The Knicks took care of a lot of business this summer, extending Mikal Bridges, hiring Mike Brown, and adding Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson in free agency. But one area that wasn’t addressed is the upcoming free agency of center Mitchell Robinson.
In a mailbag for The Athletic, James Edwards III discusses the Robinson conundrum for the Knicks, which revolves around both the immense value he has displayed for the team in back-to-back playoff runs, as well as the injury concerns that have limited him to just 48 games over the last two regular seasons.
Edwards writes that his sense is that the Knicks would be interested in a team-friendly extension, but if Robinson wants to bet on himself, that could complicate extension talks. He also notes that should the center stay healthy during the first half of the season, the Knicks could consider trading him for value rather than risk losing him in free agency.
We have more from the Knicks:
- The addition of Brown is expected to bring more balance and structure to players’ roles, Bondy writes, and to increase the pace with which the team plays. One area where that could present itself is in the approach of star Jalen Brunson. Bondy notes that Brunson held the ball longer than any player in the NBA last season, with an average of 6.06 seconds per touch. He compares that to Tyrese Haliburton, who averaged just 3.65 seconds per touch. While Brunson is undeniably elite with the ball in his hand, encouraging him to make quicker decisions, especially when it comes to finding Karl-Anthony Towns along the perimeter, could help energize the offense and introduce more unpredictability.
- One player who could see an uptick in responsibility this season is Miles McBride, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. Bondy notes that Bridges struggled in his role as the primary point-of-attack defender last season, as he found himself less able to stay in front of high-level ball-handlers, a role McBride is perfectly suited to. Having McBride take primary guard matchups would allow Bridges to slot in as a tertiary defender while not forcing Jalen Brunson into defensive matchups he would struggle with. Bondy notes that former head coach Tom Thibodeau was reluctant to play McBride with Brunson, likely due to size concerns, but that Brown might be more open to the idea.
- At least one prominent coach is still grappling with the Knicks’ firing of Thibodeau, Bondy writes, citing recent comments by Clippers head coach Ty Lue. “Should he have been fired? Hell no,” Lue said on the Club Shay Shay podcast. “The players did a hell of a job. And Thibs did a hell of a job. And to take a team to their first [conference finals] in 25 years and then get fired, like, it just doesn’t make sense.” Lue also believes that the circumstances around Thibodeau’s firing and the expectations conveyed by the front office make for a difficult situation for Brown. “That’s a tough spot to be in,” he said.
I don’t think NY can lose Mitch and go deep. Small ball Kat at the five isn’t appealing to me at all. Would be very appealing scheming against Brunson and Kat on the defensive end though. Both a liability and will be hunted relentlessly when it matters. Will both get worked over in a seven game series. A team with the full MLE available this time next year would definitely take a chance on Robinson. Mitch has already been a descending team friendly contract. The injury history is real though and makes it hard to evaluate worth. I also think OG and Bridges overlap a bit, hence Bridges a little less efficient and effective. We’ll see?
Seriously lol do you watch the Knicks.
KAT is the starting all-star center. He avg 25 n 13 last year. His best rebounding avg for his career. You may not like his D. Nobody likes his D. He is still the Knicks center. And NO he and Mitch will never work. How much better that starting all-star CENTER can you be …
Just an example….Spurs could add Mitch. Wemby, Robinson, Kornet…..whoa. Wemby could play the 4 some. A back up role in San Antonio may be good health wise for Mitch. Kelly, Barnes FAs etc. I’m sure other ball clubs could add Mitch too. Going to be hard for NY to keep Mitch without moving someone else.
They can keep him. Would just go over the second apron. As for the Spurs they tried Wemby at the 4 and it was horrible. He was getting beat off the dribble and getting into foul trouble chasing speed. He settled in once he got in front of the net and the Spurs D benefits from him being a deterrent in the paint.
Send a Mitch pkg to the Nets for a Danny Wolf pkg.
The Washington pick protected through 1-8 would be huge for NY of somehow ended up in their lap. Unlikely though.
Thats the right path there. I just don’t see any trades till at least 30 gms played. New coach, new bench. We need time to feel everything out.
Can’t imagine them trading Mitch if they are trying to win a championship.
NY writers don’t write about the Knicks. Their concerns are in creating more news. So they can milk a story. McBride was the first guy off the bench last yr. Unfortunately he didn’t have a good year. But he always played with Jalen. And the reason Bridges is here. Is to help Jalen on D. So this writer is clueless.
Mitch is the backup here. Imo Thibs got fired cause he wasn’t a bigTowns guy. And he is Rose prized player.
So it’s Towns or bust in NY. Which means our best move will be to move Mitch and whoever. To strengthen team around the core. We got time to see that thru. First we will see how the coach works this team. How the bench supports the starters. We got plenty of time to feel this team out. Before making any moves. As it stands the odds say Knicks are one of favorites in East. So there is no moves coming till 30-40 gms in. Or even the TD.
I have been saying this since we got Towns. Knicks have to find a big defensive PF. Who can play with Towns and watch his back 20-22 mins. Is all we need and Hart can come off bench for 30 mins. Makes the bench one of deepest and best.
Yeah, I’m not sure what the writer is talking about. McBride played well on D – at least better than most guards in the league. Much was expected of him on offense as well, which he performed when needed. He can also handle the ball as well. He’s not Brunson, but I don’t think he’d be on the bench if he was. He’s a perfect sixth man and change of pace player. Very much like Starks, just not as proficient in rebounding or trash talking.
Seen kat plenty of times, watch knicks as much as you. I’ve seen enough of Kat when not next to Rudy or Mitch. Kat is useless defensively. More a drop coverage guy and he’s soft. Mitch can switch and guard smaller guys much better that Kat. I actually think Mitch is a far better contested rebounder than Kat. Kat, like plenty of others live off non contested boards on the defensive end. I’m sure I was reading somewhere Mitch lead offensive boards per minutes in the entire playoffs just gone. Losing him completely changes the dynamic of the Knicks. Reminds of when Boston for some reason traded Perkins before the deadline while sitting atop the east. Then finished 4th in east and bounced in the second round. Completely changed the dynamic of the team. Uncontested boards off drop coverage is all reliant on a miss. No need to be so sensitive. Losing Mitch will hurt the knicks, best make this season count is my opinion. Robinson out there forcing smaller guys into tougher shots while Kat in drop coverage is ready to pad his stats.
The knicks best defensive rating in the playoff just gone was with the double big lineup up. Net rating through the roof, was extremely high. You can’t hide two weak links defensively in the playoffs without Mitch. We’ll just wait and see.