The Knicks have made some moves, but what comes next is a question mark

LAS VEGAS — While the attention at a sold-out Thomas and Mack Center was focused on the debut of Victor Wembanyama as the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League kicked off, along with the pregame drama of Wembanyama’s security allegedly roughing up Britney Spears before the local police squashed any charges, the Knicks weren’t exactly forgotten amid the hype Friday.

But mostly it was scouts and executives of other teams asking what the Knicks are doing. While the team was expected to officially announce the roster moves that took place in recent weeks, it is coming in pieces.

The Knicks announced the trade of Obi Toppin to the Pacers, although the headline on their release was simply “Knicks acquire two future draft picks.” The signing of Donte DiVincenzo remains unofficial and Josh Hart opting into his deal has not been announced, although both are hardly a secret.

But what’s next — and most expect a “next’’ — is a mystery.

The Knicks remain in the market for a star. They haven’t come as close as they did last summer — when they chased Donovan Mitchell before he was traded to the Cavaliers — but they’ve been in the market for Paul George and have listened in on talk about most star talent that could be on the move, reportedly inquiring about James Harden and OG Anunoby.

Even if they keep their core intact, they still have work to do around the margins, namely finding a backup power forward to replace Toppin.

A source confirmed reports that the picks they obtained for Toppin are a 2028 second-rounder that is the less favorable of the Pacers’ or Suns’ pick and a 2029 second-rounder, again the worse of the Pacers’ or Wizards’ pick.

While the Knicks remained silent, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle and team president Kevin Pritchard spoke Thursday at a news conference to officially announce the signing of free agent Bruce Brown, a Knicks target in free agency.

Carlisle praised the skill set of Toppin and what he can bring to the Pacers.

“One of the statistics we happened upon — we have another deal that’s in the works that we can’t really talk about — but the rumored player in that deal is the No. 1 player in effective field-goal percentage in transition,” Carlisle said of Toppin (whose trade hadn’t become official at that point), based on the last two years combined. “And No. 2 is [Indiana point guard] Tyrese [Haliburton]. And No. 3 is Bruce Brown. So our management team has done a great job of adding a couple of great pieces to what our identity is, a fast team.”

Toppin certainly contributed that to the Knicks but could not do all of the things that the team needed — defend and rebound — to earn more minutes and get himself in line for a sizable contract extension beginning next season.

While Toppin had a limited role, the Knicks still need to fill that spot. Right now, Josh Hart and RJ Barrett are the most likely candidates to fill in behind Julius Randle for the few minutes in which he sits. Isaiah Roby, a four-year veteran, is playing on the Knicks’ Summer League squad to try to earn that spot.

Brown could have done it if he had signed with the Knicks instead of Indiana. He revealed Thursday that he had only two meetings in free agency — the first with the Knicks and then Indiana before shutting down the process.

“The Knicks were the first,” Brown said. “I think we had others lined up, but we didn’t make it there.”

While Brown praised a recruiting pitch from Haliburton, money may have been the bigger factor, with the Pacers blowing the market away with a two-year, $45 million deal (the second year is a team option). The Knicks were armed only with the non-taxpayer midlevel exception of $12.4 million, which they then used most of to secure DiVincenzo.

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.