What does Knicks picking up Obi Toppin’s fourth-year option mean for his future?

Ahead of the New York Knicks’ fourth regular season game against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the team picked up Obi Toppin’s $6.8 million fourth-year option.

This wasn’t an unexpected move by any means, especially given how Toppin’s looked so far this season. The three games that New York has played are a small sample size, but Obi’s averaging 9.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 16 minutes while shooting 57.1% from the field and 33.3% from three.

Toppin spent his first two years in the league being overshadowed by Julius Randle, which was to no fault of his own. Randle’s been off to a hot start this season, so right now, the chances of Toppin taking his spot in the starting lineup are very slim, but that doesn’t mean that Obi won’t have an increased role.

New York Knicks pick up Obi Toppin’s $6.8 million fourth-year option

Obi Toppin’s energy makes him stand out, and that’s something that Tom Thibodeau spoke to at the end of the 2021-22 regular season.

Obi carries that same energy over to the court, where he sprints the floor in transition. Fans have already gotten to see several flashy dunks from Toppin this year, but on Monday night, he had quite an impressive pass to RJ Barrett that was a result of him running the floor.

Toppin’s development has been hindered by his lack of playing time, but 2022-23 could end up being a huge season for him. He was named to Zach Lowe’s list of the most intriguing players at the start of the year, so he’s certainly a player that even non-Knicks fans should watch.

Looking ahead, Toppin has a $9.2 million qualifying offer for the 2024-25 season that would come with a $20.4 million cap hold. It’s too early to tell what position New York will be in when the team’s deciding whether or not to extend Obi’s qualifying offer. It won’t be as simple of a decision as it was to pick up his $6.8 million option. But if he continues on the trajectory that he’s on now, the Knicks could likely end up extending the qualifying offer.

Now that Toppin’s offer has been picked up, that leaves Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes. The deadline to pick up their options is Monday, but according to Zach Braziller of the New York Post, New York’s expected to do so. Like Obi, their options are team-friendly, and all three could end up having the best years of their young careers.

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