OBI TOPPIN’ NBA GM POLL
Say he’s likely to be rookie of year
Some of the NBA’s top decisionmakers believe in Obi Toppin, but they gave no love to the rest of the Knicks roster. Toppin, the eighth overall pick, received 18% of the votes for player most likely to win Rookie of the Year, according to the NBA’s annual GM survey released Friday. That was good for third behind Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball (39%) and Golden State’s James Wiseman (29%).
Toppin also got 7% of the votes in the category of “biggest steal in the draft,” which was tied for third with New Orleans’ Kira Lewis Jr. and Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey. Sacramento’s Tyrese Haliburton (43%) and Detroit’s Saddiq Bey (11%) were the top vote-getters.
In the coaching categories, Tom Thibodeau finished fifth in “new coach who will make the biggest impact” and one vote in “best manager/motivator.” Otherwise, the Knicks were shut out.
Predictably, zero GMs picked New York to finish in the Eastern Conference’s top-4 (Milwaukee, Brooklyn, Miami and Boston were the top choices). Knicks players received no votes for league’s best point guard (Steph Curry, 30%), best shooting guard (James Harden, 68%), best small forward (LeBron James, 57%), best power forward (Giannis Antetokounmpo, 46%) or best center (Nikola Jokic, 50%).
Regarding Leon Rose’s first free agency, the Knicks received zero votes for ‘best overall moves’ (Lakers, 37%), or ‘which acquisition will make the biggest impact’ (Phoenix’s Chris Paul, 44%) or ‘most underrated player acquisition’ (Clippers’ Serge Ibaka, 15%). New York was also shutout in the category of “most promising young core,” despite its roster featuring eight players who are both top-10 picks and younger than 27.
Toppin, 22, has exhibited flashes of promise in preseason, including his 8-point, 7-rebound effort in Wednesday’s victory over the Cavaliers. Beyond the confidence from NBA GMs, Toppin is among the betting favorites to win Rookie of the Year and the logic is easy to follow: he’s theoretically more NBA-ready as one of the older rookies, and the Knicks should provide him plenty of minutes in their latest rebuilding season.
However, as Thibodeau noted, winning plays a role in awards. RJ Barrett put up statistics worthy of an All-Rookie selection last year, but was passed over for players on better teams.
“Like those polls and predictions, they’re pretty much meaningless. I just want (Toppin) to continue to approach it the way he has - come in every day, work as hard as you can, try to improve each and every day,” Thibodeau said. “Oftentimes it’s small incremental steps that a player takes and that’s the way I want him to approach it. Then he looks back and sees he’s made a quantum leap. But I think the important thing usually players are recognized when the team has success. I think we saw that with RJ last year. So focus on the team. His development is important. We’ll work with him each and every day. But also how he impacts winning is equally important if not more so.”
Following the draft, Rose spent only about half of his cap space on exclusively one-year deals, effectively punting free agency. It maintained flexibility for 2021, but next summer’s class is already diminished because several wouldbe star free agents signed longterm extensions in the offseason. Thibodeau said the Knicks should aggressively pursue a star, whether through trade, free agency or the draft.
“I think it’s critical (to get a star),” the coach said recently. “When you look at every team in the league, particularly the playoff teams, and there’s a lot of different paths to getting stars. Sometimes it’s the development phase. …Sometimes you have to do it through trades, sometimes it’s free agency. But I think you have to be very aggressive in seeking out those opportunities. They just don’t happen by accident. You have to make them happen.”