Immanuel Quickley rumors likely takes Raptors out of trade discussions with Knicks

The NBA Trade Deadline can create some strange bedfellows between teams who are looking to either improve quickly or start selling. The Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks have some friction, but could they still get a deal done if they can put those feelings aside?

Even as these two division rivals are embroiled in a nasty legal battle that has been bubbling for months, Masai Ujiri and Scott Perry would likely plug their noses and try to come to some sort of resolution if it means the Knicks can get a win-now move done and the Raptors can begin their rebuilding process.

One Knicks player that stands out as a player Toronto could target in either an OG Anunoby or Pascal Siakam trade is guard Immanuel Quickley, who needs a new contract and could be in search of a larger role that Jalen Brunson would never let him have. The latest rumors, however, hint that such a move is a total impossibility.

According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, Quickley has been "virtually absent from the early rumblings around the NBA" this trade season. While Evan Fournier's $18 million salary could be a possible trade chip, Toronto might not be interested as they try to acquire top young talent for either of their stars.

The Toronto Raptors might not trade for Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley.

Rumors from Fischer also claim that Quickley's camp is seeking close to $25 million per season in his next contract. That sounds like a lot of money for someone who has never averaged more than 14.9 points per game and has identical production to what he put up last season, but that's also the going rate for high-end point guard play.

In each of the last two seasons, Quickley has averaged 14.9 points per game and shot exactly 44.8% from the field. Raptors fans could get excited by the fact he is scoring like that despite getting a slight minutes reduction in a generally slow-moving offense behind the ball-dominant Brunson in the starting lineup.

Siakam and Anunoby may be on the move, with teams like Atlanta and Indiana showing some degree of interest. If the Knicks were willing to move the Christmas Day star and some of the dragon's horde of plunder they have in terms of future first-round picks, they could make for a very promising trade partner.

As it stands right now, trading with the Knicks seems like an avenue that Toronto would be better off not going down. Between their open hostility towards the Raptors and their unwillingness to trade the player Toronto would desire the most, New York seems like an unlikely landing spot for either of these stars.