Immanuel Quickley says goodbye to New York following trade

You know you’re a special talent when your departure makes World Wide Wes cry. That was the case when Immanuel Quickley was traded from New York to Toronto on Dec. 30, ending his four-year career with the Knicks.

In a goodbye message titled Dear New York with The Players’ Tribune, the former Wildcat broke down his emotions following the first trade of his time in the NBA. He’ll be honest, the move left him speechless, overwhelmed and heartbroken. He’s still struggling to come up with the words to describe his feelings, that’s why he decided to write the letter.

Quickley talked about growing up quickly (no pun intended) in New York and the wake-up call he got when he first arrived in the big city.

“I’m still in a little bit of shock, if I’m being honest,” he wrote. “I grew up here, in a way. When I first got drafted, I had just turned 21. I felt like I was a little kid. I still remember that first day at the practice facility. So when you get there you get a practice jersey, right? The blue team is the starting five. And then the white team is the next five. Then you have the green jerseys and black jerseys, and those guys probably aren’t going to play very much or have to work their way into the rotation. Guess what I got??

“Man, they gave me a green. And listen, I’m straight. It’s all good. But you gotta understand, in my mind it’s like, I’ve gone from being a McDonald’s All-American to playing two years at Kentucky, winning SEC Player of the Year, first-round draft pick. And now I got on a green jersey. That was a wake-up call for me that I’ll never forget. It was humbling.”

Then he worked through his growing stardom with the Knicks, becoming a key bench piece for one of the league’s most popular franchises and embracing the spotlight that comes with it. Quickley averaged 11-plus points from day one and was putting up 15.0 points per game on 40% shooting from three this season before that phone call came. He had become a valuable trade chip in New York’s pursuit of a star who eventually became OG Anunoby. It’s a path for him to earn an expanded role and unleash his inner star, one working thus far — he’s averaging 19.0 points on 46.2% from three with 6.2 assists and 4.7 rebounds through six games with the Raptors.

It was a win-win for both sides. But he’ll always cherish his memories of life in the spotlight as a Knick.

“It’s funny thinking about the little ‘New York’ things that just become part of your normal, you know what I mean?” Quickley said. “When you play here, everybody know the Knicks, which mean everybody know you. I remember going to the white party. It was a whole bunch of superstars there, and people were coming up to me like, ‘Yo, Quick!!’ Man, 50 Cent grabbed me the other day while I was taking the ball out of bounds hahah. I got so used to seeing Spike, one of the last games I played with the team versus Brooklyn I hit back-to-back threes, fell on the ground, and without even thinking I just go up to Spike, dap him up and hug him. It was the funniest thing to me. Like, what else would you do?

“And at the time, it was just regular. Now, it means even more. That stuff I’ll remember forever.”

That was then and this is now. It’s an opportunity he has embraced and is extremely excited to take advantage of — and he’s off to a hot start.

“I’m not just looking forward to it — I’m excited about it,” he said. “The more I get my bearings, the more I can feel myself starting to get comfortable here. One thing I realized off the bat is that this team’s really close already, and even in my short time with the team so far, I can see myself fitting right in. It helps that the vets, they just welcome you with open arms. They make it really easy. The culture here is amazing. I would assume just from what I’ve seen, this has got to be one of the best organizations in the league as far as togetherness. Everybody’s really just one big family forreal. It’s really cool to see and be a part of. Knowing that they really wanted me here makes everything a lot easier.

“I just want the Raptors fans to know, if you’re reading this, I wouldn’t want to start my next chapter anywhere else.”

BBN was already proud of IQ in New York. That’ll only continue as he inches closer to stardom in Toronto.