The Knicks‘ longest-tenured player may soon be on his way out of New York. Mitchell Robinson is an unrestricted free agent, and despite previous reports that he could be “very open” to re-signing with the Knicks, it would appear that attempts to retain him could be threatened by owner James Dolan‘s edict that the team avoid the second apron.
It was initially unclear how hard-line a stance that was, but Dolan reiterated the demand prior to the NBA draft on Tuesday, according to Ian Begley of SNY.
Despite injury questions that have limited Robinson to playing fewer than 20 minutes per game each of the last two years, his elite offensive rebounding and strong rim protection on the championship Knicks have reportedly increased his value, which is why it looks increasingly unlikely that Robinson will be back, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post (Twitter link).
Begley agrees with Bondy’s assessment, noting that keeping him would require a pay cut from the 28-year-old big man (Twitter link). Given his age and injury history, Robinson may be interested in getting the most money possible in his next contract, especially if that offer were to come from a competitive team like the Lakers, who have been rumored to have interest.
The Knicks have been doing everything in their power to cut money ahead of their upcoming roster moves, including getting Jose Alvarado to agree to push back the date of his player option decision and trading out of the first round and the top of the 2026 draft.
If the Knicks were able to trade Pacome Dadiet into a team’s cap space, sign their second-round picks to minimum deals, and have Alvarado opt into his deal, they would still only be able to offer Robinson around $9MM as a starting salary, while other teams could potentially offer him up to $15MM with the mid-level exception, notes Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (via Twitter).
Robinson still could choose to return to the team that drafted him in 2018 on a discount, but if the Knicks are serious about ducking the second apron, as it seems they are, it is looking increasingly unlikely that he will return.
