The chances of Mitchell Robinson remaining in New York increased after Nets center Nic Claxton agreed to stay in Brooklyn, leaving Hartenstein as the top free agent center available on the market.
The Knicks became more pessimistic this week about retaining Hartenstein, league sources said. The Nets and Nic Claxton, the other top center on the open market this summer, just agreed to a four-year, $100 million contract. dollars on Wednesday. Not only is Hartenstein now the best free agent center in the league, but he also has a nine-figure contract he can point to as compensation,” Katz wrote.
Robinson was on track for an All-Defensive season when an ankle injury forced him to sit out 50 games in the regular season. When he returned, he was a shell of his former self. He re-injured his ankle in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
The 26-year-old center is the longest-tenured player on the Knicks roster. He has career averages of 8.0 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game since the Knicks drafted him 36th overall in the second round in 2018.
Robinson has been the league’s leading offensive rebounder the past two seasons, but he has also missed 71 games during that span, negating the dramatic improvement he has shown.