Obi Toppin traded to Indiana Pacers

Obi Toppin traded to Indiana Pacers

The New York Knicks have traded Obi Toppin to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for two second-round picks, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported Saturday. The trade cannot become official until Thursday, June 6.

Knicks are finalizing trade to send F Obi Toppin to the Pacers for two future second-round picks, sources tell ESPN. Deal gives Toppin an opportunity to play a more significant role in Indiana and stacks up more draft assets for New York. Deal can’t be completed until Thursday. pic.twitter.com/suJPu8dXyM

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2023

There was previous smoke about a deal between the parties possibly turning into a reality; Ian Begley of SNY.tv reported Friday that the two sides “touched base recently to discuss trades” between Toppin, who’s going to be making $6.8 million as an expiring contract in 2023-24.

New York was seeking additional cap relief, and as a result, it generated a $6.8 million trade exception with more draft compensation they can use in future deals, building flexibility. The Pacers were also able to eat the deal with cap space.

The No. 8 overall pick of 2020 averaged 7.4 points and 2.8 rebounds on 44.6 percent shooting, considerably worse than his 52.1 field goal percentage over his previous two seasons. Toppin did see an uptick in 3-point volume and percentage, shooting 34.4 percent from deep on 3.7 triple tries per game.

Toppin can be an athletic rim-running presence that can fit with Tyrese Haliburton and alongside Myles Turner in Indiana’s frontcourt offensively, even though he is still raw defensively. The Pacers were in search of a power forward and took a buy-low candidate in Toppin, who they could flip at the deadline for additional assets if it doesn’t pan out.

Either way, Toppin is expected to have a bigger role with the Pacers than in New York, where he backed up Julius Randle and R.J. Barrett.

What do you think about the trade? Let us know in the comments!

This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.

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