Obi Toppin

After a subpar rookie campaign and a mediocre first half of 2021-22, Toppin offered a glimpse of his abilities in the second half, averaging 14.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists over 23.0 minutes per game in 18 appearances following the All-Star break. Toppin was considered an old prospect leaving the draft, so the hope was he wouldn't require too much development, and the 24-year-old forward's third year could see him carve out a larger role in the Knicks' rotation. While Toppin hasn't developed a reliable shot from deep, he converted at a 53.1 percent clip last year from the field and connected on 75.8 percent of his free-throw attempts, both good enough marks to add some fantasy utility, especially if his playing time trend in the second half carries over into 2022-23. Toppin should resume his duties as a bench player for the Knicks with the same starting frontline -- Mitchell Robinson, Julius Randle and RJ Barrett -- set to return. Toppin should be one of the first off the bench and could move into the starting five consistently if Randle misses time.

The No. 8 overall pick in 2020, Toppin had a disappointing rookie season. While the Knicks exceeded expectations, Toppin failed to meet them while being stuck behind Julius Randle, who led the NBA in minutes and finished eighth in MVP voting. In his 11.0 minutes per game, Toppin averaged 4.1 points and 2.2 rebounds with shooting splits of 50/31/73. It will again be tough for Toppin to find meaningful minutes. Randle is still around, and the Knicks maintained depth in the frontcourt while adding depth on the wing with Evan Fournier. It's certainly possible Toppin sees closer to 20 minutes per game rather than 10 minutes, but it still seems unlikely he'll be able to make an impact in fantasy. Encouragingly, he was great in Summer League, where he played six games and averaged 21.0 points on 45/34/89 shooting, 8.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 35.1 minutes.

The 22-year-old was considered by some to be a potential top-five selection, but the Knicks were able to grab him with the No. 8 pick in the 2020 Draft. Toppin finished his career at Dayton as a redshirt sophomore and averaged 20.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.2 blocks while shooting 63.3 percent overall and 39.0 percent on three-point attempts. He could immediately slide into the frontcourt rotation with Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson and figures to be one of the focal points of the rebuild. For fantasy, he should be a good source of points, rebounds and field-goal percentage with some upside as a defender who can produce both steals and blocks.