Obi Toppin arrival sets the framework for a needed Pacers move

8 Points, 9 Seconds · Jul 22, 2026 19:00 · 3 min read

Obi Toppin's acquisition came cheap after the Knicks had given up on their top-10 pick. Can Indiana find another second-draft option?

When the Pacers traded for Obi Toppin, he was a draft pick who had disappointed relative to his top-10 status. There was, after all, a reason that the price to acquire him was only a few second-round picks.

Toppin has been an excellent reclamation project. The Dayton star has shown what initially got him to that level in the 2020 draft and has become a cornerstone of Indiana's bench. That type of move could be what saves the Pacers from newfound depth concerns.

With averages of 10.6 points per game on 54/37/80 splits, Toppin has grown to exemplify exactly who the Pacers want to be. They want to play fast, they want to run in transition, and they want players who can hit threes when needed. Obi is just that.

However, over the three years Toppin has been here, the bench unit he used to lead has slowly eroded around him. What was once a group featuring Buddy Hield and Bennedict Mathurin, alongside now starters Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard, is now down to just him and TJ McConnell.

While it's not as threadbare as it may seem, it is still worrying that Indiana no longer has young talent they are hoping will take the next step. Instead, they're down to eight guys who they cannot afford to have underwhelm expectations.

That leaves just two options: hope for the best, or raise your ceiling and buy low on someone you can build up.

The Pacers did so magnificently with Toppin. Whose name can they find next?

The short list of draft disappointments

Funny enough, the exact type of player the Pacers should be looking for, in situation more so than in playstyle, is Jarace Walker. The former eighth overall pick hasn't disappointed, but he hasn't excited Indiana much either.

Walker hasn't been bad as a connective bench piece who rebounds and defends, but the image fans of the Houston prospect had when he was drafted clearly won't materialize in Indy.

Looking around the league, other players that fit that box (i.e., non-draft busts who are also acquirable) are few and far between. Often, teams will value their own players internally far more than they do outside options. That goes double if the front office in place drafted them as well.

Look at Memphis, for example. After the trade of Jaren Jackson Jr., the Grizzlies are clearly prioritizing the growth of Cameron Boozer and Zach Edey. The prospects they acquired (Taylor Hendricks and Walter Clayton Jr.) are part of the return on their best trade piece. Dumping them for scraps would look awful on paper.

Hendricks could be a fun name for Indy, but it would be hard to acquire. Elsewhere, Washington has two players who could make a ton of sense as buy-lows.

Both Bub Carrington and Bilal Coulibaly fit Indiana's needs for depth on the wing with huge upside. Both have had swing skill sets in DC that have limited their potential growth, leaving the Wizards in search of options to upgrade from them.

Coulibaly has struggled as a three-point shooter and is not stuck behind a glut of forwards that leave him with a minor role ahead of restricted free agency. Carrington will be used as a sixth man and may have fully seen his spot disappear behind Tre Johnson and Trae Young.

With an extra roster spot available to them after signing Jalen Slawson to a two-way deal, the Pacers can pull off a one-for-two deal. Finding a way to nab an upside play seems like the smartest option for that course of action.