Report: Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks agree on a trade to send Obi Toppin to Pacers

Toppin spent the first three seasons of his career with the Knicks

According to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks have agreed to a trade that will send forward Obi Toppin to the Indiana Pacers.

In return, the Knicks will get two unspecified second-round picks from the Pacers. Indiana has extra draft capital after a few trades they made earlier in the year.

Toppin turned 25 in March and was the eighth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. He has shown some promise throughout his career as an athletic play finisher for New York, but he rarely was able to get serious playing time. In three seasons with the Knicks, he never played more than 17.1 minutes per game.

Some of that was being stuck behind All-Star Julius Randle. But other times, veterans like Taj Gibson were getting minutes over Toppin. He scarcely had chances with New York, and now the Knicks are moving on.

The Pacers, who have been searching for power forward depth for a few years, are a natural trade partner. Even with the addition of Jarace Walker in the NBA Draft last week, the blue and gold could still use more depth at the four spot. Toppin provides that, and he is still on his rookie contract.

Speaking of his contract, money might have played a factor in New York doing this deal. The Knicks, when considering unlikely incentives in some of their player's contracts, could find themselves very close to the luxury tax if they use the full Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (MLE) this offseason. Moving Toppin for no salary in return would make it easier for the Knicks to make a splashy MLE signing and still be safe under the tax, if that is in fact their goal.

Indiana gets a player that they can instantly provide more opportunity for. It isn't clear how the team will handle the rotation just yet, but if the power forward minutes just go to Walker and Toppin, even if the rookie gets 28 minutes per game Toppin could reach 20 minutes per night. That would be a career high. For a player picked inside the top-10, opportunity could be just what he needs.

Toppin averaged 7.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game this past season. Two of his best outings of the season came against the Pacers, fittingly, as he had 66 points against the blue and gold in a pair of April battles.

The Pacers had one roster spot left, so Toppin can slide right in. Indiana has cap space as well, so no players need to go to New York in the deal. Indiana now has 15 players under contract, including their two first-round picks from the draft last week.

The blue and gold could still make trades or other moves throughout the free agency period, but any other signings will need to be met with a corresponding trade or waiver. Teams can officially sign free agents and make trades starting on July 6.

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