In today’s NBA era, players do not like sitting out for games and often express frustration when their team’s coaching hinders their playing minutes on the floor. However, for the New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley, this doesn’t seem like a problem. Quickley has played 23.9 minutes per game this season, averaging 15.1 points, 26 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. The main reason Quickley gets staggered minutes of play is that Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is fielding a rather erratic lineup for every game.
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During last night’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Coach Thibs seemingly turned his back on Quickley, who has been in a rather heated form this season. Instead, the Knicks coach fielded a struggling RJ Barrett while the Knicks were trailing by seven points. The game resulted in an eventual 129-120 win for OKC, perhaps because of the visible coaching errors from the Knicks’ side.
It’s quite commendable how Quickley has maintained professionalism in his current situation and performs for his team whenever given the chance. Following the game against OKC, fans started reacting to the loss and are calling out Coach Thibs for ‘misusing’ Quickley, especially when there are no updates on renewing his rookie contract.
One such reaction caught the attention of Quickley’s aunt, who posted the same on her X (now Twitter) timeline, reposted by a fan account, Knicks Muse, on X.
Immanuel Quickley entered this season failing to reach an agreement with the Knicks to extend his rookie contract. Though the Knicks had eagerly extended contracts of their other stars, such as Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, and Josh Hart, earlier, it seems like they might be gambling heavy by letting go of perhaps the best player on their bench at the moment.
During last night’s game against OKC, Quickley had an impressive stat line of 22 points, 2 assists, and 7-10 FG, which very well rests his case in favor of an extension. Perhaps this season, the fans might wonder about the looming future of a young star who can probably lead New York to wonderous heights in the league in the upcoming games and seasons.
Jonathan Kuminga expressed his frustration over staggered minutes with the Golden State Warriors
Unlike Immanuel Quickley, Jonathan Kuminga has been vocal about his staggered minutes of play with the Golden State Warriors. The young forward is averaging 12.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game this season from a 50% field goal percentage. Furthermore, Kuminga has also scored in double-digits in ten straight games, the longest streak in his career. However, despite being in red hot form, his dwindling minutes on the floor have confused him of hitting a ceiling with his play.
Speaking to The Athletic on this note, the Warriors’ forward said,
“Sometimes, I come out the game not knowing what I did. And that messes with my head. It’s like, ‘What they want me to do?’ I can pass and I can do different s—.”
It is worth noting that Kuminga has directly contributed to the recent successes of the Dubs. In fact, whenever Kuminga is on the floor, the Warriors are easily one of the most dynamic and competitive teams in the Western Conference.
Regarding Kuminga’s comments, head coach Steve Kerr said, “I don’t mind those comments at all.” While it seems Kerr has considered Kuminga’s issue, there is a wider disconnect between the players and the coaching staff if a player feels confused about his staggered minutes of play. However, as Michael Wagaman of NBC Sports Bay Area reported, Kerr seems to be rather favoring Andrew Wiggin over JK, given the varying requirements of the game.
While Kuminga emanates confidence to prove his capabilities with a given chance, his opportunities only seem to fluctuate game-to-game. Furthermore, given that Kuminga is also playing his third year without a contract extension, chances might seem perennial for him to exit the Bay Area as a free agent the very next summer.
