LAS VEGAS — It was drawn up because the feel-good homecoming. A child from Brooklyn. Grew up rooting for the Knicks. On the day Obi Toppin was drafted, he posted an image of himself as a toddler sporting a Latrell Sprewell jersey.
“Meant to be,” he captioned the photograph.
Except, it wasn’t. If something, Toppin’s tenure in New York was doomed from the beginning. And on Sunday, the facility ahead mirrored on the disappointing stint whereas mounted on the higher slot in Indiana.
“All I can do is just do whatever the coach is asking me to do,” Toppin mentioned when requested if both facet may’ve performed something in a different way to make it work. “Whether that’s being out on the floor, having great energy, doing whatever I need to do to help the team win. I didn’t get the minutes I wanted. But now it’s a fresh start. I’m here in Indy. I got to work for everything I want. And I’m super excited to start.”
As he did throughout his three seasons with the Knicks, Toppin took the excessive street on contentious subjects. His remark of “I didn’t get the minutes I wanted” was solely noteworthy as a result of it wasn’t one thing he’d ever beforehand acknowledged publicly.
So was he annoyed?
“I’m not going to say it’s super frustrating. Things happen for a reason,” he responded Sunday.
What in regards to the heated argument with coach Tom Thibodeau within the locker room after a Game 4 loss towards Miami?
“I’m not worried about the past anymore,” Toppin mentioned. “Or worrying about that.”
What about alleged audio of the incident leaking months later on-line?
“I ain’t really see anything,” he mentioned. “I ain’t on social media like that.”
Toppin pivoted all these solutions to his pleasure in regards to the Pacers, which is sound logic for a couple of causes: In Indiana, not like New York, he gained’t be taking part in behind Julius Randle so there’s extra alternatives for taking part in time; In Indiana, not like New York, the group is constructed on Toppin’s strengths of taking part in quick; And in Indiana, not like New York, there’s an opportunity to land an enormous contract as he approaches free company in 2024.
“It’s no secret, everybody knows what I do best on the court,” Toppin mentioned. “Run the floor, energy guy, and this is a young group who likes to run. One of the fastest, if not the fastest, teams in the league last year. And so yeah I’m super excited to get some leak out dunks. You know Tyrese [Haliburton] is going to pass it.”
The Knicks primarily salary-dumped Toppin within the commerce whereas taking again second-round picks in 2028 and 2029. So it was a favor to Toppin to ship him to Indiana, the place a “fresh start” felt vital.
“This is a fresh start for me,” he mentioned. “It’s going to be great, just because it’s something new I’m going into.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com