Getty Obi Toppin of the New York Knicks is surrounded by his teammates after the game against the Toronto Raptors.
The New York Knicks are a team filled to the brim with high-potential prospects and already-proven players in the association.
However, among the group, Bleacher Report believes one, in particular, could very easily prove to be their ultimate “x-factor” during the 2022-23 season.
In an October 22 published article, writer Grant Hughes discussed every team’s potential surprise talent that could have a considerable influence on their performance on the year, and, for the Knicks, he anointed third-year big man Obi Toppin as such an individual.
Citing his ability to bring a new dimension to Tom Thibodeau’s “slow-it-down” offensive approach with his natural rim-running abilities and desire to attack the basket, Hughes believes that the 24-year-old could be a true difference-maker if given an expanded role within New York’s rotation, and, to him, his numbers from last season already seem to prove this.
“When he was on the floor, the Knicks ran 2.7 percent more often. That may not seem significant at first, but the boost Toppin provided to New York’s transition frequency ranked in the 95th percentile at his position,” Hughes wrote.
“Very few players in the entire league juice their team’s tempo as Toppin can, and the overall results are hard to ignore. With the springy, speedy forward on the court, the Knicks offense produced an extra 4.1 points per 100 possessions.”
Through two games played, Toppin finds himself serving in a similar role to the one he held in 2021-22, logging 17 minutes a game whilst posting averages of 9.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and half a block on 53.3% shooting from the floor and 40% shooting from distance.
Toppin’s Numbers Skyrocket When Starting
Leading into this season, Obi Toppin has proven himself to be a player on the verge of breaking out if ever given an increased role, and has proven capable of shinning when put into the team’s starting lineup.
When slotted into the first five lineup, both from the eye test as well as from the numbers he has been truly astonishing, as he holds stellar per-game 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.
In these types of contests, the Knicks have gone on to capture some seriously impressive victories, two of which came last season in the form of arguably their most lopsided wins of the year, as they downed the Washington Wizards 114-92 on April 8 while also routing the Orlando Magic 118-88 on April 3.
Trading Knicks Wing Would Be for Salary Relief
Despite the expectations that came with Evan Fournier joining the New York Knicks last offseason, throughout his tenure with the club the veteran wing has unfortunately underwhelmed with his overall impact.
As a result, over the last several months the 29-year-old has been found intertwined within the trade rumor mill, as it is a popular belief that Leon Rose and company would be open to the idea of offloading the remaining three years, $55.9 million remaining on his deal.
And while fans seem to think that this should be a preferred course of action for New York’s front office moving forward during the season, an anonymous NBA executive recently told Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney that, at this point in time, they should only pursue a trade if their main objective is to free up cap space.
“You know what Evan is at this point,” the executive told Deveney. “If you’re a contender and you need a veteran to score off your bench, he is going to be someone you look at. I don’t think there is any question they would be willing to move him. But you’re probably just doing it for salary relief, and not going to get something back of significance for him.”
Despite his relatively underwhelming fit with the Knicks, Fournier could still prove to be a great contributor for a contender, as he just finished off 2021-22 with averages of 14.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists on 38.9% shooting from distance and is currently shooting at a 45.5% clip from deep through two games played in 2022-23.