Mitchell Robinson Leaves the Knicks for Boston: Celtics Add Rim Protection at a Reasonable Price
Boston is not wasting time.
Backup center Mitchell Robinson agreed to a three-year, $47.4 million contract with the Celtics, per multiple reports Monday. Robinson, who spent his entire NBA career with the New York Knicks, will now be a key part of the Boston frontcourt rotation. His new deal includes a player option in the third year, giving him some flexibility to reassess in 2028.
The Celtics needed exactly this. They lost veteran interior depth in the last cycle of moves, and their rotation behind Kristaps Porzingis was thin coming off a season that ended earlier than expected in the playoffs. Robinson at $15.8 million per year is a bargain if he stays healthy.
Health is the eternal question with Robinson. He has averaged fewer than 50 games per season across his career, missing significant time with a lingering ankle issue that limited him for the last two seasons in New York. When he plays, he is dominant. He led the league in field goal percentage for a stretch and remains one of the most efficient dunk finishers in the sport.
Boston’s fit is clean. Robinson does not need touches. He does not need plays run for him. He rebounds his position, finishes lobs, and protects the rim. Those are the exact skills the Celtics were missing behind Porzingis. When both are healthy, Boston has one of the tallest, longest frontcourts in the league.
The Knicks, meanwhile, watched a homegrown talent walk out the door. Robinson was drafted by New York in the second round of 2018 and grew into a legitimate NBA player under Tom Thibodeau. The Knicks were reportedly willing to bring him back, but not at the number Boston offered. Sometimes it comes down to money, and Boston had more of it available in this cycle.
New York will now have to reshape its center rotation around Karl-Anthony Towns and whoever fills the backup spot. The names being floated are less appealing than what Robinson offered. Depth was already a concern for the Knicks after their extended playoff run last year.
For the Eastern Conference, this move is a bigger deal than the headline suggests. Boston did not win a title last year. They lost in the second round. Their rotation was exposed. Adding Robinson at 27 years old for reasonable money addresses one of the specific weaknesses that showed up in the playoffs.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown remain the top of the roster. Jaylen Brown’s future is its own storyline right now, which is why Boston might be moving so aggressively to reload around a potential change. If Brown ends up traded, having Robinson locked in gives the Celtics more flexibility to swing a big deal.
Boston has been the most disciplined franchise in the league for the last decade. This signing is on brand. Get a proven player at a fair price with a team-friendly structure and move on. It will not be the flashiest move of the summer, but it will show up in the games that matter.
Mitchell Robinson is a Celtic. And New York has some homework to do.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
