MEMPHIS — It’s the most surprising success story of this Knicks season.
Mitchell Robinson began this campaign still recovering from a fractured foot, having added too much weight during a longer-than-expected rehab. The Knicks passed on giving Robinson an extension in the offseason, instead handing $30 million to the other center — Nerlens Noel — who finished last season as the starter.
Robinson’s poor conditioning left him benched in early December, with Noel stepping back into the lineup.
Now?
Robinson is registering the best and most consistent basketball of his career, becoming a tour de force on the offensive glass as Noel devolved to unreliable. His strength and basketball IQ is finally catching up to his athleticism, and the development is reflected in his rebounding numbers: Robinson, 23, is second in the NBA in total offensive rebounds, behind only his opponent in Friday night’s game, Memphis’ Steven Adams. He’s shooting a ridiculous 77% from the field, with an equally ridiculous 42.5% of his field goals coming from putbacks off rebounds.
“Positioning,” Robinson explained as the key. “The opposing big kind of helps the guard and you wedge him out. You get your position and you get the rebound. It helps a lot when you do that. When I do it, I make sure I get the big away from the basket and use my athleticism.
“You learn it over time. First couple years, I wasn’t getting too many of them. But now I know how to position myself, how to box my guy out to get it. So it’s come a long away.”
Indeed, Robinson has progressed into an acknowledgement that this is his greatest NBA stretch “by far,” conveniently timed before he hits unrestricted free agency this summer. Still, he remains one-dimensional offensively — all his shots are inside the paint — and again pumped up his potential Friday in other areas.
Robinson hasn’t been shy about a desire to be more involved in the offense.
“I can go a little bit more,” he said. “I can really start adding to my game, now. Offensive rebound. Defense. Blocked shots — that’s already there. So just adding now, at this point.”
RJ Barrett’s potential offseason extension will be a big decision for the Knicks — does he get the max? — but no free agent on their roster is more important than Robinson. The Pistons, according to multiple sources, are a big threat to land Robinson and have more than enough cap space to pry him away.
The Mavericks, bereft of rim protection (as evidenced by Robinson killing them in the paint Wednesday) are also interested, according to a source. They’ve been linked to Robinson for years through sources, and the center played his EYBL basketball in Dallas and trained there after dropping out of college to prepare for the NBA draft.
However, the Mavs are capped out and would have get innovative to sign Robinson, who projects as earning in the $12-13 million range per season, according to Hoopshype.
Robinson certainly deserves a massive raise after playing his first four seasons on a rookie contract that never exceeded $1.8 million in a season.
“When that time comes, we’ll approach it,” said Robinson.
In the meantime, Robinson is raising eyebrows and his value.
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