The NY Knicks have been on a tear as of late winning 12 of their last 13 games and have been doing so without the services of Mitchell Robinson.
Due to his impending free agency coming up in the summer of 2022, the Knicks’ front office is going to have some tough decisions on its hands.
Mitch has just one year left on his rookie deal where he’s set to make just $1.8 million next season before becoming an unrestricted free agent.
He’s been hindered by a multitude of injuries over the last few seasons, but this season may have been his worst to date.
Back on February 12th, Mitch sustained a fractured right hand which caused him to miss several weeks of action.
Finally returning in late March, Robinson then went on to fracture a bone in his foot just 6 minutes into a game against the Bucks on March 27th.
Should the NY Knicks look to trade Mitchell Robinson this offseason?
This most recent injury effectively ended his season unless the Knicks were to make a very deep playoff run.
A string of bad luck to say the least.
The fanbase was loving what they saw out of Mitch on a nightly basis but in his absence, guys like Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson have really stepped things up.
As good as Mitchell Robinson is, it’s unfortunate that between the position he plays and his skill set not being as appreciated in the NBA as it once was, it begs the question of how much he’s really worth if the Knicks were to offer him an extension.
If you don’t have the ability to stretch the floor a bit while being an unstoppable force down low, you just don’t get paid a whole lot in today’s modern style of play.
The Knicks are in the driver’s seat and hold all the leverage at the negotiating table when they sit down to discuss Mitch’s future with the organization.
If I’m Leon Rose, I offer him a $30 million deal for 3 years and tell him to take it or leave it.
If he thinks he can get paid more elsewhere then, by all means, go find that money buddy.
If the Knicks can get basically the same level of production out of players on super cheap contracts like Noel, Taj, and Pelle…why pay someone a boatload of money?
Just seems silly to me.
Here we will be exploring what would happen if the Knicks were to opt into Mitch’s final year on his contract and then look to move him elsewhere.
NY Knicks Mitchell Robinson trade #1 – Myles Turner
Yeah, I know…you’ve seen this one before.
I just think both teams could benefit from this trade greatly and both have good reasons to actually do it.
I wrote an article discussing this idea before and I would love for the Knicks to revisit it this upcoming offseason.
Myles Turner is a better version of Mitchell Robinson without the same injury concerns.
Sure he’s had his fair share of them over the years but not to the same extent that Mitch has endured.
Turner may not be as big of a lob threat or plays the passing lanes as well as Mitch does, but he’s a much better rim protector and that’s saying a lot.
Turner is also the far superior inside scorer of the two.
One thing that he also does that Mitchell Robinson may never be able to do is also stretch the floor a bit.
His shooting numbers are down as of late but he’s still hovering around 34% on this current season.
Just 2 years ago he shot 39% from deep.
If the Knicks’ coaching staff can turn RJ Barrett and Julius Randle into 40% shooter from long range, they can help Turner get back to league average or better.
Myles Turner is owed $17.5 million next season and the season after and even though I just went on a rant as to why I don’t think centers should be getting paid all that much, Turner fits the description better of a center that should make more money on an annual basis.
The Pacers do this trade because I’d have to imagine they’re looking to cut a bit of salary now that they’re no longer competing for a top spot in the East.
A rebuild is likely on the horizon.
NY Knicks Mitchell Robinson trade #2 – Terry Rozier
So this one actually happening depends heavily on a few different things.
Firstly, if Charlotte views Terry Rozier as a part of their future, this deal is dead on arrival.
They do have a bunch of guards that are going to need to get paid soon like Graham, Bridges, and Monk but Terry is obviously the far superior player.
Second, do the Knicks want to shell out big bucks to re-sign Rozier in the summer of 2022 as he’s likely going to demand upwards of $25 million per season annually?
The organization has shown a lot of interest in ‘Scary Terry’ over the last few seasons and now that Tom Thibodeau is on board, it doesn’t seem like the Knicks are going to be heavily reliant on a pass-first point guard any time soon.
Only time will tell.
As good as Gordon Hayward has been when he’s healthy, the best ability is availability and the man can’t seem to stay upright.
The Hornets committed a lot of years and a lot of money to Hayward and somewhat limited their ability to re-sign their entire core.
So do they move on from Terry now and get something out of the deal or risk losing him to unrestricted free agency in a year for nothing?
Right now, the only center they have on the payroll as of next year is their rookie, Vernon Carey Jr.
Mitchell Robinson would slide in as their primary starting center on day 1.
I would look forward to watching all the highlights of LaMelo Ball and Mitch running pick-and-rolls on ESPN every week.
NY Knicks Mitchell Robinson trade #3 – Aaron Nesmith & picks
So, just to give the readers a little bit of a look into my train of thought when I do these mock trade scenarios…
I go to the NBA Trade Machine and I scour through all of the rosters one by one and try to look at who needs what before I write these articles.
There are probably 10 other teams that would make a trade for Mitchell Robinson so that I wouldn’t have to trade with Boston of all teams (yuck).
But when looking at the rosters as they stand now, I have to go based on who needs a center today.
One of those teams is Boston…so we’re gonna fleece them.
Boston gets Mitch…hate to see it happen but they really can use a solid center.
The Knicks get a promising but underperforming rookie in Aaron Nesmith whom I’ve traded for before in previous articles. Big fan of the guy from his college days.
The Knicks also acquire Boston’s 1st round pick this season and yet another 2nd rounder from the 2023 ‘double draft’. Super valuable draft to have as many picks as possible.
This trade would give the Knicks a nice bench shooter if Alec Burks were to get signed elsewhere.
It would also give the Knicks 3 picks within the 15 to 25 range which would give them the ability to trade up into the top 5 if they wanted to.
I personally don’t like the idea of trading with Eastern Conference teams in general, but especially not Boston…
But if this were the deal Danny Ainge offered, I’d be hard-pressed not to take it if I’m Leon Rose.