Re-signing Landry Shamet was the simple part of the New York Knicks’ offseason, but not keeping Mitchell Robinson could be the most significant.
The reigning NBA champions re-signed Shamet this week on a four-year, $24 million contract, locking down a trusted bench shooter just as free agency opens.
Owner James Dolan has refused to push the team into the NBA’s second apron — the $222 million spending line — and that stance means Robinson, the longest-serving man on the roster, is unlikely to be back. Letting him go might prove a huge mistake.
Mitchell Robinson will be very hard for the Knicks to replace
Robinson is not a scorer, and he never needed to be. His value sat at the other end and on the glass.
He averaged 8.8 rebounds a night last season — 13th in the entire NBA — plus better than a block a game, all while averaging just 20 minutes. He shot 72% from the field, almost all of it dunks and putbacks.
Bigs who protect the rim and clean the glass at that level are rare, and they do not come cheap.
New York’s only other true center is Karl-Anthony Towns, who is not built to bang inside for heavy minutes. Behind him, the drop-off is steep.
Robinson rushed back from surgery on a broken finger to play in the Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. Replacing that toughness and quality with a minimum signing is easier said than done.
Landry Shamet was the easier Knick to keep
None of this is a knock on the Shamet deal. He was excellent in the playoffs, shooting 47.5 percent from three during the championship run, and a steady floor-spacer at 39 percent across the regular season. At 9.3 points a game off the bench, he earned that new contract.
But guards who can knock down catch-and-shoot threes are far easier to find than seven-footers who guard the paint. Shamet’s skill set is replaceable on the open market — Robinson’s is not.
The Knicks now have a limited budget for a backup center. Shamet’s deal used the one slot New York had to pay anyone above the minimum, which leaves the front office needing to fill the spot behind Towns with minimum-level options.
Two backup bigs on minimum money doesn’t sound like the depth of a Championship-winning roster.
Rival teams can offer Robinson the full mid-level exception, worth around $15 million, and both the Lakers and Nets are interested. Unless Dolan softens his position, a reunion looks unlikely.
If Robinson walks and the frontcourt is patched together with minimum deals, the champions will be undeniably worse — a strange way to go about chasing a repeat.
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