Knicks give RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley warm welcome in MSG returns

NEW YORK — The Knicks and their fans went out of their way to celebrate the return of Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett, who each played at Madison Square Garden Saturday night for the first time since being traded to the Toronto Raptors for OG Anunoby the last time. month.

The Knicks rolled to a 126-100 victory, improving to 9-2 since the start of 2024 – which coincided with Anunoby's debut with the Knicks.

“It was great to come back,” said Quickley, who had 12 points and 11 assists in 31 minutes. “Obviously we didn't get the result we wanted… [but] just seeing everyone there where I started my professional career was pretty cool.”

Quickley and Barrett each received standing ovations during the player introductions and then during a tribute video played during the first media timeout. Barrett, the No. 3 overall pick in 2019, had openly wondered in the days leading up to his return whether the Knicks would give him a tribute video and admitted he was pleasantly surprised to get it.

“It was incredible,” Barrett, who had 20 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, said of the fans’ reception. “Thanks to the fans, of course. We had a tribute video. … I didn't think we were going to have that. It was cool.

“I'm very grateful for my time here. Coming back had a lot of emotions, for sure. But it was fun to come back and play basketball again.”

The exchange was seen as a victory for both teams, which could have helped create a very friendly atmosphere before, during and after Saturday night's competition.

Before the match, Barrett and Quickley both received many warm greetings from familiar faces inside the arena. In the opening moments of the game, both players had moments of celebration, each scoring six points in the first six minutes of the first quarter. But Jalen Brunson, who led New York with 38 points, and the Knicks continued to blow the game away in the second half.

Afterward, Barrett, Quickley and their former teammates spoke about their respective bonds. Julius Randle, who had a triple-double of 18 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists, explained that he will follow the performances of Barrett and Quickley “forever”.

“These guys have special talents,” Randle said. “It's a special relationship that I've built with them. I know they talk about how much I meant to them, but they mean a lot to me, to be honest. Talking about leadership, about how I carry myself , about being open, how to be honest, how to be motivated – those are things that I didn't necessarily have in play vocally. I always wanted to lead by example, just play hard every night.

“But these guys with me brought out another side of me. … The relationship I have with them is extremely special.”

Still, the deal made sense for everyone involved when it was made late last month, and Saturday night's game showed why. Anunoby slotted in perfectly alongside Brunson and Randle, providing elite defense and low-usage spot-up shooting to perfectly complement New York's most-used stars — both of whom have been on a tear as of late.

Anunoby is now plus-190 in 404 minutes for the Knicks since the trade, by far the best individual plus-minus mark in the NBA over that span. And New York, which is 9-2 since Anunoby's arrival, fell from eighth place in the East at the end of 2023 to fifth place after Saturday night's action.

“Yeah, I’m impressed,” Anunoby deadpans. “I always want to have an impact on winning. So I want to continue to have a good plus-minus.”

Quickley, meanwhile, was going to become a restricted free agent this summer and wanted to get a starting point guard job somewhere. He will hold the title for the foreseeable future in Toronto, alongside rising star forward Scottie Barnes. Barrett, who was uncomfortable at times playing alongside Brunson and Randle, is expected to spend more time with the ball in his hands with the Raptors. He is also the first active Canadian national team star to wear the uniform of the Canadian NBA franchise.

Toronto now moves forward with Barnes, 22, Barrett, 23, and Quickley, 24, as the core of its team, as well as potentially three first-round picks in June's NBA draft after trades . Pascal Siakam at the Indiana Pacers earlier this week.

“It definitely takes time,” Quickley said of replicating the relationships he had in New York with Barnes and others in Toronto. “It's like meeting a new girl. You can't just…you have to take the time to get to know her. You have to take her out to eat, stuff like that.

“You're not just going to walk up to her and say, 'Let's get married.' It's not going to work. No, it's going to happen. Rome wasn't built in a day. We have to keep working, individually and as a team, we have to keep trying to take action, and if we keep cutting wood and transporting water, we will get there.