New Trade Prediction Kills Value of Knicks Big Obi Toppin

Recent rumblings have suggested that the New York Knicks may be open to offloading their third-year lottery-selected big Obi Toppin via trade this season, and reports are that they have already discussed the possibility of a transaction with conference rival, the Indiana Pacers.

Now, while there are many reasons to believe that the 24-year-old’s arrival in the Hoosier State would go on to do him some serious good–for, unlike the Knicks, the Pacers are in a rebuilding phase and are emphasizing their youth–a recent prediction by Bleacher Report could wind up throwing such an idea out the window entirely if it were to become a reality.

In a January 9 piece, writer Dan Favale prophesied that the Atlanta Hawks will ship out sixth-year big man John Collins at some point between now and the February 9th trade deadline, and Indiana is viewed as an ideal landing spot, ironically for many of the same reasons why the Knicks big was linked to them in the first place.

“The Pacers, meanwhile, offer the perfect environment for such a niche frontcourt player—provided they keep Turner. (Shout-out to SportsEthos’ Rhett Bauer for mainlining this concept straight to my brain.) Collins needs to be somewhere he can function like a 5 on offense and 4 on defense. Turner makes that possible. He needs some on-ball and screening reps of his own, but he can stretch the floor around Collins while handling the nuts-and-bolts rim protection at the other end,” Favale wrote.

Favale would continue on to note that despite the complementary fit with Collins, Indiana is “not a team known to act brashly,” and, considering his five-year, $125 million contract, the acquisition of the 25-year-old could certainly be considered to be a bit brash, thus leaving the previously discussed idea involving Toppin as a real possibility leading into the deadline.

However, should the Pacers wish to make a run at their first postseason berth since 2020 and, in turn, trade for the already proven, “win now” talent of John Collins it would subsequently take the Knicks big off their presumed target list.

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What a Knicks, Pacers Trade Could Look Like

If a trade between the Knicks and Pacers were to be executed involving Obi Toppin heading outbound, many are under the impression that Leon Rose and company will be looking to acquire future first-round capital in return, as the belief across the association is that they are currently “hoarding” such capital in the hopes of using it to acquire a new star.

Though it’s anyone’s guess what a deal could end up looking like, David Vertsberger of SNY recently constructed a hypothetical trade package that he believes should be considered by the ball club.

New York Knicks receive:

• Oshae Brissett
• First-round pick

Indiana Pacers receive:

• Obi Toppin

When explaining his reasoning behind the proposal, Vertsberger suggested that considering the swapping of assets coupled with each team’s individual goals, a deal resembling this could be considered a win-win scenario for both sides.

“Indiana reportedly likes the idea of adding Toppin to their young core, which is understandable given his offensive ceiling if paired with the right situation and lead guard. The Pacers’ well-coached rebuild led by Tyrese Haliburton may be what fully unleashes Toppin.

For the Knicks, they net draft compensation while filling that backup four spot with more of a straight up 3-and-D option that won’t need to eat into Julius Randle’s minutes.

Brissett has been a consistent three-point shooter for longer than Toppin and has better success defending wings, making him an arguably easier fit with the current team’s construction,” Vertsberger wrote.

Selected eighth overall by the Knicks back in the 2020 NBA Draft, Obi Toppin was considered one of the most ready-made players in his respective class after putting forth a dominant sophomore season at Dayton where he earned the NCAA’s National College Player of the Year award.

Unfortunately, since coming into the association he has struggled mightily to come across consistent minutes within Tom Thibodeau’s 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.

Though the big man has only proven capable of shining when serving as a starter, as 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, considering New York’s current roster makeup and postseason aspirations, first-five opportunities have been few and far between.

That said, while it may be upsetting for some to see him leave New York, a move to the Pacers could finally give Obi Toppin a fair shot at living up to his franchise cornerstone potential that comes with his lottery-selected status.

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‘Now Is The Best Time’ For Knicks to Trade Randle

To many fans, instead of seeing the Knicks trade Obi Toppin, the ultimate desire would be for them to have Julius Randle shipped out of the Big Apple to clear up a spot at the starting four for the third-year big.

Now, though the odds of seeing such a move take place are considered to be close to zero, if it were ever going to happen Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News stated in a January 5 appearance on “The Putback” that now would be the most ideal time to do so.

“(Randle) has obviously been up and down in his career. We saw what happens when he gets frustrated last season, we saw how low he can get after such a great All-NBA season during the pandemic, and, if you’re going to trade him and you have him on four years, they gave him a four-year deal, you trade him while the value’s high and right now it’s high,” Bondy said.

Though host and SNY NBA Insider Ian Begley was quick to shut down the idea of seeing the Knicks trading Julius Randle this season, in the unlikely event that they do the Milwaukee Bucks are seen as a team that could prove to be a viable suitor for his services.

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