New York Knicks Receive: G/F Terrence Ross, ORL 2022 2nd Round Pick, IND 2022 2nd Round Pick (via ORL)
Orlando Magic Receive: F Obi Toppin, F Kevin Knox II
All season long, Terrence Ross dealt with multiple injuries, including back spasms which forced him to miss games late in the year, and he only played in 46 games with the Magic last year as a result.
However, near the midway point in the season, Ross was getting attention for the Sixth-Man of the Year award because he was one of the best bench scorers in the league behind Jordan Clarkson.
While he only played in just over 60% of the Orlando Magic’s games during the 2020-21 season, Ross still managed to finish the year with 666 total bench points, ranking him 10th in the league in bench scoring by a player. The veteran wing can help any team right away due to his scoring contributions off-the-bench, which is why the Knicks could be interested in him.
A few days ago, I mentioned Terrence Ross being a possible target of the New York Knicks and pursuing him would definitely make sense given his abilities to make the Knicks’ second-unit better in terms of scoring. However, Obi Toppin is a young player New York is high on and could end up having a great second season in the NBA.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Latest Intel Surrounding Ben Simmons Amid NBA Trade Rumors
Toppin was drafted 8th overall last year by New York and while he did not play much during his rookie season behind Julius Randle, Obi Toppin put together a great showing in NBA Summer League this offseason, averaging 21.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and shooting 34.3% from deep on about 5.8 three-point attempts per game.
The athletic 6’9” forward has a chance to be a really solid player, especially in transition, but he may not get opportunities to prove himself in New York. Julius Randle is “the guy” for the Knicks at the power-forward position and with them re-signing both Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson, it will be very hard for Obi Toppin to crack into the Knicks’ rotations during the 2021-22 season.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Latest Intel Surrounding Ben Simmons Amid NBA Trade Rumors
Trading him while his value is still high may make the most sense for the New York Knicks in regards to Obi Toppin, hence why they could look to move him and Kevin Knox for Terrence Ross. Orlando is rebuilding and could definitely look to utilize both Toppin and Knox, which is why they could show interest in this trade as well.
