The New York Knicks are getting ready for the NBA Finals. That's not stopping their front office from getting to work ahead of the offseason, though. While coaches and players are focused on the upcoming series, the NBA's best braintrust is reportedly steps ahead of the impending free agency of several rotation players.
Mitchell Robinson, Jordan Clarkson, Landry Shamet, and rookie Mohamed Diawara's deals are all set to expire after this season, but the belief is that both Robinson and Shamet will be back in orange and blue.
The Knicks still have four more games to win before they can declare the 2026 season an official success, but it's clear that Leon Rose and William Wesley's front office believe in their core as a sustainable contender. They've made a habit of keeping good players around. Already starting to grease the wheels on offseason extensions for key reserves is proof they plan to continue that trend.
Knicks expected to offer Robinson more than midlevel exception
ESPN's Tim Bontemps reported on Thursday morning that both veterans would likely be back on two-year deals, citing the midlevel exception as a "price to beat" with regard to Robinson's market. The Sacramento Kings are rumored to have interest in the big man, which makes sense given that their general manager, Scott Perry, originally drafted him.
Bontemps cited the midlevel exception as the "main mechanism" that rival franchises will rely on in thier quest to pry Robinson away from the Big Apple, adding that New York seems ready to pay the necessary price.
The scribe also reported that the Knicks are likely to go into the daunting second apron of the NBA's salary cap for both the 2026-27 and 2027-28 campaigns. While the team will need to get their books in order with relative quickness to avoid draconian penalties such as frozen draft picks, the CBA does allow for squads like the Knicks to keep their cores together by going over budget.
It just can't be for too long.
Robinson's health vindicates Knicks' award-winning training staff
While Robinson himself hasn't been a necessarily gigantic part of the Knicks' playoff run thus far, the team will unequivocally need him at his best against whichever Western Conference opponent they wind up matching up against.
Outside of missing Game 2 against the Philadelphia 76ers, a game in which Joel Embiid also sat out, Robinson has had a clean bill of health throughout this postseason. That's, in part, thanks to the load management plan that the Knicks had him on throughout the regular season.
New York's training staff was designated as the NBA's best last season. Helping Robinson, who missed over 160 regular season games in the two seasons leading up to this year, make it to the NBA Finals this healthily might be their greatest accomplishment of all.
Especially with the Knicks reportedly planning to keep the big man around, New York has a winning formula. New head coach Mike Brown's willingness to devote the regular season to playoff preparation, and the Knicks' trainers, are helping Robinson be at his best.
Add us as a preferred source on Google