It’s hard to discover what’s worse, knowing that Mitchell Robinson could leave the New York Knicks this summer as an unrestricted free agent or trying to decipher which team has the best shot at signing him. It’s torturous to think about his future outside of New York.
The Knicks could sign the center to a contract extension before the end of June, but if that doesn’t happen, Robinson will hit free agency.
Unsurprisingly, several teams are expected to make a push to sign the 24-year-old if he and New York can’t agree to a deal. The likelihood seems to be that he could stay in the Eastern Conference and sign with another team that’s full of young talent.
Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes selected one free-agent target for all 30 NBA teams and he presented the idea of a dark horse team targeting and signing the big man. Robinson’s been linked to the Mavericks, but Hughes believes that he’ll be a priority for the Rockets.
Would New York Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson fit in on the Houston Rockets?
Robinson signing with Houston seems a bit far off and Hughes acknowledged that in his piece. He wrote:
"The New York Knicks have Mitchell Robinson’s Bird rights, and the Houston Rockets don’t project to have cap space, but it’s still possible to do some matchmaking here.Robinson and the Knicks couldn’t agree on an extension during the season, with the team being limited to an offer of no more than four years and $48 million. SNY’s Ian Begley reported the Knicks didn’t come close to offering that much."
Could the Rockets use a player like Robinson? Absolutely. As Hughes mentioned, Houston lacks a strong interior defensive player and Robinson averaged 1.8 blocks in the 72 games that he played in for the Knicks this past year.
The Rockets finished with a league-worst 20-62 record in the 2021-22 regular season, so it’d be difficult for the team to lure Robinson to Houston.
The team’s current starting center is 26-year-old Christian Wood, who averaged 17.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 1 block in 68 games. He’ll make $14.3 million next year and is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Wood isn’t a strong defender, but Robinson is. That’s the main difference between the two players. The Rockets’ center defensive rating this past year was 112.6, while Robinson’s was 106.5.
If the Rockets can find a trade partner for John Wall, who will make $47.4 million in 2022-23, they’ll free up a lot of cap space. Houston hasn’t had luck with finding a team to take on his contract yet, but it could happen.
This isn’t to say that Robinson won’t end up with the Rockets, but it’s a far shot. Wood isn’t that much older than him and his rebounding and scoring numbers are better. Houston’s center has outplayed the three-year, $41 million contract that he signed with the team in free agency two seasons ago.
There have been trade rumors regarding Wood, but even if he were to be traded, it’s tough to envision Robinson signing with the Rockets.
Based on the other options that Robinson could have in free agency, Houston isn’t the likely suitor for him, but the organization could schedule a meeting with him nonetheless.
Bleacher Report foresees Knicks going after this Grizzlies point guard in free agency
With NBA free agency set to begin on the first of July, Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes believes the New York Knicks should go after this point guard.