The New York Knicks want to keep Mitchell Robinson in unrestricted free agency this summer, and the price is going to be steep.
Robinson’s Finals performance has been the kind of story that drives free agent contracts. He has been the most important defender on the floor against Victor Wembanyama. He has rebounded everything. He has provided rim protection while playing through a finger injury that would have sidelined most players. Now every team with cap space and a hole in the middle is watching.
The Knicks are likely to face real competition for his services this offseason, according to league sources. Several Eastern Conference teams need a defensive-minded center who can play big minutes in the playoffs. The Pistons have the cap space. The Magic could use him. The Bulls have made noise about a defensive overhaul.
Robinson is going to get paid. The question is how much.
The case for him is built on what he has done in the postseason. Robinson has averaged 7 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game during the playoffs while playing 24 minutes a night. His defensive metrics are off the charts. He has held Victor Wembanyama under 40 percent shooting in the Finals so far, which is the most important defensive job on Earth right now.
The case against is health. Robinson has played in just 30 games during the regular season because of a recurring ankle issue. He has finger problems. He has had foot issues. The body has been a recurring theme throughout his career, and any team signing him to a long-term deal is taking on real medical risk.
The Knicks have Bird rights, which gives them an advantage. They can offer more years and more total money than any other team. The downside is that signing Robinson big eats into the cap room they need to keep building the supporting cast. Donte DiVincenzo is also coming up. Josh Hart’s contract has to be managed. The math gets tight.
Leon Rose has been smart about playing this kind of game. He brought in Karl-Anthony Towns last summer and somehow kept the supporting cast intact. He has a knack for finding the right number on tricky contracts. Robinson is going to test that ability in a different way because the deal has to be both big enough to keep him and short enough to protect against the injury history.
The most likely outcome is a deal in the $20 to $25 million per year range on a three-year contract with some kind of partial guarantee in the final year. That gives Robinson security. It gives the Knicks an out if his body fails. It keeps the cap clean enough to keep the rest of the roster.
Mike Brown is going to push hard for Robinson to come back. The Knicks coaching staff has built their defensive scheme around him as the anchor. Karl-Anthony Towns is a better offensive piece, but Robinson is the one who makes the defense actually work. Losing him would be a significant blow to the team’s identity.
The other piece of leverage is location. Robinson is a New York guy now. He has grown into his role with the franchise. He has the trust of his teammates. He has a coach who knows how to use him. Going somewhere else for slightly more money would mean walking away from the situation that made him a Finals-impact player in the first place.
The Knicks are also a real title contender. Going from a Finals team to a rebuilding team for a few more million dollars is the kind of decision a smart player thinks twice about. Robinson is smart. He has the right people around him. He is probably going to take a slight discount to stay.
Probably. Free agency has a way of changing things.
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.
