Knicks Just Received Even More BAD NEWS... | Knicks News | The Knicks Recap Podcast

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This is getting bad. It's actually getting even worse. The Knicks just received bad news about Mitchell Robinson, the Lakers, and how much money they're going to offer him in free agency. We're gonna break down all of these latest reports today.
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And now, let's get started.
Knicks receive bad news. Mitchell Robinson has been the story of the offseason, whether he stays or he goes. But we just received even more bad news on the situation. Shoutout to Steph Bondi with The New York Post for giving us this following information. According to him, heard it's unlikely Mitchell Robinson will be back with The Knicks next season. He's the longest tenured Knick, but also an unrestricted free agent. Owner James Dolan said he's unwilling to pay into the second apron, so running it back with the bench is not feasible.
It's not just one NBA insider saying this. Multiple NBA insiders are confirming this report. Shout out to New York Basketball on The AppX for giving us this following information. According to ESPN's Sham Sharania, he was asked the following question, are all the guys coming back? Mitchell Robinson, Landry Shamit, and Sham responded with the following answer, if they are trying to stay below the second apron, those two guys will not be back. And shout out to SNY's Ian Begley for also confirming this. The Knicks have positioned themselves to find players more likely to accept rookie minimum deals via second round pick exceptions. Every dollar counts as the Knicks operate as a team that will not exceed the second apron in team salary. This approach makes it nearly impossible to find a realistic scenario where they can retain both Mitchell Robinson and Landry Shamit in free agency.
The only way Mitchell Robinson stays with the Knicks is if he takes a pay cut. But I can't really see that happening. Shout out to Ian Begley for also giving us this following information too.
It's unlikely Mitchell Robinson returns to the Knicks because in the best case scenario, he'd have to take a pay cut in order for the Knicks to remain under the second apron. The problem with that is he won't take a pay cut when other teams around the league will offer him more money. Teams like the Los Angeles Lakers.
Shout out to NBA insider Brett Siegel for giving us this following information. According to him, it shouldn't come as a secret to anyone that the Lakers already have plans to pursue Mitchell Robinson as well. He continues by stating the following. Early talk regarding Los Angeles is that they are prepared to offer Robinson a long-term deal that would hold an annual average value around the mid-level exception. Now you're probably wondering, how much money would they offer Mitchell Robinson? Well, thanks to Bobby Marks, we have that information too. We know that the MLE is around 15 million dollars. So the Lakers, they're likely going to offer Mitchell Robinson one of these numbers. According to Bobby Marks, he states the following. I would say if the Lakers put an offer out for Mitchell Robinson, it would be between the 13 to 15 million dollar range. It would be hard for New York to match something like that. If the Lakers offer Mitchell Robinson around 15 million dollars, he is likely gone in free agency and he will join LA. But even if the Lakers don't do that, there are other teams around the league that are waiting to pounce on Mitchell Robinson, including the Brooklyn Nets. Shout out to Mark Stein of the Stein Line for giving us this following information. According to him, the Nets have genuine interest in signing Robinson away from the New York Knicks. If the move happens, it would become one of the biggest crosstown stories of the offseason, with Brooklyn targeting one of the longest tenured players on its rival's roster. The Stein Line also reports that the Lakers are viewed as another serious candidate to pursue the veteran big man once free agency officially opens.
I wish I could say that was it, but that's not the only bad news we have to talk about. Like I said, it gets even worse. Take a look at these updates.
Shout out to NBA Insider with Newsday, Steve Popper, for giving us this following information. According to him, the Knicks had chances to extend Robinson, and they passed, understandably given his injury history. However, there's more to this story. There has been frustration in the organization with his free throw struggles, and no one was pleased when he broke his right pinky in an off court incident in the postseason. But it's also countered by what he delivers on the court, and his willingness to get on the court with an injury. But clearly, New York internally, they're frustrated with Robinson. Multiple reports actually indicate that due to Mitchell Robinson's poor free throw shooting, New York is less inclined to offer him a new contract. According to Front Office Sports, they state the following, League sources confirmed and cited Robinson's extensive injury history and free throw issues as reasons to avoid going into the second apron to give Robinson another raise. Third string center Ariel Huckporty presents a younger and cheaper $1.9 million salary option to replace Robinson internally. But the Knicks have Robinson's full bird rights, allowing them to go over the cap to re-sign him, which isn't the case for their other free agents.