Former Knicks Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett showered with love from fans in their return to MSG
Raptors guard RJ Barrett and guard Immanuel Quickley look on before coming onto the court for the tipoff against the Knicks in an NBA game at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
As the player introductions began Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, the crowd loudly booed the first name, Gary Trent. The boos grew louder for Scottie Barnes and Jontay Porter. And after a brief pause, it all changed, with the fans standing and cheering loudly for Immanuel Quickley and deafeningly loud for RJ Barrett.
There isn’t a championship banner to commemorate their time in New York. There are no All-Star appearances or All-NBA honors. But for two homegrown former first-round picks, the return to Madison Square Garden three weeks after being traded to the Raptors came with nothing but love from both sides.
During the first timeout, the Knicks played a tribute video for the two, drawing another ovation from the crowd. Barrett raised an arm to acknowledge the cheers. Quickley never looked up, having moved on to his task at hand, skipping up the court after hitting his first shot.
While it has been a win-win trade in theory, with both franchises happy with the return in the deal, it has been much more of a win-now proposition for the Knicks, who entered Saturday’s game 8-2 since acquiring OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn for the two long-time Knicks.
In Toronto, it has been a different story, but a different goal. Barrett and Quickley are part of the future, along with Scottie Barnes, but little else is certain. On Wednesday, the Raptors dealt away two-time All-NBA forward Pascal Siakam, and team president Masai Ujiri said in a news conference Thursday that more trades certainly are on the way.
“That’s the challenge of our league,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said before the game. “There’s constant change. You have to adapt quickly. They also had another trade with Siakam going out, Bruce Brown coming in. So there’s constantly changing personnel. You factor in [Jacob] Poetl being out, a different style of play. You have to factor all that and you have to be ready to go.”
Barrett and Quickley certainly were. Barrett signed autographs, said hellos to the crowd and promised he’d post a farewell message once the game was over. He raced over as Julius Randle was warming up, embracing him in a bear hug. Quickley made a pilgrimage to offer hugs and hellos to Knicks executives Leon Rose and Gersson Rosas, along with assistant coaches Johnnie Bryant and Andy Greer.
“I’m trying to focus on the game as much as I can. I’ve already said it, I loved the fans, the New York fans, from Day 1, and I still do,” Barrett told reporters at the morning shootaround. “So whatever happens at the Garden, I appreciate them regardless.
“I think the one thing [I appreciated most here] was the fans. Sold out every night, it’s like a show at the Garden, with all the lights and everything that goes on. So I was always appreciative of that, I always loved playing in the Garden. But [Saturday] I’ll be a visitor, and I’m excited to see what that’s like.”
Barrett had expressed uncertainty this past week about how he would be received on his return, but there was no need to worry. Kristaps Porzingis was loudly booed when he came back to the Garden during Barrett’s rookie season — a reception that has continued to this day after the Knicks spread rumors at that time about why they had to deal their former lottery pick.
This iteration of the front office did no such thing this time, praising the work of the two players who helped them move from a long-time lottery team to a team that became a playoff series winner last year — and one that now is talked about as a possible contender with the arrival of Anunoby.
“RJ and Quick were terrific,” Thibodeau said. “Nothing but love and respect for the both of them. We’re thrilled to have OG. Malachi and Precious as well. Those decisions are tough decisions and both organizations have to do what’s best for their team.
“Yeah, just great guys, great workers, gym rats, they’re going to be in [the gym]. Really upbeat guys, handle themselves with a lot of class. And just continually got better. And will continue to do so.”
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.
