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Obi Toppin’s recent return to the active roster for the New York Knicks may have a large chunk of the fanbase excited and full of cheer, but one NBA Insider believes that there could be a bigger, lesser-known plan in place when it comes to the big man’s availability.
In a January 5 episode of “The Putback,” host Ian Begley discussed how trade rumors are bound to ramp up as we inch closer to February 9’s trade deadline and, specifically, he mentioned Toppin as being one of the names that could be oft found intertwined within the mill.
However, for the Knicks to increase the value of the third-year big, Begley stated that thrusting him back into the rotation will be a must.
“There’s gonna be a lot of trade rumors over the next few weeks and you’re gonna see, I think, Obi Toppin’s name pop up here and there. I think (there are) some teams that have interest, but I think teams, you know, if they’re going to trade for a player they’re going to want to see him play.
They don’t want to see him on the end of the bench and try to guess at what he can be if they trade for him. They want to see tape of that player, and they want to see it in a recent game…he’s gonna get minutes and I think a lot of teams around the league are going to be keeping a close eye on those minutes once he gets back to the floor,” Begley said.
Toppin saw his absence from the active roster stretch to just over a month-long with 13 games missed and he has not played a lick of action since initially injuring his knee during a bout against the Atlanta Hawks on December 7.
Knicks Already Engaged in Trade Talks Involving Toppin
Even during his injury-induced hiatus, Obi Toppin was found mentioned heavily within the trade rumor mill, as an anonymous Eastern Conference executive informed Heavy Sports’ NBA Insider Sean Deveney that the Knicks have already engaged in trade talks with the Indiana Pacers involving the former lottery pick.
“There has been some talk between the Pacers and Knicks about Obi (Toppin). He fits in Indiana, especially if they keep Turner. Obi is a rim-runner, he has some toughness, he has athleticism. He needs minutes and a team that is rebuilding with young talent like Indy is a really good match,” the exec told Deveney.
Since being selected eighth overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, Obi Toppin has struggled mightily to come across consistent playing time within the Knicks’ rotation due to the presence of All-Star big man Julius Randle, as he has seen just 14.7 minutes per game on average and has been relegated to a bench role during his tenure in the association.
However, as the executive suggested, a move to the Pacers could wind up doing the big man loads of good, especially considering he’d almost certainly be inserted into the starting lineup where, throughout his career, he has posted stellar averages of 20.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and just shy of a block on 57% shooting from the floor and 43.6% shooting from deep when in such a role.
One Knicks Player in NBA All-Star Voting Returns
The NBA recently released the first round of this year’s NBA All-Star fan voting returns and found receiving 220,229 was veteran guard Derrick Rose, who was the lone Knicks player to make the cut.
With this, Knicks fans were promptly bashed by Twitter users for presumably electing to cast votes for the underutilized Rose and not their far more deserving potential All-Stars in Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson.
Derrick Rose finds himself boasting pedestrian averages of just 5.8 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 26 games played through just over two months of action.
His relative inactivity within head coach Tom Thibodeau’s rotation has ultimately led to his name being listed within the trade rumor mill virtually all season long.
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