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The New York Knicks are dealing with an Obi Toppin injury that leaves the young forward out for 2-3 weeks.
Toppin wasn’t having the best year, but his absence will be felt as the time goes on and his 17 minutes per game struggle to be replaced. On the year, he’s averaging 7.7 points per game on 42.1 percent shooting, but he’s still a fan-favorite and brings a spark when he checks into the game.
With that being a large chunk of minutes that have to be replaced, it’s no surprise the team will have to look both inward and outward about how to fill the void. Some people are saying a reunion with former Knicks standout Carmelo Anthony should happen, and it actually makes sense.
Anthony is still without a team, and he’s coming off a season where he’s proven he can still be scorer off the bench. However, the Knicks don’t seem open to doing so.
Don’t Count on a Reunion
At this point in time, it’s not clear if Anthony will ever be in the league again, and if it ends up being the end for the future Hall-of-Famer, it will have been a great career.
Although he can still give good minutes to a team, the league seems to have decided to move on, and according to Newsday’s Steve Popper, the Knicks have joined them.
“Unlike the Phil Jackson era, when the front office tried to run Anthony out of town, his long-time agent, Rose, is running the show,” Popper wrote. “His son, Kyan, is playing ball locally at Christ the King High School. So could he make one last farewell run through Madison Square Garden? Probably not. Anthony has been without a job this season, the second time this has happened to him in recent years. The first time, he resurrected his career in Portland and then helped out the Lakers. But based on one Knicks source, the indications are that Anthony would not fit the style the Knicks are trying to play — namely defense.”
With Tom Thibodeau being a defensive-minded coach, adding a player in the twilight of his career isn’t the best idea.
If the Knicks want to experiment with filling Toppin’s minutes, it seems like it’ll come from within the organization with perhaps Cam Reddish stepping up again, or somewhere else.
Will Anthony Latch On Anywhere?
Anthony is coming off a season where he averaged 13.3 points per game off the bench, and that came during his age 37 season. His days of leading a team in scoring are behind him, but he’s proven he can still chip in.
At this point, it seems like the best case scenario for him would be to fill in for a team who is dealing with injuries, which would actually be the Knicks at this moment. With them unlikely to add him to the roster, it’s not clear who will be willing to do.
There aren’t many teams who have room for a now-38-year-old scorer, but that doesn’t mean he can’t still produce. While the Knicks don’t seem like they will be the team to add him, that doesn’t mean there’s not a situation out there that works for him.
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