Being traded is never easy, especially for a young player like Immanuel Quickley experiencing it for the first time.
On Thursday, the new Toronto Raptors point guard fully discussed the trade in an article on The Players Tribune.
For Quickley, the hardest part of the trade was the fact that he was completely blindsided by the news.
“I mean, there were no rumours, no nothing,” Quickley wrote. “Just woke up from a nap on a road trip, in a random hotel room in Indiana, to a text from my agent, Raymond Brothers, saying, ‘Call me. You’re getting traded.’ Direct, quick, no warning. You get a text like that, and your heart just sinks.”
Quickley admitted that his initial reaction to the trade was filled with some doubts.
“I won’t lie, when I first heard where I was headed, I was like, I don’t know if it’s going to work,” Quickley said. “Who’s gonna be there? Where am I going to live? I just didn’t know anything.”
But after the dust settled, Raptors fans will be happy to know Quickley is now excited about the opportunity in front of him.
“I can see the bigger picture,” Quickley said. “I see the opportunity for a larger role, which was kind of a reason that it worked out for both teams. The Knicks got what they wanted, and it helped me to be in a position to show what I can do on a night-to-night basis, which I’m really looking forward to.”
Quickley did mention the future, but the majority of the article was him thanking the Knicks organization and taking a trip down memory lane.
“More than anything, I just gotta say, ‘Thank you,’ to the whole Knicks organization from top to bottom, for taking a chance on me and believing in me enough to take me in the first round” Quickley wrote. “Thanks, Leon Rose and Scott Perry, and the whole front office. Thibs (coach Tom Thibodeau Jr.), thank you for trusting me in big moments. You treated me with nothing but respect and love, through the ups and downs.”
Quickley made sure to remind Knicks fans of all the good times, in hopes of easing the sting of losing such a talented young player.
But now, he’s focused on the future.
“I just want the Raptors fans to know, if you’re reading this, I wouldn’t want to start my next chapter anywhere else.”
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