Obi Toppin's new contract with the Pacers is a win-win
On the Pacers continuing to keep their own, Obi Toppin finding success in Indy and betting that the high efficiency, fast-paced play will continue after being everything they had hoped for.
As the Indiana Pacers prepared for the first annual In-Season Tournament Championship Game, forward Obi Toppin wasn’t at all surprised at the intensity and competitiveness of those games. There was a playoff-like feel to them.
Players on the winning team each received a prize of $500,000, which is life-changing for most and is not insignificant to anyone.
“Not everybody has a $100 million dollar contract,” Toppin said with a grin. “So $500,000 is a lot of money for a lot of guys, on not only our team but other teams as well.”
The Pacers came up short in that championship game, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers, but his bank account will significantly change soon after he agreed to a new deal with the Pacers to continue what has been a successful partnership.
On Sunday afternoon, several hours before the official start of NBA free agency, the Pacers reached agreement with the high-flying forward who was a key part of the team’s league-leading bench unit. The agreement is a four-year deal worth $60 million, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported.
That’s an average of $15 million per season and more than twice what he earned this past year ($6.8 million) in the final year of his rookie contract.
Toppin, 26, is a restricted free agent so the Pacers had the opportunity to match any deal presented to him. However, it didn’t even reach that point.
In Las Vegas, Toppin was asked if he enjoyed being around casinos. “I don’t like casinos,” he replied. “No.
“I don’t have a favorite game,” he continued. “But a game that I win sometimes at is War. It’s like a 50-50 chance.”
That’s also what the Pacers acquisition of him felt like almost exactly one year ago from the New York Knicks for only two future second-round picks. Low risk, high reward.
Toppin’s playing time in New York had decreased, he was playing behind All-Star Julius Randle, and had fallen out of favor with head coach Tom Thibodeau. On top of that, he felt the pressure of being a Knicks lottery pick and playing for his hometown team.
The trade to Indiana represented a fresh start and a sweet pairing.
“Since I’ve came here, everything has been amazing,” he said earlier this season. “Players, coaches, front office, everybody is amazing. Everybody wants to see us win, see us succeed. All the players here — nobody’s selfish on our team. Everybody wants to help the next person get better and that’s why we’ve been so successful.
The Pacers want to play fast and they leaned on their bench as much as any team. And they had fun doing it too, as evidenced by their celebrations and reactions on the bench no matter who was on the floor.
“We’ve had a lot of joy,” Toppin said. “… It’s definitely a lot of excitement in the locker room after the Ws just because we’re so young, we’re learning together, growing together and just out there having fun.”
Toppin went from playing just over 15 minutes per game to more than 21 — and he produced. He averaged 10.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, both career-highs.
And he also shot an incredibly efficient 57.3% from the field, including 40.3% from range. Both career-highs.
In the Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics, Toppin averaged 24 minutes per game and he reached double figures in three of four games. He rebounded, ran the floor always looking for the pass, and knocked down open 3s with regularity. Simply put, he did his job.
“I thought Obi had a tremendous year for us,” general manager Chad Buchanan said after the season. “He brings a lot of things that we look for and qualities in a person. He loves being in the gym, he loves being part of a team. He brings a great attitude, a great smile, a great infectious energy every day, which adds to your culture and adds to the vibe of your team.
“We had an idea that's what he was gonna be about, but you never know until you get him in your building and he’s around your team. He’s been beyond everything that we hoped he’d be.”
Tyrese Haliburton is the face of the team. Midseason pickup Pascal Siakam played a significant role and provides an elite 1-2 punch that playoff teams covet. With both players beginning new max contracts next season, it’s on the front office to field and maintain a competitive team.
It requires them to make an honest assessment of last season, what worked and what it’ll take to keep climbing in their quest to become a contender in the not-so-distant future.
First it was Siakam landing a new deal and then Toppin. And yes, now you wonder what it means for 2023 lottery pick Jarace Walker, a power forward who was drafted to plug that hole with his defensive versatility, along with his ability to space the floor and stretch out to the arc. He’s also just 20 years old and needs more time to get reps and develop.
Last summer, the Pacers were able to overpay to land guard Bruce Brown off a championship team and then used that to help acquire Siakam. However, the Pacers are in a very different spot than they were a year ago.
Now they have three players coming off their rookie deals and set to receive significant hikes in pay: Haliburton, Toppin and Nesmith, all of whom were 2020 lottery picks of other teams.
The Pacers are over the cap and nearing the luxury tax threshold with 12 players under contract, including the new deals for Siakam and Toppin. That does not include any of the three second-round players they drafted.
July 30th is the end of the NBA’s fiscal year so the new salary numbers are official for July 1. The salary cap is set at $140.588 million and the tax line is $170.814 million.
The Pacers are in the sweet spot just below the tax line. Teams are allowed to go over the cap to re-sign their own players, like they have done here.
Because of Haliburton’s hamstring injury suffered in January, we never saw the full potential of this team. That, along with the current contract situations, is why it makes the most sense for this team to keep the core together and see what an entire season together could bring.
Beyond that, the front office will remain vigilant — and yes, opportunistic — to the possibility of acquiring a talented forward, such as Brooklyn’s Cameron Johnson or Utah’s Lauri Markkanen, should a reasonable trade exist.
The Pacers are not content, and they shouldn’t be.
“We had two-thirds of our roster was basically on their rookie-scale contract (last year),” Buchanan said. “And so (there’s) a lot of excitement around what we have if we bring back this same group. We still feel like there's room for growth with this team if you just keep the status quo.”
Thanks for the overview on the cap situation. I wondered where we stood.