Report: Knicks key reserve Mitchell Robinson expected to leave

The New York Knicks are still celebrating their first championship in 53 years, but they are already reshaping the roster for the 2026/27 season and expect not to keep everyone because of financial limits. According to the New York Post, center Mitchell Robinson is unlikely to return next season, as he is an unrestricted free agent and owner James Dolan does not want the team to operate above the restrictive second apron.

Robinson, 28, was selected 36th overall by the Knicks in the 2018 draft and has become the team’s longest-tenured player. He is widely regarded as one of the NBA’s best offensive rebounders, and in the title-clinching game in San Antonio he grabbed a crucial late offensive rebound that helped complete the 4-1 series win.

The Brooklyn Nets, across the river, are one possible landing spot. After trading Nic Claxton to Chicago and not drafting a center, the team of Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf is expected to look for a center in free agency, and Robinson could fit that need. Nets reporter Erik Slater said, “We’ll need to keep an eye on it, but my guess is Robinson will go to the Los Angeles Lakers.”

The Knicks also have three rotation players whose contracts are expiring, Landry Shamet, Jose Alvarado and Jordan Clarkson, and president Leon Rose is expected to keep at least two of them. Other names mentioned as possible Robinson replacements include Deandre Ayton, Andre Drummond, Jaxson Hayes, Nick Richards, Brook Lopez, Nikola Vucevic and Yves Missi, potentially via trade.