When it comes to the 2022 offseason, literally anything and everything seems to be on the table for the likes of the New York Knicks.
After enduring yet another playoff-less campaign (their 16th since the turn of the century), the Knickerbockers find themselves heading into a summer filled with a bevy of unknowns.
What will they do with the No. 11 pick?
Will they finally bring on a franchise-caliber point guard?
What will happen with Julius Randle?
As the days pass by, we find ourselves seeing more questions arising than potential answers, and, just recently, a social media post threw yet another quagmire into the mix, as it pertained to starting center Mitchell Robinson, and how, according to this specific user, New York is planning on parting ways with him.
Now, granted, this hypothetical should be nothing new to Knick fans, for, even during the regular season, it was evident that the franchise was not completely sold on the big man as being a long-term option at the pivot anyway.
That said, with this new rumbling, it should spark a serious thought among both the team’s faithful followers as well as New York’s decision-makers: If Robinson walks, who would they look to replace him at the five?
Obviously, we love Robinson here at DK and would love to see him come back next year (albeit, on a reasonable contract), but we also understand that the NBA, first and foremost, is a business and, should he see a better opportunity elsewhere, he should strongly consider taking it.
However, if he were to jump ship, the Knicks would be left with a hole at their starting center position heading into 2022-23 and, if this were to be the case, we believe that Leon Rose and Co. should strongly consider these three options to serve as his replacement.
3 potential replacements for Knicks center Mitchell Robinson
3. Thomas Bryant
While he may not be generating a ton of buzz heading into the offseason, Thomas Bryant is a talent that could help a plethora of teams looking for big man help. Should they lose Robinson, this would include New York.
Throughout his five-year career in the association, Bryant has proven himself to be a multi-talented center, one who can crash the boards and swat shots just as easily as he can space the floor and knock down his long-range attempts.
Unfortunately, he sustained a torn ACL early on in 2021, which, ultimately, held him out until the latter months of the season. Prior to going down, the big man was putting forth a career-best campaign for himself.
In 27.1 minutes per game, Bryant was boasting averages of 14.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and just shy of a block on 65% shooting from the floor and a stellar 43% shooting from deep.
This past year, during his return to action, despite being on a minutes restriction for a large chunk of his 27 games played, the center still showcased the same type of promise he did prior to injury. He went on to post 16.9 points, 9.1 boards, and nearly 2 blocks on 52% shooting from the floor per 75 possessions.
His impressive build of 6-10, 248-pounds and whopping 7-6 wingspan coupled with his floor spacing skillset, high motor, and age (still just 24), should all be enticing enough for the Knicks to strongly consider targeting Bryant this summer, even with the knowledge that he’s still coming off of a serious injury.
2. Nic Claxton
When healthy, Robinson has proven himself to be a fantastic center for the Knickerbockers, serving as a tremendous rim protector and lethal lob-threat who demands little touches on the offensive side of the ball, thus allowing the likes of RJ Barrett and Randle to run the show freely and do their things.
Having such a commodity is really a blessing on a team that already possesses several ball-demanding players and, should he leave, the front office should seriously consider pursuing someone with a similar skill set to him.
Enter: impending free agent, Nic Claxton.
Selected by the Brooklyn Nets in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft, the former Georgia Bulldog has had quite an underappreciated three-year stretch with the Knicks’ cross-town rivals.
When playing on a team with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, oftentimes simple role players are overlooked by both fans and the media, so it’s understandable if one doesn’t realize how solid of a talent Claxton is and, in fact, how similar he is to New York’s own Mitchell Robinson.
Both have shown to be stout rim protectors on defense and rim gunners on offense. Both have obscene athleticism that allows them to reach to the heavens for alley-oops, thus making them absolutely dangerous pick-and-roll participants. And, both are totally fine with operating in the shadows of others around them, thus letting them solely focus on their roles and, in turn, working on perfecting them.
Now, granted, unlike Robinson, Claxton’s promise as a player is still soundly in the potential stage, as he’s mainly been a reserve player for the majority of his time in the association, whereas the Knicks’ big man has been the main pivot for the team over the last two seasons.
That said, this past season we saw the 23-year-old post career-highs all across the board due to increased minutes (20.7), where he averaged 8.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks on an incredible 67% shooting from the floor.
During Brooklyn’s lone playoff series against Boston, he went on to up his production in a major way, finishing with averages of 10.5 points, 6.3 boards, 1.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and a whopping 2.3 blocks through four games whilst converting on an earth-shattering 79% of his attempts.
If the Knicks wish to keep things rather consistent in regard to their center rotation (while they could use for a whole bunch of change come next season, one could argue the play at the pivot is something that could remain intact), if they lose Robinson, an ideal replacement could ultimately prove to be Claxton.
1. Mo Bamba
People seem to forget that Mo Bamba was the sixth overall pick back in the 2018 NBA Draft and, instead, are viewing him as an arguable bust and mere passion project heading into the summer where he’ll be a free agent.
Ultimately, this lack of hype and pedestrian status could wind up playing into New York’s favor should they wish to pursue him.
As we said, Bamba was drafted as a high lottery pick four years ago by the Orlando Magic, and, at the time, it was viewed as somewhat of an odd grab for the franchise considering that they already had three other highly talented bigs in tow in Jonathan Isaac, Aaron Gordon, and All-Star center Nikola Vucevic.
Because of this crowded frontcourt, Bamba struggled to see consistent playing time through the first three seasons of his career and, as a result, his counting stats took a major hit, and so too did his status.
However, over time each of these three players departed from the rotation in one way or another (for Gordon and Vucevic, it was via trade; for Issac, it was an ACL tear) and, in his first season being the defacto starting big, the 24-year-old went on to show the promise and potential that ultimately made him a top 10 draft selection in the first place.
Through 71 games and 69 starts, Bamba had himself a career year, as he posted solid averages of 10.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game on 48% shooting from the field and 38% shooting from deep in 25.7 minutes a night.
Now, with this, some may wish to pull on the reigns a bit when it comes to a hypothetical pursuit of the big, as one may go with the classic argument of, “Well he’s only been productive once in four years, does he really warrant a ton of attention in free agency?”
This, my friends, is simply an incorrect thought process.
Just because he struggled to find extended action on the floor during the season prior to 2021-22, this does not mean that he never showed this kind of promise.
In fact, during the season prior to this, when Bamba saw a considerable increase in his minutes, he only managed to up his production and efficiency along the way.
In 2020-21, when receiving 20-29 minutes, the center found himself posting 13.3 points, 8 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 49% from the floor and 38% from distance.
Now, outside of his skillset, what makes the big man even more intriguing is his astonishing stature.
Measuring in at 7-0 with a 7-10 wingspan, the former lottery selection has the type of build that would allow him to dominate down low on both ends of the floor, yet has the shooting abilities that would allow him to open up the paint and clear lanes for drivers such as Barrett, Randle, Derrick Rose, etc.
Of all the big men found in this year’s free agency class, should Robinson depart this summer, the Harlem native should be viewed as one of the best replacement options they could pursue.
3 draft prospects that could replace Mitchell Robinson if he leaves Knicks
With Mitchell Robinson on the market this offseason, here are three draft prospects that could fill his shoes for the New York Knicks.