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Julius Randle‘s rise to become a two-time All-Star forward blocked Obi Toppin‘s path to realizing his oozing potential with the New York Knicks.
Randle spoke highly of Toppin after the trade that saw the former No. 8 pick going to the Indiana Pacers for a pair of late second-round picks.
“That’s my guy, man,” Randle told reporters after their first day of practice at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. “He was in a tough spot, obviously, playing behind me.”
“But I just tried to help him mentally stay in it as much as he could and make the most of his opportunities. And he did. He did a great job. He was more than a great teammate. I’m excited to see him flourish out there. He’s going to be great out there.”
Toppin was limited to just 14.7 minutes off the bench in his first three seasons in the league behind Randle. But whenever he got that opportunity, the 6-9 Toppin showed out, averaging 20.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists.
That is what Indiana hopes to get from Toppin who is projected to start. The high-flying forward is excited for the opportunity especially with a pass-first point guard in All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton.
“We’re going to be probably — if not the fastest team — one of the fastest teams in the league,” Toppin told reporters during the Pacers’ Media Day. “We’re all young. All of our guards are willing to pass the ball ahead. It’ll be lob city.”
Donte DiVincenzo on Choosing Knicks
Free agent acquisition Donte DiVincenzo joined the Knicks in the offseason on a four-year, $50 million deal primarily because of two factors — family and winning.
Like Hart’s reasoning, landing with the Knicks keeps DiVincenzo closer to his family from Delaware, which he says is everything to him.
“Adding on to that, ‘Nova guys are an extension of my family,” told reporters during Monday’s Media Day at the Knicks practice facility at Tarrytown. “Jalen especially. But ultimately, I like to win basketball games and looking at the layout of where I was potentially going to land, I felt most comfortable coming here. Adding the family aspect and what they had done last year and how I can kind of plug in and benefit from everybody around me and help this team just go further.”
Julius Randle Explains Agency Switch
Randle played it coy when asked about his intriguing move this summer — dumping Creative Artists Agency, a known bailiwick of Knicks president Leon Rose, for WME Sports.
“I wanted to be closer to RJ,” Randle jokingly answered when asked about his decision to join Bill Duffy’s stable at WME Sports.
Duffy also represents Barrett and Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic.
Turning serious, Randle thanked his former agent at CAA.
“Aaron [Mintz] was great, he’s been with me for the majority of my career,” Randle said. He did a great job during that time for me. For me, I just wanted to be closer to RJ.”
Randle is entering the second season of a $117 million, four-year extension. He could join free agency in the summer of 2025 if he opts out of his $29.4 million player option in the final year. He will be 31 by then.
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