The Knicks have announced (via Twitter) that they have inked their 2020 No. 8 lottery pick Obi Toppin to his rookie contract.
The former Dayton forward will earn $4,862,040 in his rookie year and about $22.1MM over the first four years of his NBA career, unless he accepts a deal worth less than the maximum allowable 120% of the rookie scale. A full list of anticipated rookie scale salary figures is viewable here.
The 22-year-old 6’9″ Brooklyn native played two years for Dayton, averaging 20.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 2.2 APG across 31 games during his sophomore season (all starts). Toppin was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and the National College Player of the Year in 2019/20.
Toppin marks the first draft pick of new Knicks team president Leon Rose, and will join new head coach Tom Thibodeau‘s revamped New York roster for the 2020/21 season. This offseason, the Knicks appear to be mostly in asset-gathering mode, having made two deals to turn Ed Davis into three future second-round picks and having avoided signing big-money free agents like Fred VanVleet or Gordon Hayward or (thus far) trading for frustrated Rockets All-Star Russell Westbrook.
Turned Ed Davis into second round picks, not firsts…
Fixed that, thanks.
What!!? Why?
Knicks will always have their haters and antagonists due to being NY and sucking for 20 years but there’s no argument they have made the right moves this off-season by not overpaying for 2nd or 3rd option caliber players and not trading for bad contracts like Westbrook’s.
Well said!!!
To win they need to start somewhere
Totally agree, Dave (Knicks & I go back 51 years). On the other hand, to this point they’ve done little to improve themselves except for drafting Obi & Quickley. Let’s see what the housecleaning will bring this year. I completely disagree with the 2023 strategy.
Toppin should be better sooner than Halliburton; he’s a possible ROY; even Steven ASmith would agree (funny video of him). There were PGs later at #27 but no Toppinses.
PGs: 3)Ball, 7)Hayes, 13)Hallibrtn, 13)Lewis, 15)Anthony, 21)Maxey, 24)Hampton, 25)Quickly, 27)PaytnPritchard, 29)MalachiFlynn, 31)TyrelTerry, 34)TheoMaledon, 38)SabanLee, 41)TreJones, 47)YamMadar, 48)NicoManion, 50)SkylarMays, 53)CassiusWinston, 56)GrantRiller, 59)JalenHarris, ufa)DevinDotson.
IDK how good Quickly will be— I would have taken one of the four that followed— but that looks like a value range for PGs. The espn “best remaining” had about seven more that read draft-worthy.