As Obi Toppin’s name continues to surface as a prime Knicks trade candidate, details have emerged of a dust-up between Toppin and head coach Tom Thibodeau during New York’s recent playoff run.
According to Fred Katz of The Athletic, a frustrated Toppin began “airing his grievances” to Thibodeau after the Knicks fell in a lifeless game four loss to the Heat in the second round, making his frustrations heard as they made their way to the locker room in Miami. Per Katz, “an intense verbal altercation” ensued and continued once they were in the visiting locker room, to the point where assistant coach Rick Brunson stood up for Thibodeau, leading to Toppin getting into it with Brunson before players cooled him off.
The altercation stemmed from Toppin’s frustration after he was benched down the stretch in game four, though Katz noted that Toppin and Thibodeau quickly squashed the beef and moved on, and the Knicks responded with a spirited win in game five.
Recent reports reinforced the sentiment that Toppin was frustrated with his role last season, averaging just over 15 minutes per game coming off the bench behind Julius Randle. Thibodeau doesn’t seem to have a desire to pair Toppin with Randle, so the former top-10 pick has been an odd man out, making a trade seemingly likely.
Toppin’s reported explosion is a rare outburst, as he publicly has talked down any idea of being frustrated with his role, and prioritized helping the team whenever his number was called.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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