While the NBA Finals are still going, 28 other teams are already focused on next season. The Knicks are one of them, and they have a couple of decisions to make regarding Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley.
New York’s biggest current storyline/rumor is whether newly-crowned NBA MVP Joel Embiid will stay with the Philadelphia 76ers or not. There are also many people who want Julius Randle to play elsewhere next year. But, there is more work to do on the roster outside of these two things.
Players from the 2020 NBA Draft Class are eligible to sign rookie scale extensions during the offseason. Teams have until late October to decide whether they’d like to extend eligible players or not. If they don’t, those players will be eligible for restricted free agency during the summer of 2024.
The Knicks have two such players who can get an extension this offseason in Toppin and Quickley. Keith Smith of Spotrac provided his predictions for the entire 2020 rookie class. Here’s what he had to say about the Knicks players on his list.
Obi Toppin
Toppin’s career has been spent as a low-minutes backup behind Julius Randle. There’s very much still a mystery box quality to his game. He’s flashed when given time, but those flashes aren’t extension-worthy…unless he’s traded ahead of the extension deadline.
Prediction: No extension, unless he’s traded. Then, four years and $70 million seems like a worthy gamble as an upside bet.
While playing 15.7 minutes per night during the 2022-23 season, Toppin averaged 7.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.0 assists for the Knicks.
Immanuel Quickley
Quickley is a really fun player. He’s a scoring machine and a solid defender. He’d probably start for a handful of teams around the NBA. The challenge with the Knicks is that starting him and Jalen Brunson would be a tiny backcourt. That keeps Quickley in a bench role, and that limits his upside contract-wise. But the Knicks would do well to get him signed long-term. Something bridging his current role with his potential makes sense, as New York loves to add incentives into their contracts.
Prediction: Four years, $84 million with incentives that could bring it up to $90 million, no options
Quickley averaged a career-high 28.9 minutes per night with New York this past season. It’s the second straight year his playing time has increased — both in minutes per night and total games played. He also put up career-high marks in points scored (14.9), rebounds (4.2), and steals (1.0), while also averaging 3.4 assists.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
