Knicks trading Obi Toppin to Pacers for draft picks

Obi Toppin’s Knicks career is over without him getting a shot to prove what he could do with a major opportunity. 

The Knicks have agreed to trade Toppin to the Pacers for two future second-round draft picks, ending the Brooklyn native’s underwhelming three seasons in New York, a source confirmed to The Post on Saturday.

The move, first reported by ESPN, can’t be officially finalized until Thursday. 

The 6-foot-9 Toppin was the first draft pick of the Leon Rose era as the eighth overall selection in the 2020 draft out of Dayton.

He found himself behind All-Star Julius Randle, however, in a minor role that never expanded. 

The trade doesn’t come as a major surprise, since Toppin, 25, is eligible to sign a rookie-scale extension and the Knicks didn’t appear interested in extending him.

Now he will get the chance to prove himself ahead of his second contract and the Knicks will receive future draft capital and a $6.8 million trade exception that could be useful this summer.

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By getting Toppin’s $6.8 million contract off the books, the Knicks now will be allowed to use the full $12.4 million mid-level exception while remaining under the luxury tax line. 

The trade was the first move by the team since the start of the NBA’s free-agency period, though another former Knick, Derrick Rose, signed a two-year, $6.5 million contract with the Grizzlies on Friday night. 

The Knicks are considered the favorite to land Warriors guard Donte DiVincenzo, the Villanova teammate of Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart.

While Toppin’s departure leaves a hole for the Knicks at power forward on the second unit, they did use RJ Barrett and Hart at times in that spot last season and Randle logs major minutes anyway. 

As Toppin moved on, his younger brother Jacob’s Knicks career is just starting.

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The team recently signed the undrafted forward out of Kentucky to a two-way contract.

He is expected to play on the Knicks’ team during Summer League in Las Vegas. 

Obi Toppin, the National Player of the Year in college basketball his final season at Dayton, quickly became a fan favorite because of the energy he brought on the second unit with his eye-popping dunks. But he never emerged further, as his shortcomings as a defender and shot creator limited him. 

Coach Tom Thibodeau resisted playing Toppin, the 2022 NBA Slam Dunk champion, and Randle together, citing the lack of a rim protector as the reason. 

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Toppin averaged just 15.7 minutes per game over 67 games this past season.

Those numbers broke down to 14.4 minutes in 62 appearances off the bench, and 31.5 minutes over five starts while Randle was sidelined for the five final regular-season games with an ankle injury that required arthroscopic surgery.

It was a step back after a strong second season, in which Toppin produced career-highs of 9.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 17.1 minutes. 

He reportedly got into a shouting match with Thibodeau after he played only six minutes and was benched for the entire second half in Game 4 of the second-round playoff series in Miami.

It was an out-of-character reaction for Toppin, who had never publicly complained about his role. 

While it would be unfair to call Toppin a bust, he was a disappointment.

The Knicks passed on players such as Saddiq Bey and Tyrese Haliburton in that draft. Now Toppin will play with Haliburton in his new home. 

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