Mitchell Robinson Joins Celtics on 3-Year, $47.4 Million Deal

Q: Did the NBA's new salary rules just force the champion Knicks to gift their biggest rival a key player?

Yes. The Knicks’ loss of Mitchell Robinson was largely driven by the NBA’s new second-apron rules, though it was also a choice by ownership to avoid crossing that line. Robinson agreed to a three-year, $47.4 million deal with Boston after New York, despite wanting to keep him, could not make a competitive offer without pushing deeper into second-apron territory. The Knicks were already operating near the apron after other roster moves, and owner James Dolan had made clear the team did not want to exceed it. That matters because the second apron is not just a tax bill. Under the new CBA, teams above it lose major team-building tools, including the taxpayer midlevel exception, flexibility with trade exceptions, and the ability to move certain future first-round picks. Repeat apron status can also push a future first-rounder to the end of the round. Those penalties are designed to stop expensive contenders from endlessly stacking talent. So the rules did not literally force New York to “gift” Robinson to Boston; the Knicks could have kept him by accepting the financial and roster-building penalties. But in practical terms, the new system sharply narrowed their options and made retaining him far more costly than before. For Boston, the same rules created the opening. The Celtics had more cap flexibility, stayed below the tax and first apron, and could use that room to address a clear need for rim protection and rebounding with a player who had just helped New York win a title.

3 articles · Updated · ESPN · Jul 1

Mitchell Robinson agreed to a three-year, $47.4 million contract with Boston that includes a player option in the third season, moving on after eight years with the Knicks.
Boston is adding a center who just helped New York win its first NBA title in 53 years, giving the Celtics a proven rebounder and interior presence.
Robinson averaged 7.5 points and 8.0 rebounds across his Knicks career, and his 60 games last season were his most since 2022-23 after repeated injury setbacks.
His biggest recent impact came on the glass: Robinson averaged 4.2 offensive rebounds per game last season—second in the NBA—and returned in the playoffs from a broken right pinkie finger.