East Notes: Raptors, Immanuel Quickley, Celtics, Cavs

Raptors

The contract extension for Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley was, to say the least, a bit of a surprise. Not that he received the extension — but for the length and amount of money.

It was something covered in great length by John Hollinger of The Athletic.

“I think Quickley is an above-average player: He’s a good shooter, an underrated defender and a nearly Kyle Lowry-esque foul grifter,” Hollinger wrote. “Advanced metrics love him, and, at 25, he’s still young enough to get better.

“That said, his transition from playing mostly off the ball in New York to mostly on it in Toronto was a bit hard on the eyes at the end of last season, more than the top-line numbers make it look. The $32.5 million he’ll make this season is just barely south of the $35.1 million max for a player with four years of experience; he actually can get within a few centimeters of that max if his incentives come through.

“For a player of Quickley’s caliber, that’s … wow. He’s basically making the same money this year as James Harden!”

It is indeed hard to know what the plan is for the Raptors. Overpaying for players such as Quickley is probably not a great idea when it comes to becoming anything more than a play-in team.

Celtics

Not surprisingly, the Celtics were picked to emerge from the Eastern Conference in a predictions piece from ESPN insiders.

The 76ers, Knicks and Bucks were listed as the top challengers — also not a surprise. The Cavaliers and Pacers were nowhere to be found.

“Jayson Tatum signed one of the largest contracts in NBA history this offseason and Boston will return eight rotation players from last season’s title team, including Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Al Horford and Jrue Holiday,” ESPN wrote. “However, an expensive roster and a potential sale of a majority stake of the team could be the catalysts that halts a possible dynasty. The Celtics are clear favorites in our forecast to return to the Finals, but who can stop them from achieving their 19th title?”

ESPN also predicts that the Celtics will repeat as champs.

“Boston has everything it needs to become the NBA’s next dynasty: two All-NBA wings in Tatum and Brown, two All-Defense guards in Holiday and White, a matchup nightmare in center Kristaps Porzingis and a versatile big man in Horford,” the outlet wrote.

Cavaliers

For the record, ESPN picked the Cavs to finish 50-32 and for the third straight year, with the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.

“After much speculation about the potential disbandment of the Cavaliers’ backcourt of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, they return a strong starting five that includes twin bigs Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley,” the outlet wrote.

ESPN pegged Cleveland to finish behind the Celtics, Knicks and Sixers, respectively, but ahead of the Central Division-rival Bucks.

• In case you missed it, the Cavs are tipping off training camp at IMG Academy in Florida. We have that full story here.
• Also, to the surprise of some, they will return to Bally Sports for regional broadcasts, we we wrote here.