Immanuel Quickley extension: John Calipari reacts to former Kentucky star's new contract with Raptors
John Calipari couldn’t be more proud of former Kentucky star Immanuel Quickley after the Toronto Raptors guard inked a massive extension on Friday.
After beginning his career with the New York Knicks, Quickley was dealt to Toronto as part of a trade to send OG Anunoby back to the Knicks in the middle of the 2024 season. After less than half a year playing for the team, the Raptors decided to sign Quickley to an immense five-year deal.
“ESPN Sources: Guard Immanuel Quickley intends to sign a five-year, $175 million contract to stay with the Toronto Raptors,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Friday. “Quickley arrived in trade with Knicks and established himself as a cornerstone player for Toronto.”
After the news broke, Quickley’s former coach with the Wildcats took to social media to heap praise on the stud point guard. Check out what Calipari wrote below.
“I’m so happy for Immanuel Quickly and his new contract,” Calipari posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “He’s truly a player that builds culture within an organization. He lived in the gym and believed in the process. HE BET ON HIMSELF!!! I’m happy for @IQ_GodSon and the @Raptors!”
As you can tell, Quickley made an impressive impression on Caliapri during his tenure with the Wildcats, and even though he won’t be coaching in Lexington any longer, there’s a ton of love between the coach and his former guard.
Moreover, Quickley played 38 games in a Raptor uniform this past season, averaging 18.6 points per game. He also converted on exactly 39.5% of his 3-pointers both in Toronto and in New York this past season.
Meanwhile, the Raptors as a whole are certainly a rebuilding team, but Toronto is spending money hand over fist. They just handed out that mega-deal to Quickley and also inked Scottie Barnes to a five-year extension worth $224 million, and still have three other guys on the hook for nearly $70 million combined in RJ Barrett, Bruce Brown and Jakob Poeltl.
Brown’s price is steep at $23 million a year for effectively a role player, but Toronto does have a team option on him, so they can cut him loose if they’d like. Other than him, though, a lot of the pieces are locked down.
Regardless, the moment between John Calipari and Immanuel Quickley will make Kentucky fans smile, and it’s something that the former Wildcats guard will be happy when he sees pop up on his notifications.
On3’s Alex Weber contributed to this article.