Last summer the Indiana Pacers were able to acquire Obi Toppin from the New York Knicks for the low price of two future, low-value second-round picks in 2028 and 2029. After one season with team averaging 10 points and 4 rebounds with elite efficiency, the high-flying power forward will be a restricted free agent.
On entertainment value alone with the first Pacers season ever that featured both 100 dunks and 100 3-pointers, Toppin has already been a steal for just one season at the cost it took to bring him to Indiana but Pacers General Manager Chad Buchanan would like to see Toppin remain in the blue and gold.
“I think he felt he kind of found a home with us,” Buchanan said on the Setting the Pace podcast last week. “He thought this might be a good spot for him and we got him here. I think he really enjoyed the fans. He enjoyed the system. His family seemed to be happy here as well … and like I said, hope he’s with us moving forward.”
Toppin’s restricted free agency means the Pacers can extend him a qualifying offer and then will have an opportunity to match any offer that he receives from another team. At times, this makes teams hesitant to pursue those free agents because possible salary cap space can be held up during the matching window while other free agents are finding new homes. It may help the Pacers retain the forward on a team-friendly contract but there could always be a surprise suitor willing to offer more than the Pacers are willing to match.
“Very happy with the fit. He seems to be happy here too,” Buchanan said of Toppin in his exit interview. “Would like to continue the relationship, it’s all part of the business when you get into a contract situation but really happy with Obi as a Pacer.”
There’s something about the number 100 with Toppin because he also played in all 100 games the Pacers played this season: 82 regular season games, 1 In-Season Tournament Championship, and 17 playoff games. Buchanan said the team actually presented him with an award during his exit interview for not missing a single game all season. Even while acquiring Pascal Siakam at his position and still having Jarace Walker waiting for an opportunity as well, he made a good impression with the team. The Pacers won’t be quick to cut ties with a valuable rotation player.
“We thought when we traded for him the fit was going to have a chance to be very good because we can really run,” Buchanan said on STP. “He really gets out. Coach likes our guys to sprint the floor. He does that as well as any power forward in the league. The personality in the locker room was a clean fit too and very well respected, very well liked by players, coaches, staff. I think it was just a very, very good year for him, can’t say enough good things about the type of season he had.”
The Pacers will also be getting closer to the luxury tax line after Tyrese Haliburton got his deserved contract bump for making All-NBA and if they are able to successfully re-sign unrestricted free agent Pascal Siakam. If Siakam’s contract is a max as expected, his starting salary would be $42.3 million and that may limit how much the Pacers are able to pay Toppin if they are looking to avoid going into the tax this season and beyond. Whether or not Jalen Smith decides to exercise his $5.4 million player option for next season may affect Toppin retention plans as well. And if the Pacers want to use their mid-level exception to sign a possible free agent, that’s another $12.8 million. Toppin’s qualifying offer is only $7.7 million but it would take more to sign him to a longer term offer.
While Buchanan has said that he thinks ownership would be supportive of spending into the tax with a championship roster, there are reasons to try and avoid it beyond cost if they can. The Pacers have done a good job keeping the books clean and giving themselves flexibility in the coming years. As their young players become eligible for extensions, this roster could get very expensive fast. Buchanan is confident they can keep this roster together without going into the tax this season if that’s the path they choose to take.
“We have the flexibility to sign and retain some players without going into the luxury tax depending on what some of those players cost to retain,” Buchanan said. “… There’s limitations in the CBA moving forward for other teams that don’t apply to us necessarily. We’ve always been very conscious of our books and trying to build this team smartly, which leaves us the ability to add players and not be in a position where we have to get rid of players because we’ve made a poor decision financially.”
“We feel good about things moving forward with our young group and our ability to hopefully keep a couple of our guys and to try to build this team piece by piece,” Buchanan continued. “… It may take a year or two, a good move each year that adds up to putting yourself in a position to win a championship because that’s what we all want.”
Toppin’s fit with the Pacers up-tempo style proved fruitful for the forward that loves to leak out in transition but it was his improvement from behind the 3-point line that made him a valuable weapon for the Pacers both as a starter to begin the season and then off the bench.
“I would say the catch and shoot really became consistent and steady,” Buchanan said of what surprised him about Toppin’s season, “to the point where you were disappointed when you didn’t see him let it fly. When you feel like he had some space and he might shot fake and drive or he might just move it, you want to just kind of let it fly because you have so much confidence in his shooting.”
Toppin shot a career-high 40.3% from deep this season on three attempts per game after shooting 34.4% in his third season in New York, which itself was an improvement from the 30% he shot in his first two NBA seasons. Inside the arc, he shot an absolutely ludicrous 70.6% (second in the NBA) while finishing every chance he got at the rim with powerful dunks or acrobatic layups.
“I’m a big Obi Toppin fan,” McConnell said after a crucial regular season win over the Miami Heat. “… His ability to get out and run the floor and cause mismatches in transition and we’re able to throw it over the top to him. Then when teams leave him open, he knocks it down at a high clip. To put it simply, he’s just a really good player and makes our life easier as point guards, definitely glad he’s here.”
The Pacers can officially extend a qualifying offer to Toppin and start the process of potentially keeping him in Indiana the day after the NBA Finals end. When asked about whether he had thought about his summer and pending free agency after the Pacers lost the series to the Celtics, Toppin unsurprisingly didn’t reveal anything.
“Not at all, I was focused on these games. Now that it’s over, we’re just going to be chilling, right?” Toppin said to Andrew Nembhard next to him while giving him a fist bump. “Facts.”
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