The New York Knicks are trading Obi Toppin to the Indiana Pacers for two second-round picks, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Toppin, a college star at Dayton, was the No. 8 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft by the Knicks. However, his selection coincided with the rise of Julius Randle, who has surprisingly emerged as a two-time All-Star at Toppin's position of power forward. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau is notorious for playing his starters more minutes than most teams, so Toppin has struggled to earn playing time in New York.
Across three seasons with the Knicks, Toppin averaged just seven points in 14.7 minutes per game. However, in 15 career regular-season starts, he has averaged 20.6 points per game. Thibodeau may not have wanted to use him, but he clearly had more to offer than he was able to show in New York. Toppin is one of the NBA's best dunkers, and few big men run the floor as aggressively as he does. He has started to develop a more reliable 3-point shot in recent years as well, making 34.4% of his looks on 3.7 attempts per game last season.
In Indiana, Toppin lands on an ideal roster for his skill set. The Pacers just extended All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who should be able to throw him plenty of alley-oop passes and run the floor with him in transition. Myles Turner is one of the best rim-protectors in the NBA, which should help protect Toppin on defense, and Indiana's free agent addition of Bruce Brown only strengthens its defense around him. He should be able to receive plenty of minutes for Rick Carlisle next season.
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The Knicks, meanwhile, move on from Toppin right as he becomes eligible for a contract extension. Fellow 2020 draftee Immanuel Quickley is also extension-eligible, and the Knicks are likely prioritizing new deals for him and deadline acquisition Josh Hart on their long-term balance sheet. With Toppin gone, the Knicks will likely have to rely on some smaller lineups when Randle sits, but given their strong guard play last season, that is a loss that they seemingly believe they can sustain.
