It took a while, but the
Knicks and Pacers finalized the Obi Toppin trade on Friday afternoon. We knew the Knicks would be getting two second-round picks for their former lottery pick, but which two seconds, exactly? Here are the details:
- Least favorable of Pacers’ and Suns’ 2028 second-round pick
- Least favorable of Pacers’ and Wizards’ 2029 second-round pick
So not only does the return for Obi amount to a couple of second-rounders that won’t convey until the end of the decade, the Pacers will get to keep the higher second-round picks in both 2028 and 2029.
The Obi trade is clearly a salary dump… roster move. Knicks get nada for the former 8th pick, which most clearly understood at the time was a waste of a pick.
Leon Rose has now run 4 drafts… He’s traded 2 lottery picks (Obi, Duran) for minimum cap relief to sign Brunson and DVD. Didn’t even get to dump Evan F for it. He walked away from his last draft without a pick and only has TK to show for previous draft… And TK clearly will never amount to anything in the NBA, if he even makes a roster at some point. In essence, after 4 drafts Rose has added IQ, Grimes, Sims, and Deuce. Reserve players in the NBA.
Rose doesn’t speak to the media and he’s 50/50 on his free agent crap. He’s made 2
Shrewd deadline moves that boosted Knicks to playoffs in his 3 deadlines… Rose and Hart were quality.