The Knicks take a deliberate approach to improving their roster
The Knicks didn’t make a seismic signing or trade in the opening days of NBA free agency, which officially began at 6 p.m. last Friday. As of yesterday, the two most prominent transactions were dealing forward Obi Toppin to the Indiana Pacers last Saturday for two future second-round picks, and signing former Villanova standout Donte DiVincenzo to a four-year, $50 million contract.
Neither move ostensibly makes the Knicks discernibly better or detracts from a team that is striving to build on a 47-35 record and No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference last season. Their glaring weaknesses remain a dearth of multiple efficient perimeter shooters and the absence of an impactful two-way wing player.
Toppin, a product of Brooklyn who the Knicks drafted No. 8 overall in 2020 after he won virtually every major college player of the year award in his second season at Dayton, was a polarizing presence as a Knick. A large contingent of the team’s fans were adamant in their belief that the 6-foot-9 Toppin had the potential to be one of the Knicks’ best and most productive players if afforded an expanded role in head coach Tom Thibodeau’s rotation.
Over his three seasons with the Knicks, the uber-athletic 2023 NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion logged just 14.7 minutes per game in 201 games played. Two seasons ago, he averaged a career-high 17.1 minutes in 72 games, but this past season those numbers dropped to 15.7 and 67. His cumulative average field goal attempts was only 5.5. He found sparse opportunities playing behind All-NBA forward Julius Randle. Toppin’s supporters note his superior ability to run the floor, improvement in three-point shooting year over year, and dynamic capacity to finish around the rim.
The opposing faction argues that Toppin thus far has shown limited offensive skills essentially playing as a stretch four, never developing an effective arsenal off the dribble going to the basket, or utilizing a dribble pull up jump shot, a spotty mid-range game, and poor defensive fundamentals. Toppin reportedly had a heated verbal dispute with Thibodeau over a lack of playing time during the Knicks’ Eastern Conference semifinal series versus the Miami Heat in May.
Now the 25-year-old—undoubtedly with a chip on his broad shoulders—will certainly play many more minutes with the Pacers than he did with the Knicks, providing further testimony, pro or con, to settle the debate.
The signing of DiVincenzo reunites him with college teammates Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart. The 26-year-old, 6-foot-4 combo guard from Newark, Delaware, completed his sixth NBA season in May averaging 9.4 points on .435 shooting overall and .397 on 3-pointers in 72 games for the Golden State Warriors. The Knicks will be the fifth team for which he has played. They will look for DiVincenzo to give them much needed improved perimeter shooting manning both backcourt spots.
The Knicks, who didn’t have a pick in last month’s draft, begin the NBA 2K24 Summer League in Las Vegas this Saturday with a 5 p.m. matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers on NBA TV. They’ll face the Nets on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. on NBA TV. The Knicks will play a minimum of five games as the league operates from July 7 through July 17.
A player to closely watch among others is 21-year-old Trevor Keels, who was drafted by the Knicks in the second round (No. 42) last year out of Duke and spent this past season on a two-way contract splitting time with the NBA team and their G League squad, the Westchester Knicks.
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