New York Knicks Utilize Team Options For Three Recent First-Round Picks
Beginning the 2022-23 season with a 2-1 record, the New York Knicks are looking to prove that they have what it takes to make it back to the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
Depth will end up being the key to success for this team and on Wednesday, the Knicks opted into their team options on three different players contracts, all of which are recent first-round picks of the team.
Obi Toppin, the 8th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, and Immanuel Quickley, the 25th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, each had the fourth and final year of their contracts picked up by the Knicks. Quentin Grimes, the 25th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, also had the third-year of his contract picked up by the Knicks on Tuesday, the team announced.
Toppin and Quickley have each worked their way into New York’s rotations over the years and Quickley has really made a name for himself as being one of the better bench players on this team. Through his first two seasons in the league, Immanuel Quickley has averaged 11.4 points and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 36.5 percent from three-point range.
As for Obi Toppin, his minutes have fluctuated quite a bit during his first two seasons in the league, but he held a big role for the Knicks near the end of the 2021-22 season and the team is hopeful that he can continue to develop into an impact player behind All-Star forward Julius Randle.
Like Quickley, Quentin Grimes is a guard that the Knicks are very high on simply because of his two-way play and high basketball IQ. Grimes does not make many mistakes with the ball in his hands and his ability to defend out on the perimeter is why he is a candidate to possibly move into a starter’s role in the backcourt by the end of the 2022-23 season.
The Knicks have done well for themselves in the draft the last couple of seasons and building a sustainable, long-term core is this franchise's main goal right now. Quickley, Toppin and Grimes present a path to long-term success for this organization, which is why the Knicks had no reason not to pick up the team options on all of their contracts.
The New York Knicks will play next on Wednesday night in Madison Square Garden against the Charlotte Hornets.
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