Could Knicks sixth man Immanuel Quickley be on the move?
Immanuel Quickley #5 and Obi Toppin #1 of the Knicks react during the fourth quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Madison Square Garden on Friday, Nov. 25, 2022. Credit: Jim McIsaac
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — While the Knicks may have good reasons to shuffle their roster — it's crowded at some spots, pricey contract extensions are coming due for some players and it simply could be to try something new with a roster that seems stuck in mediocrity — Immanuel Quickley insisted he is not focused on the possibility that he could be one of the players on the move.
“Shoot, I didn't even know that,” Quickley said after the team’s morning shootaround. “I don't have nothing to say about it. I just worry about what I can control on the floor, and that's really all I worry about.”
A league source indicated that Quickley, who is stuck as the sixth man on the Knicks, would like to move to a better opportunity — particularly with the contract extension eligibility looming. But Quickley said, “I love being in New York.”
Slow burn
Entering Friday night, the Knicks had allowed only 81 and 89 points in the previous two games, which felt like a throwback to the 1990s Knicks teams.
“That’s how we’re going to win,” RJ Barrett said. “We’ve got to continue to try to do that every night. Playing a lot of defense, trying to make them use the whole shot clock. Whatever it is, it’s been like a grimy game. When it’s a grimy game like that, possessions are going to be smaller. But we’re getting it and we’re trying to go.”
The Knicks held Cleveland to 8-for-35 shooting from three-point range and followed that up with Atlanta shooting just 6-for-36 from beyond the arc.
“It’s been a compilation of things,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I think adding a couple guys in, [Quentin] Grimes is very good guarding multiple positions, [Miles] McBride same thing. But overall our team has been very good in terms of defensive field goal percentage all year.”
Injury updates
The Knicks remained without Obi Toppin (non-displaced fracture, right fibula) and Ryan Arcidiacano (ankle) . . . The Hornets were without LaMelo Ball, Gordon Hayward, Dennis Smith Jr., Cody Martin and Mark Williams.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
