Knicks make surprising trade target available for Raptors to swipe

The Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks may not look like two teams that are that far apart, but Toronto going 9-7 while half the rotation got hurt is slightly more impressive than Tom Thibodeau starting off 8-7 following a big offseason spending spree.

Julius Randle puts up good numbers, but the fanbase is still sour on him. RJ Barrett was on fire in the second half of last season, but he’s regressed a bit this year. The Knicks could look to switch things up behind Jalen Brunson, meaning that a trade could be coming.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, New York is willing to listen to trade offers on guards like Derrick Rose and Immanuel Quickley. With the wing depth in disarray, one of these Brunson backups could be traded away in search of some more immediate help elsewhere.

Toronto will assuredly look for some scoring help before the trade deadline, so why not get a head start by adding Quickley to the mix? Running him out with the second unit could give the Raptors a valuable spark. With his contract expiring soon, this doesn’t necessarily have to be a long-term commitment.

Toronto Raptors trade rumors: Immanuel Quickley makes tons of sense.

Quickley has averaged 11.1 points and 2.9 assists per game in his career, as the former Kentucky product has blinding speed with the ball and solid passing instincts. He possesses creativity in isolation situations that some of Toronto’s bench players simply lack.

Dalano Banton did score 27 points against the Pistons, and fellow third-year guard Malachi Flynn has had his moments, but Quickley far exceeds both of them offensively. Even when all of their big names come back from injury, Toronto could use this scoring pop when things get hairy. His defense has been nothing short of sublime this year.

Quickley’s poor shooting percentages are what will likely scare teams away. He has never made more than 40% of his shots in any given season, and his 3-point percentage has dipped below 30% this season. Nick Nurse would have another project shooter that he needs to work with if Ujiri gets this deal done.

Considering how the stigma around inter-division trades has weakened lately, the Knicks and Raptors may actually have all the pieces necessary to get some sort of trade struck. Quickley has his flaws, but he has the juice a beat-up Raptors team needs in the worst way.