The New York Knicks were dealt a major blow this week when it was announced that Mitchell Robinson would not be ready for the start of the season as he recovers from foot surgery in May.
The Knicks are reportedly considering Robinson’s return in December or January, depending on how his rehabilitation progresses.
Although the news only became public this week, it’s probably not news to the Knicks. Fred Katz of The Athletic said on his Twitter account The “Katz and Shoot” podcast that the Knicks had not been thrilled with Robinson’s rehabilitation progress this offseason.
The Knicks would feel confident in their roster and depth in Robinson’s absence.
Still, it’s worth asking whether Robinson has already played his last game with the Knicks.
Knicks’ center depth is now worrisome
Robinson’s absence has a surprisingly large ripple effect on the rest of the squad.
Without Robinson, the Knicks are suddenly smaller, thinner and without their best rim protector and rebounder. Robinson’s absence will be especially felt on the Knicks’ offensive rebounding front.
Learn more: Why Mitchell Robinson Could Be the Knicks’ Biggest X-Factor This Season
Without Robinson, the Knicks will rely on Jericho Sims and Precious Achiuwa to man the center spot. Sims is a hyper-athletic center, but still raw and unproven. Achiuwa is more polished, but slightly smaller to play center full-time.
The Knicks have talked about small-ball lineups with Julius Randle and OG Anunoby in the middle, but those lineups would be more effective in smaller doses. Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau even said in a statement: interview with NBA.com that too many minutes at center would be physically taxing for Randle, who — it should be noted — is coming off shoulder surgery and also might not be ready for opening night in a month.
Thibodeau, by the way, didn’t mention Robinson once in that interview with NBA.com, even when asked how the Knicks would compensate for the departure of Isaiah Hartenstein.
Counting on Robinson to recover could be dangerous for the Knicks. “The Lowe Post” podcastSNY’s Ian Begley estimated Robinson would be more likely to return in January than December due to his injury history and the complexity of rehabbing a lower-body injury for a big man.
Even if Robinson returned on Jan. 1, the Knicks would still face the uncomfortable idea of counting on Robinson to stay healthy for the remainder of the season, including a potential long postseason run. Robinson’s injury history suggests that’s unlikely.
Robinson is one of the Knicks’ few trade assets
The Knicks also don’t have many trade options. Because of New York’s salary cap, they have to send more money in a trade than they receive. However, the Knicks have relatively little salary they would be willing to send in a trade. Assuming the ‘Nova Knicks and OG Anunoby are untouchable, that leaves Randle ($28.9 million), Robinson ($14.3 million), Achiuwa ($6 million) and Miles McBride ($4.3 million) as the only non-minimum salaries that could net a rotation-worthy center.
It seems like the Knicks have no interest in trading Randle if it makes them worse – finding a sensible trade for a center who could replicate Randle’s value is nearly impossible.
Achiuwa won’t be eligible for a trade until January. Even if the Knicks combined his salary with McBride’s in a deal, they’d be looking for centers making less than $10.7 million this season. There aren’t many impact players at that salary level, and it’s unclear whether the Knicks would want to give up two rotation players for one.
Robinson and his $14.3 million salary are therefore a key asset in expanding the pool of players the Knicks could target. There are a few interesting centers making less than Robinson this year, such as Robert Williams III on the Portland Trail Blazers and Steven Adams on the Houston Rockets (although both of those players also have injury issues).
Learn more: Seven centers who could be trade targets for the Knicks this season
Robinson, of course, doesn’t have much trade value right now. He’s an injured center with two years left on his contract. He’s set to make $12.9 million next year, so his reduced salary isn’t as much of a burden for another team to take on.
This is where the Knicks face another dilemma: They have few assets to trade. The Knicks can’t trade their own first-round picks. They have two highly protected first-round picks in 2025 via the Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards. The Knicks can also trade first-round picks to another team in 2026 or 2030.
Would all of this be enough to entice a team to take Robinson? It’s unclear. The Knicks won’t exactly be negotiating from a position of strength.
Rumors of a center trade have been swirling all offseason for the Knicks, and it appears they’re already ready to make a move to add depth.
The question now is whether they will act sooner to find a new starting centre.
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