For years, Mitchell Robinson has been heavily involved in New York Knicks trade rumors. Heading into his eighth season with the organization, it appears nothing has changed on this front.
ESPN's Bobby Marks is predicting that the cash-strapped Knicks will wind up making some sort of trade "for the second straight October," with the first being last year's blockbuster swap of Julius Randle for Karl-Anthony Towns.
While there are many potential paths to pulling off such a transaction, with Tyler Kolek and Pacome Dadiet both being tabbed as possible flight risks, Marks specifically labeled Robinson as "one player to watch" as we inch our way toward the regular season's tip-off.
Keeping Mitchell Robinson is expected to thrust Knicks into second apron
The NBA insider's reasoning for pinpointing Robinson as a realistic trade option is rather simple: Keeping him around will likely lead the organization into crippling tax penalties.
"If the Knicks keep the roster intact and re-sign Robinson, New York is a projected second-apron team next season," Marks wrote.
As things currently stand, New York's payroll is set at a whopping $223,981,299, the second-highest in the league and, most importantly, $16.15 million over the second apron threshold for 2025-26.
With this new CBA in place, exceeding the second apron (set at $207,824,000 for the upcoming season) can have a crushing impact on a team, as it severely limits flexibility when attempting to add outsourced talent and could even negatively affect a club's draft stock down the road.
Currently, the Boston Celtics, who not two seasons ago won their 18 NBA Championship, are enduring the hardships that come with exceeding the allotted salary limit and are being forced to partake in a semi-roster teardown as a result.
Because of this, before final rosters are required to be set on October 20, fans should expect New York to be working tirelessly behind the scenes to bring their payroll down to below the dreaded second apron.
Robinson's $12.95 million salary for 2025-26 may not be enough on its own to dip them below the mark, but using it in some sort of package deal seems to be one of the more plausible moves Leon Rose and company could make.
To Marks, it's something they absolutely must consider.
Though he may be an integral part of New York's rotation when on the court, specifically on the defensive end, where he boasts a career 107 defensive rating, the problem with Robinson is that he's rarely on the court to play his integral part.
Since entering the league back in 2018, the big man has suited up for just 337 of a potential 554 games and has played in just 48 games combined over the last two seasons.
Add this to the fact that he's already set for unrestricted free agency next summer, and all the logic in the world points to the Knicks looking to offload Robinson between now and October 20 to avoid further tax penalties.