It wasn’t supposed to end this way. Not after winning a ring and bringing joy to a city starved of success in the NBA. But former New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson will now have to pack his bags and compete against the Knicks themselves.
Robinson signed a three-year, $47 million contract with the rival Boston Celtics on Day 1 of free agency, raising eyebrows across the board. While many expected Robinson to leave after franchise owner James Dolan’s comments about the salary cap, few expected him to join the Knicks’ direct rivals.
However, it appears there’s more to the move than meets the eye.
Mitchell Robinson Sets Record Straight on Leaving Knicks For Celtics in Free Agency
A few days after the Knicks lifted the Larry O’Brien Trophy, Dolan made an intriguing statement during an appearance on WFAN.
“There’s certain things in the NBA that you’d have to be suicidal to do. One of them is the second apron. Cannot go into the second apron. I’ll write as big of a check as possible, but I can’t write a check that goes into the second apron,” Dolan said.
And just like that, Knicks fans made their peace with losing a core member of the team that delivered an NBA championship to the city for the first time since 1973.
But when the gates of free agency opened, watching Robinson join the rival Celtics struck a different nerve. As Robinson penned his goodbye for Knicks fans, his former teammate, OG Anunoby, dropped into the comments section to indicate his frustration with the turn of events.
Robinson wasted no time clearing the air, replying to a comment: “I tried, brother. I didn’t want this to happen. Hopefully, the truth comes out at some point. I’m gonna miss you, big dawg! Keep being great.”
It’s unclear what Robinson is alluding to, but perhaps he will divulge those details at some point in the near future. There were precious few machinations the Knicks could’ve worked when Dolan drew a hard line around spending in the aftermath of their championship. That hard line now sees the Knicks scrambling for answers at center.
After losing one of the league’s premier rebounders, Knicks GM Gersson Rosas will now have to scour the market for a solution to bolster their frontcourt depth. Andre Drummond comes to mind as a possible answer.
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However, Robinson also had his fair share of problems in the playoffs. Given his poor free-throw shooting, he averaged just 13.9 minutes per game in New York’s postseason run to glory.
Attention now turns to grabbing an effective rebounder who can crash the glass and shoot better from the charity strip than Robinson. All things considered, though, the Knicks are still one of the very best teams in the NBA despite losing the champion big man.
