Dylan Backer
The New York Knicks will lose one of their franchise icons in free agency. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday that center Mitchell Robinson is heading to the Boston Celtics on a three-year, $47.4 million deal.
Knicks lose Mitchell Robinson to the Celtics
Robinson was the longest tenured Knick, having been with the team since 2018. After getting drafted to New York in the second round during their darkest days, he closed the final chapter on his Knicks career with a championship eight years later.
Now he joins the Celtics, one of the biggest threats towards the Knicks’ chances of repeating next season. Boston needed a center badly after their lack of frontcourt talent hurt them last season, and now they grabbed arguably the most valuable big man on the free agent market.
Robinson made his impact felt everytime he touched the floor for the Knicks. He was a great lob threat for Jalen Brunson, an exceptional offensive rebounder, and a strong rim protector.
His offensive rebound off a missed free throw in Game 5 of the NBA Finals helped seal the Knicks’ first championship in over 53 years, a fitting finish to his tenure with the team.
Knicks need to replace Robinson
Now, New York needs to find a way to replace Robinson on the roster, which will be very difficult to do. The free agent market is underwhelming, with guys like Kevon Looney and Nick Richards headlining the market at the position, so a trade might need to be in order.
The Knicks do have some pieces they could move off of to help free up salary and take on a more serviceable backup big. Yves Missi of the New Orleans Pelicans and Moussa Diabate of the Charlotte Hornets seem to be reasonable trade targets, and Andre Drummond and Kevon Looney remain as free agent targets.
Losing Robinson is going to sting for the Knicks, but they can still make up for his loss if they pull some string together and properly fill in the holes necessary to go back-to-back.
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