Without having to trade up, the Knicks got their guy.
Brooklyn-bred Obi Toppin dropped down the board and fell to the Knicks with their eighth pick, giving new team president Leon Rose his first big player acquisition as team president. Toppin, 21, was the Naismith College Player of the Year last season for Dayton after following a breakthrough sophomore campaign.
He's a high-flying power forward with upside comparisons to Amar'e Stoudemire and Kenyon Martin. The Knicks already have a ball-dominant power forward in Julius Randle, but he's on an expiring contract and not part of New York's longterm plans. Toppin was projected as a top-5 pick and New York used one of its allotted in-person workouts on the 21-year-old.
Toppin grew up in Bushwick before attending high schools in Westchester, Florida and Baltimore. His father was a NYC streetball sensation labeled "Dunker's Delight" and his mother, Roni, is a teacher in Washington Heights.
"I'm from New York, that's why it's important. Me repping my city, it's amazing," Toppin said in tears right after the pick became official. "A lot of people pray top be in this position and I'm not going to take it for granted, I promise you that."
The Knicks had plenty of intel on Toppin, who averaged 20 points on 63% shooting last season. Toppin is repped by CAA, which is the agency that employed Rose up until recently. Toppin also spent the pandemic working out in South Jersey with Brunson, who was Rose's first NBA client as an agent. The Knicks had targeted Toppin as their choice and were exploring a deal to trade up in order to land him. They didn't have to.
There was much intrigue heading into the draft about whether the top-3 picks would be traded, but they all occurred without movement and largely as expected. Anthony Edwards went first to the Timberwolves, followed by James Wiseman to the Warriors and LaMelo Ball to the Hornets.
Then it got interesting.
Patrick Williams shot up the board to fourth, going to the Bulls. Defensive specialist Isaac Okoro went fifth – higher than expected – to the Cavaliers. USC's Onyeka Okongwu dropped to the Hawks at 6. Point guard Killian Hayes went seventh to the Pistons.
Earlier Wednesday, the Knicks announced a swap of a swap of their 27th and 38th picks for the Utah Jazz's 23rd pick. It represented Rose's first trade as Knicks president, and a reason to believe New York wanted to create a package to move up even further.
GM Scott Perry, while briefly in charge last season between the dismissal of Steve Mills and hiring of Rose, acquired the 27th pick from the Clippers by trading Marcus Morris' expiring contract. Perry also got the 38th pick from the Hornets by dealing Willy Hernangomez in 2018. Together, those assets got New York the 23rd pick in the 2020 draft.
As part of Wednesday's deal, the Knicks also acquired the draft rights to Croatian Ante Tomic from the Jazz. Tomic, 33, was picked in 2008 by the Jazz and is not expected to play in the NBA.
The Knicks chosen in the top-9 in five of the last six years, starting with Phil Jackson picking Kristaps Porzingis going fourth in 2015. It should be a recipe for a strong roster, but, for one reason or another, the picks haven't panned out. Porzingis had the most potential but grew disgruntled with the franchise's losing and was shipped to Dallas. Frank Ntilikina, taken eighth in 2017, hasn't developed an offensive game. Kevin Knox, the ninth pick in 2019, remained inefficient and disappointing in his first two seasons. RJ Barrett was taken third last year but didn't make either of the All-Rookie teams.
Barrett and Mitchell Robinson represent the brightest hopes for the Knicks future, but the roster clearly requires upgrades beyond the draft. They are expected to hold over $40 million in cap space, making them a major player in the upcoming free agency. They have the space to chase Toronto's Fred VanVleet, or absorb Russell Westbrook's massive contract in a trade. The Hornets were a candidate to acquire Westbrook from the Rockets, but drafting another ball-dominant guard Wednesday – LaMelo Ball – probably reduced their appetite for such a trade. The Pistons were among the few teams who could come close to matching New York's 2020 cap space, but they traded for Trevor Ariza on Wednesday and, as a result, their cap space was cut $7 million to about $23 million.
The Knicks' new regime have adopted silence as their identity. Rose didn't hold an introductory press conference, and didn't address the media ahead of the draft. The team hired Tom Thibodeau, who, by nature, is a win-now coach, but the franchise hasn't played a game since March because of the pandemic. They can have up to eight free agents on the roster, and a lot remains uncertain with the season starting in about a month.
New York answered one big question Wednesday.
