NBA
New York’s Biggest Mistake Was Not Trading Obi Toppin Before The Deadline Yesterday
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated10 Feb 2023
At seventh in the Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks have a 30-26 record and are only four and a half games out of fourth in the East. We saw the Knicks make a few move yesterday trading Cam Reddish and Kevin Knox and were able to acquire Josh Hart from the Blazers. Reddish and Knox’s time with the Knicks became stale and they needed a fresh start. The same could be said for Obi Toppin who surprisingly was not traded before the deadline yesterday.
The Knicks off-season addition of Jalen Brunson has elevated the team to a level they haven’t had in a long time. In the past few seasons it had been Julius Randle as the primary scorer. Brunson had opened up the floor for Randle and the two are thriving as the star duo in New York.
Randle was voted an all-star this season and many think that Brunson was snubbed. New York Sports Betting sites have the Knicks at (+20000) to win the Finals this season.
Obi Toppin will remain a New York Knick 🙏🏽🗽🍿 @obitoppin1 @ObiMuse pic.twitter.com/DTJtJW6P8O
— BrunsonMuse (@BrunsonMuse) February 9, 2023
The Knicks held on to Obi Toppin when they really should have found him a trade
Rumors in the past week said that the Knicks were talking with the Jazz and Pacers in a trade for Obi Toppin, but the team made the decision to retain the eighth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft. Yesterday the Knicks found trades for Cam Reddish and Kevin Know who had fallen out completely of the Knicks rotation.
Many think the same should have ben done for Toppin who’s not being used to his full potential in New York. He’s had an inconsistent three years with the Knicks so far. Last season he shot just 30 percent from deep and has improved that to a respectable 37 percent this season. His field goal percentage is down to 42 this season compared to 53 last year.
There are certain players that teams draft with such a high draft pick that they feel they need to hold on to them longer than they should. Toppin might not fit that mold exactly, but he’s a player who the could have a bigger role on a different tea.
It’s hard for Toppin to see consistent minutes when he’s playing behind Julius Randle. He’s arguably the Knicks’ best player this season and leads the team with (35.9) minutes player per game. At 24, Toppin still has a lot of untapped potential, but a change of scenery might benefit him the best and he could likely be on the move in the offseason.
