The Knicks officially announced their trade sending Obi Toppin to the Indiana Pacers on Friday afternoon.
League sources confirmed to SNY's Ian Begley, New York is getting back two future second-round draft picks: the least favorable of the Pacers' and Phoenix Suns' 2028 second-rounder and the least favorable of the Pacers' and Washington Wizards' 2029 second-round pick.
The Pacers, according to Begley, are "excited about getting a young, athletic player in Obi Toppin who fits the timeline of" fellow youngsters Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin, "and could be a complementary piece on the front line with Myles Turner."
"I'm sure Toppin is thrilled about the opportunity in Indy," Begley added.
Begley initially reported last Friday that the Knicks and Pacers had recently discussed a Toppin trade, with New York seeking draft compensation. As Begley noted, "This would allow the Knicks to trim $6.8 million from their 2023-24 salary totals."
The Knicks selected Toppin, now 25, with the eighth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Born in Brooklyn and growing up a Knicks fan, the high-flying Toppin seemed like a perfect fit, but his path to success always seemed to be blocked.
With the emergence of Julius Randle as an All-NBA player and Tom Thibodeau's reluctance to play Toppin and Randle on the floor together, Toppin averaged a shade under 15 minutes per game as a Knick, starting just 15 games over his three seasons with the team.
Toppin also voiced his frustration over playing time during the Knicks' playoff run this past season, which surely didn't improve his standing with Thibodeau. Begley reported during the playoffs that there there was a verbal altercation between Knicks players and coaches following their Game 4 loss to the Miami Heat. Fred Katz of The Athletic later reported that Toppin was at the center of that altercation, jawing with Thibodeau after the loss.
When Toppin did get his chances, he often brought energy off the bench, throwing down powerful dunks and completing athletic alley-oops to fire up the MSG crowd. But his half-court offense was often limited to just being a corner three-point shooter.
Toppin ended up with averages of seven points and three rebounds while shooting 32.5 percent from beyond the arc.