Before trading away O.G. Anunoby, the Raptors were a team with talent that didn't fit particularly well together. They began the process of rectifying that issue by bringing in badly-needed guard help via Immanuel Quickley.
IQ's box score stats don't scream out at you — he was averaging 15.0 points and 2.5 assists per game on the Knicks this season — but stuck behind Jalen Brunson, he didn't get a chance to show his full potential in New York.
Toronto offers a chance for Quickley to showcase more of his skills. It's a great opportunity because of how well he fits alongside Scottie Barnes. They cover for each other's weaknesses, which should make them a nice long-term tandem.
MORE: O.G. Anunoby trade grades: Raptors get depth; Knicks get big talent upgrade
Why Immanuel Quickley is an ideal long-term fit with the Raptors
He can play both on and off the ball with Scottie Barnes
Anyone who has watched even a tiny amount of Raptors basketball over the past few seasons will be quick to tell you that their biggest offensive issue has been a lack of shooting. Barnes has been operating inside of a phone booth, which has made his ascension this year even more impressive.
Quickley should alleviate that burden in some obvious and not-so-obvious ways. He's a very good shooter, hitting 39.5 percent of his 3s for the Knicks this season. If teams help off him, he's going to make them pay, as he did in his debut.
Quickley is also a solid screener. He set a nice one on his own man to start the second half against the Cavs, leading to Pascal Siakam getting fouled on a lob dunk attempt.
So why is that important? Barnes feasts playing a bully ball style. The Raptors are going to use those two in screening actions for each other a lot to create mismatches, as the Knicks did with Quickley and Julius Randle.
If teams switch that screening action, then Barnes is strong enough to back down guards and Quickely is too dangerous of a shooter to bring help.
Quickley is a good-not-great passer, making him more adept as a secondary ball handler who can keep things moving. He can make simple drop-off passes in pick-and-rolls, like the one he gave to set up a Jakob Poeltl dunk on Monday.
Where Quickley excels is at keeping the defense off-balance via one of the best floaters in the league. Barnes can help create advantages for Quickley to get to that shot.
He is an extremely high-feel defender
Quickley is a good on-ball defender, but where he shines is in being the glue guy of a team's defense. His nickname, IQ, describes one of his best traits.
“The thing I love about Quick is that he’s smart. He’s very, very smart,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau told The Athletic's Fred Katz last year. “He understands what he has to do to help our team defense. I think it’s his greatest strength.”
The Raptors were uncharacteristically in the bottom half of the league in defensive rating before making their big trade. They had defensive talent — Barnes should compete for All-Defensive honors, Siakam has been a good defender in the past and Poeltl is a solid anchor. Those parts just didn't work because of a lack of connectedness.
Quickley should immediately help in that area. He is a very loud, very frequent communicator. You will see him constantly pointing out assignments and directing teammates where to go because he has an encyclopedic knowledge of the plays that other teams run and very good pattern recognition.
He displayed that in full force in his Raptors debut, breaking up some of the actions that the Cavs were trying to run.
Immanuel Quickley is going to bring really good off-ball defense to the Raptors. A couple of plays that stood out from his debut , turn 🔊 on: pic.twitter.com/PwiSRbZm5o
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) January 2, 2024
Quickley specializes in covering up holes, which should give Barnes even more freedom to roam around and wreak havoc. That is becoming one of Barnes' best skills — he's top 15 in deflections and No. 5 in steals this season.
Quickley also hustles his tail off as a transition defender and gets players matched up onto correct assignments. This is another area where the Raptors have needed improvement — they've ranked 14th in transition defense, per Cleaning the Glass.
The Raptors' defensive ethos has been to suffocate opponents with length at every position. While Quickley stands at only 6-2, he has a 6-9 wingspan that makes him a much tougher defender than he appears at first glance. He's a pest, which fits this team's defensive philosophy perfectly.
Toronto has had good luck in recent history with these types of undersized guards with oversized hearts. Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet both contributed winning plays that far exceeded their points per game. Quickley is in that same mold. He will make this team better than it was before.
