The New York Knicks won the NBA championship in part because of the energetic frontcourt contributions of Mitchell Robinson.
But when they get their rings and raise the banner on Tuesday night, Robinson won’t be there. He’ll have just finished up playing a game in Detroit as a member of the Boston Celtics.
It was the most painful piece of the offseason for many Knicks fans. Not only did Robinson leave in free agency, but he signed with the rival Celtics.
The reasons for what happened make sense, but that doesn’t remove the sentimental loss that the Knicks are certainly feeling.
They’ll experience a new feeling on Tuesday, too, when they see Robinson in Celtics green, and then they watch the Knicks play without him against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Why Did Knicks Let Mitchell Robinson Leave for Celtics?
The Knicks let Mitchell Robinson get away because of the NBA’s salary cap apron rules.
The only way for the Knicks to pay Robinson what he would’ve wanted in a deal would’ve been to go over the second apron of the salary cap.
The second apron is the most restrictive part of the cap rules, preventing teams from taking on money in trades or making other kinds of signings. It severely hampers a team from doing anything significant in the middle of the season to improve the roster.
And so the Knicks opted not to pay Robinson. They stayed under the second apron line. It can potentially help them down the road, but it didn’t help them keep Robinson.
Robinson signed a three-year, $47.4 million deal to go to Boston and play for the Celtics. It’ll be quite the sight when these teams match up later in the year.
Knicks’ New Backup Center
The Knicks didn’t slack entirely at filling in their frontcourt, though.
They signed Andre Drummond to be their new rebounding monster at the center position.
Like with Robinson, there will probably be some games when the veteran Drummond starts and some when he comes off the bench — and there will be some when his minutes are high and some when they’re low.
Drummond is particularly fascinating because he’s basically an earlier version of Robinson — he gets tons of rebounds and misses lots of free throws.
Interestingly, Drummond did start to add a bit of a 3-point shot to his game last season, so maybe he can add just a tiny bit of floor spacing in a spot where Robinson shrunk the floor. Teams aren’t going to greatly respect Drummond as a shooter, though.
And it’s an oddly tough spot for Drummond — he’ll be trying to fill the shoes of a Knicks fan favorite. But the Madison Square Garden crowd could fall for him quickly if Drummond makes an early impact by simply going up and getting the basketball, again and again, much like Robinson did.
Why Knicks Let Mitchell Robinson Leave For Celtics