Knicks insider shares opinion on former lottery pick

The New York Knicks have rebranded their reputation across the NBA since hiring GM Leon Rose in 2020. Once considered an incompetent franchise by the harshest critics, that has since been quelled, but that doesn’t mean it’s come without any mistakes. 

SNY’s Ian Begley was asked in his recent Q&A mailbag what mistakes he thinks the Knicks have made recently, to which Begley responded with the team’s decision on a former fan favorite.

“The one I look at is Obi Toppin,” Begley said. “Toppin never had a clear path to significant minutes because he was behind an All-NBA player in Julius Randle. The Knicks then traded Toppin for a minimal return and he developed into an important rotation player for the Eastern Conference champion Pacers.”

Toppin was drafted 8th overall by the Knicks in the 2020 NBA Draft. His developmental growth was stunted during his Knicks tenure due to the rise of Julius Randle to becoming an All-NBA talent, which coincided with Toppin’s arrival. 

In three seasons with the Knicks, Toppin averaged 7.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game in 201 appearances (15 starts). He was later traded to the Indiana Pacers, where he has since become an important part of their success. In two seasons with the Pacers, he is averaging 10.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, and is shooting 38 percent from three-point range. 

Toppin was a key component to the Pacers’ success this past season, making it all the way to Game 7 of the NBA Finals, where they fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite a bittersweet ending, the Knicks are still set up in position to contend even after parting ways with their former lottery pick.