Immanuel Quickley might be one of the oddest players in the entire Raptors outlook.
Here's a guy who the Raptors saw a lot of potential in as a young, still rather unproven starting caliber guard in this league, but took the massive swing to let go of their defensive stalwart OG Anunoby to take a chance on Quickley's services.
As NBA insider Zach Lowe discussed on his YouTube show, specifically in the July 10 episode titled "Max Extensions, Zach’s WTF Teams with Rob Mahoney & The Debut of Mets Corner with Sean Fennessey," he made the following comments about the 26-year-old Raptors guard:
Raptors caught in a tough spot regarding Immanuel Quickley
"I remember people being like 'Well, he's the best player in the OG Anunoby trade.' Like real NBA media people were saying that, like he was the reason the Raptors made that trade. That's fine. That's one thing. RJ Barrett was kind of like you got to take them throwin. But then there was a lot of chatter about like, oh, secretly like 'You don't know because you're not an NBA diehard, but Quickley is the gem of the trade.'"Zach Lowe
"... And I remember saying on my podcast, like, apologies to Immanuel Quickley. I like him. He was in my most intriguing players column a couple years ago. OG Anunoby is the best player in the trade. Like, I'm sorry. And Quickley has done essentially nothing as a Raptor due to health issues."Zach Lowe
It was clear when Toronto made this huge splash that pairing OG Anunoby long-term alongside Scottie Barnes did not seem like a feasible option to the front office. This later led to them parting ways with Pascal Siakam not long after. So, rather than letting Anunoby walk for nothing or being forced into paying him a costly extension that he was rightfully due, the Raptors bit the bullet on Quickley coming over and paid him handsomely, as we all know, signing him to a five-year, $175 million contract (or $32.5 million annually).
And as Lowe said about Quickley, he's not a horrible player by any means; he certainly has shown and evolved into the talent that Toronto envisioned alongside Scottie Barnes. However, you cannot disregard the high number attached to his name and the endless injury issues that have kept him from consistent playing time.
Other NBA analysts like Ryen Russillo have constantly brought up this idea: you like Quickley until you start thinking about what you have to pay him. And unfortunately for the Raptors, they might have been too trigger-happy in their handling of IQ, shelling out a number way too high for what he's actually worth.
The optimistic side of thinking when it comes to Quickley is that he'll suddenly experience a surge this upcoming season. However, given the addition of Brandon Ingram and the overall somewhat misshapen roster, it'd be hard to bank on that prediction becoming a reality. If Quickley just manages to stay healthy and averages around 16, 17, or 18+ points, along with five or six assists, is Raptors Nation truly satisfied with just accepting the bare minimum from such an expensive asset?
I think, overall, the outcome of the Quickley situation will simply reflect the bleak position this new generation of Raptors might have shot themselves in the foot with.