Knicks Ex Obi Toppin Shades New York in Pacers Press Conference?

Obi Toppin expressed his disappointment with his New York Knicks playing time during his first meeting with the Indiana Pacers media.

It's no secret that the New York Knicks had been under-utilizing former No. 8 overall pick Obi Toppin during his three years with the team.

"All I can do is just do whatever the coach is asking me to do," Toppin said in his introductory press conference with the Indiana Pacers (h/t Zach Braziller of the New York Post).  "Whether that’s being out on the floor, having great energy, doing whatever I need to do to help the team win. I didn’t get the minutes I wanted."

As he was entering the final year of his rookie contract, Toppin was traded to the Pacers for the meager return of second-round picks before he had the chance to walk away from the Knicks for nothing.

Toppin averaged 7.4 points per game this past season, a step below his mark from 2021-22. His status as a former top-10 pick springs a ton of potential, but Julius Randle's All-Star breakout prevented him from seeing serious minutes at the power forward position.

"Toppin plays like a shot of adrenaline, but his end-to-end energy can scale to more than 20 minutes per game, let alone the 15.7 he averaged this past season," Bleacher Report Dan Favale said while naming Toppin a player who could "thrive in a bigger role."

His lack of play didn't make him happy, and shortly before the team's elimination at hand of the Miami Heat, Toppin and head coach Tom Thibodeau reportedly got into an argument.

"According to league sources who were present, once the final buzzer sounded Toppin aired his grievances to Thibodeau," The Athletic's Fred Katz writes. "The 24-year-old wants to play, and he wants to win. That evening, neither happened. An intense verbal altercation occurred between the player and coach as the group trekked to the Kaseya Center's visiting locker room in Miami. It spilled into the postgame meeting once the doors closed."

It appears that both sides have a solution: Toppin now has a fresh start with the Pacers and he's ready to put his Knicks past behind him.

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