Mitchell Robinson is on his way out of New York. The 28-year-old center intends to sign a three-year, $47.4 million contract with the Celtics in free agency, ending an eight-year Knicks run that once made him the team’s longest-tenured player.
The timing matters because free agency opened Tuesday, when teams were officially allowed to begin negotiating with other players, and Robinson’s next step immediately reshapes both sides of the deal. He was the rare big man the Knicks could trust for rebounding and short bursts of stability, which is why his departure lands harder than the size of the contract alone suggests.
Robinson’s deal breaks down to about $15.8 million a season, a number that explains why the Knicks could not realistically chase a return while still following James Dolan’s stated goal of staying under the second apron. New York had already committed to Jose Alvarado, Landry Shamet and Mohamed Diawara on multiyear deals, trimming the room to roughly $9 million under that line while still needing three more players. That math left little chance for a respectable offer to bring Robinson back.
His exit also closes the book on a player who arrived as a second-round pick and became one of the NBA’s better rebounders. In Game 5 of the Finals, Robinson’s final contribution for the Knicks came when he corralled Josh Hart’s missed free throw with 26.1 seconds left and New York up by three, a rebound that denied the Spurs a chance to tie. It was the kind of small, winning play that defined his time there, even if the roster rules ultimately made him too expensive to keep.
The move leaves the Knicks with a clear hole behind Karl-Anthony Towns and no easy way to fix it before July 6, when deals can be made official. Miles McBride is now the longest-tenured Knick, and Robinson’s departure makes that shift feel real: New York is younger, thinner up front and still boxed in by the payroll plan that pushed one of its most useful players away.
