Mitchell Robinson is reportedly signing with a hated rival, twisting the knife for a Knicks team that has seen its frontcourt depth decimated in a matter of hours.
According to ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania, Robinson has agreed to a three-year, $47.4 million deal with the Celtics, moving north to Boston to join a team that plans on returning to contention with a healthy Jayson Tatum.
Speculation had been rampant for weeks regarding Robinson's future with the Knicks, especially after owner James Dolan told The Carton Show that he would not go into the second apron this offseason. That made Robinson returning seem nearly impossible, and that fate was finalized with Wednesday's news, which came shortly after another center on the Knicks bench departed with Ariel Hukporti signing with the 76ers, another New York rival.
Robinson was the longest tenured Knick, a former second-round pick who blossomed into one of the best offensive rebounders in basketball. He labored through several long-term injuries along the way, and suffered a mysterious hand injury just before the NBA Finals, but he played through it and grabbed six offensive rebounds in the team's clinching game five in San Antonio, including one of the most famous offensive rebounds in franchise history off an OG Anunoby missed free throw to all but seal the game, and the team's first title in 53 years.
Robinson was a part of some of the Knicks' darkest days and remained with the club through its ascent to a champion in the Jalen Brunson era. Now, his departure leaves New York scrambling to bolster its size on the bench to back up Karl-Anthony Towns as the Knicks prepare for their title defense.
Robinson had been the longest tenured Knick, but he now joins a hated rival.
Robinson had been the longest tenured Knick, but he now joins a hated rival.
