‘This motivates me to be better’ : Quickley on new deal and the future of the Raptors

‘This motivates me to be better’ : Quickley on new deal and the future of the Raptors

congratulations Emanuel um we’ll start with the contract uh what does a deal like this mean to you and to your family means everything uh obviously you work hard your whole life to be able to take care of your family take care of others um and just really just trying to make an impact in society make an impact in other people’s lives I think this is a big step for me everybody sees the basketball part but you know taking care of your family is a big part of this so just want to continue to keep getting better continue to you know add things to Toronto add things to the city and you know bring them you know great great days it didn’t take long for you and the Raptors to come to terms and the last time that we saw you here in Toronto you you were pretty clear that your Hope was to be back did you consider other options in free agency or was the plan always to return to Toronto I think the ultimate plan was always to come back to Toronto obviously business is business but I think just being here you know I felt comfortable I felt like I wanted to be here and the team wanted me here so just really you know Finding ways to like I said continue to get better keep the main thing the main thing and uh I’m looking forward to it I’m looking forward to a great season what is it about the city the team and the organization that made it such a great fit for you one the mindset of the team the mindset of the organization you know is that of a winning culture they won a championship just about 5 six years ago so obviously they know what they’re doing they know what it takes and I feel like you know I’ve been part of winning you know in my short time in the NBA as well so just trying to get back to the playoffs get back to winning that’s a big thing that Messiah was talking about and just trying to be having that mindset to you you know not accept failure not accept losing and uh I think that’s what you know what we embody so you come here from New York last year where you played a different role and you were asked to do things here that you hadn’t really at least not full-time in the NBA to this point what do you think you showed people over those last few months of the season and did you learn anything about yourself in that time yeah you know once I’m done playing I want to be able to say that I you know took every challenge you know head on and you know I didn’t try to you know Skip any steps or anything like that so uh you know this past season I feel like I showed that I can you know run a team and you know help facilitate things obviously Scotty plays along with the ball as well but just you know help run a team and uh just show that you know I can you know lead a team and you know help help guys get wins and and help this team get wins you did such a strong last few weeks to the season how much has that momentum translated to the summer and how much has I guess the New Deal kind of added that motivation for you to to get in the gym and and take your game to the next level yeah a lot of guys on get paid they you know they kind of settle down chill out but I think things like this you know motivate me to do better uh whether it’s failure or success you know you can use it as motivation uh to continue to get better to continue to work on your game and I want to be one of the best so I’m going continue to you know keep doing that I’ll ask you about your co-star and the guy that you share the stage with today you and Scotty only played 25 games last year but in that time what did you learn about him and how do you guys compliment each other as players com compliment each other great you know from day one I’ve been saying that you know either one of us can play on or off the ball uh we both take pride on you know both sides of the ball playing defense as well and uh he play he takes the best match of every night which is rare for you know a superstar Talent like him so uh it’s great to have somebody like that great to have somebody that comes in every day and is willing to work willing to you know help his teammates get better and has a great attitude as well now your team has been busy this summer but I’ll ask you about your old team as well they’ve been busy I know you’re focused on what you guys are doing here but what were your reactions to some of the moves that New York man uh business is business free agency you know nothing too crazy uh looking forward to what we got going on here so uh but you know you know free agency is always crazy so you know happy for all my guys that you know got paid this summer and look forward to playing against them this Raptor team is a team still in the early stages of a rebuild and Messi has said that he doesn’t want to rush the process for you I know you and Scotty are both competitors you want to win how do you balance patience and development and growth with that desire to see that tangible process uh to see see the tangible progress result in wins I think just coming coming in with a daily mindset to get better uh don’t skip any days don’t you know Skip any steps every day you have to come in with a mindset that you’re coming in and dominate and have that mentality and I think if you do that you give yourself a chance to do something special congrats again IQ enjoy the rest of the offseason and best of luck we’ll see you in train again great [Music] year for

Immanuel Quickley joins Josh Lewenberg fresh off re-signing a five-year, $175 million contract with the Raptors. He explains why he wanted to stay in Toronto and discusses the outlook for this team as it looks for a fresh start.