INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers and Obi Toppin have agreed to terms on a new contract that will keep the young forward in the Circle City going forward, a league source told Pacers On SI. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the agreement and shared that it’s a four-year deal worth $60 million.
Toppin, 26, was traded to Indiana in July of 2023. The hope was that he could be a weapon in transition and gel with the Pacers offensive style. He did all that and more as he improved in other key areas, and he became a rotation mainstay.
The four-year pro played in all 82 regular season games and averaged a career high 10.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. His 40.3% shooting from deep was also a career-best figure. As the New York native got more reps with the blue and gold, he proved how strong of a fit he could be.
“There’s a lot of good that came out of this season, and we don’t want to overlook that,” Toppin said of Indiana’s 2023-24 campaign just after it ended.
His fit on and off the court made him a natural candidate to be re-signed in free agency. Toppin, after receiving a qualifying offer, was a restricted free agent this summer, and that gave Indiana the right to match any contract Toppin may have signed with another team. Because of that, if the Pacers wanted to keep Toppin, they had the means to do so.
Instead of going through all of that, the two parties came to an agreement quickly. “Very happy with the fit. He seems to be happy here too as well. Would like to continue the relationship,” Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan said of Toppin late last month. “It’s all part of the business when you get into a contract situation. But, really happy with Obi as a Pacer.”
In the postseason, Toppin’s positional versatility proved to be important. He played center at times and power forward at others. He was often on the hardwood with many starters yet was a key part of the second unit. That all helped the Pacers run a clean rotation during their Eastern Conference Finals run.
Indiana sent the New York Knicks two future second-round draft picks to acquire Toppin last year. The cost was low as the young forward had fallen out of the Knicks long-term plans and salary structure, but the Pacers proved to be a perfect home. After a solid season in the Circle City, Toppin will stick around.
As the blue and gold push forward, they have to consider how they are blending their present and their future. They have young players ready for minutes. But keeping Toppin was a simple choice. He was a good fit on and off the court, and for a team creating a winning standard and an identity, that’s all valuable.
Toppin, and almost all other free agents, can’t officially sign a contract until July 6 when the league moratorium ends.
Source link : https://www.si.com/nba/pacers/roster/source-indiana-pacers-and-obi-toppin-agree-to-terms-on-four-year-contract-in-free-agency
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Publish date : 2024-06-30 16:11:11
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