NBA Mock Trade: Thunder Give Obi Toppin Fresh Start

Second-year forward Obi Toppin could kickstart his career in a larger role with the Thunder.

Forward Obi Toppin was drafted by the New York Knicks with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Early in his second season with the team, he’s still not a player that’s earned a significant role. In fact, through 95 career games, he’s averaged just 13.0 minutes per contest.

For many young players in the NBA, it takes time to adjust to the speed of the game. Often times, players don’t get into their groove until season three or four. Other times, players never hit their stride due to being in the wrong situation.

The Knicks are a team that would like to win now, which is a disadvantage for Toppin. On a rebuilding team in an increased role, a new situation could be a breath of fresh air for his career.

Would Toppin make sense for the Oklahoma City Thunder?

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New York is currently 18-20 on the season, on the outside looking in of the playoff picture. With how competitive the Eastern Conference is this season, the Knicks will need to start winning more games sooner than later.

As such, they could be open to making moves that could help them win now, rather than prioritizing the future. It certainly wouldn’t be easy to pry a former top-ten pick away from New York, but with how much draft capital Oklahoma City has, it has to be used at some point. As such, draft compensation could be paired with a veteran player to acquire a guy like Toppin.

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Although he’s already 23 years old, Toppin is still an extremely physical forward who has a ton of potential. He does have some overlap in skillsets with Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Isaiah Roby, but the Thunder are at a point where they’re exploring who could be their starting forward when its once again time to contend. To this point, Toppin has shown as higher ceiling than any forward currently on the OKC roster.

This season, he’s averaging 8.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in just 16.8 minutes per game while shooting 53.5% from the floor. He’s struggled from beyond the arc to this point in his career, but is a high-flyer in the paint at 6-foot-9.

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The forwards in New York are solid, but none have the ability to shoot the lights out from beyond the arc. In fact, their two best shooting bigs as of now are Julius Randle (32.7%) and Taj Gibson (28.6%), who have both struggled from deep this season. Additionally, Nerlens Noel and Mitchell Robinson are non-shooters, as neither has attempted a 3-pointer yet in the 2021-22 campaign.

Obtaining a big like Mike Muscala that could legitimately stretch the floor could be huge for the Knicks offensively. He's been one of the best shooting bigs in the league this season, knocking down 42.6% of his 3.7 attempts from beyond the arc per contest.

Although giving up Muscala and a first rounder for a guy like Toppin could feel like an overpay, Oklahoma City has a pick from Phoenix this season that will likely be at the very end of the first round.

While Toppin hasn’t been great early in his career and is old for his class, he’s still a prospect that was taken in the top-ten of a recent draft and clearly has potential. 

Oklahoma City’s offer: Mike Muscala and a 2021 first-round pick (via Phoenix)

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