs were a mere footnote in an excellent season or a serious driver of hitting on the low end of his expected contract figure.
Tom Rende, Contributor
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomrende/2023/05/26/did-immanuel-quickleys-playoff-performance-cost-him-a-100-million-contract/
By: Tom Rende, Contributor
Title: Did Immanuel Quickley’s Playoff Performance Cost Him A $100 Million Contract?
Sourced From: www.forbes.com/sites/tomrende/2023/05/26/did-immanuel-quickleys-playoff-performance-cost-him-a-100-million-contract/
Published Date: 05-27-2023
Frequently Asked Questions
Who invented the game of basketball?
While the origins of basketball are not known, many believe that James Naismith invented it in 1891, while he was a teacher at Springfield College, now the International Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), Training School. Naismith wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto an elevated track. He broke his class down into nine teams, and then began to teach his new game "Basket Ball" to his students. The original version was played with a soccerball and two peach baskets, which were attached to each side of the gym. Players could only shoot at the basket from below; goaltending was not yet a part of the game. The game quickly spread throughout America and, by the 1900s was an organized sport with professional players playing in large arenas. It is now one of most popular sports around the world.
Which NBA star has the highest score?
The answer is subjective as each player has a different style of play which makes them unique and successful. Kevin Durant and LeBron James are some of the most popular options for NBA's top scorer.
Kevin Durant is not just a shooting star, he's an all-around offensive machine! This player is a serious player with two NBA Championships, 2 Finals MVPs, and a regular season MVP title.
What does NBA waive?
A team can officially release a player from their roster if they have "waived". This can happen for any number of reasons, including salary cap concerns or disciplinary action. A player who is waived becomes an unrestricted agent and can sign for any team in the league. They are not eligible for the postseason if they are waived after March 1.
What is the biggest rivalry in the NBA?
The NBA's largest rivalry is held between the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Boston Celtics.
With 12 meetings, the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers have been together the most of any NBA Finals teams. The Celtics have won nine of those meetings. Their first meeting took place in 1959. They both excelled over the next years, especially during 1960s-80s, when they would encounter each other six times and then three times. They still met twice in that same year, despite the fact that 2000 was a new millennium.
Statistics
- The opening game of the 2020 Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat brought in only 7.41 million viewers to ABC, according to The Hollywood Reporter. (en.wikipedia.org)
- Between 2012 and 2019, the league lost 40 to 45 percent of its viewership. (en.wikipedia.org)
- "NBA first-round ratings drop 27 percent, 40 percent since 2017–18". (en.wikipedia.org)
- Meanwhile, the opening night rosters include a record-setting 234 players with some G League experience, according to the NBA ( Twitter link ). (hoopsrumors.com)
- The 2013–14 season opened with 92 international players on the opening night rosters, representing 39 countries and over 20 percent of the league. (en.wikipedia.org)
External Links
bleacherreport.com
- Which NBA Team Will Participate In the Victor Wembanyama Tathon?
- Latest NBA Intel: Sources Say Zach LaVine Will Sign with Chicago Bulls
si.com
sbnation.com
basketball-reference.com
- Thomas Bryant Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com
- Dennis Schroder Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com
How To
How can I prepare for an NBA Game Experience?
The best way to prepare yourself for an NBA event is to make sure you have the right seats. Tickets can be purchased through the team's website, or an online third-party seller. You should also plan ahead to learn about the arena policies. This will ensure that you aren't in any misinformation. To beat the rush and warm up, arrive early to the arena. Purchase team merchandise, such as a shirt, or hat, if needed. Make sure to bring your camera, binoculars and a tripod to capture the action on the court. You might also consider other entertainment options, such as a concert, or special event at halftime, if the action is too intense for you. Enjoy the game.
