The Boston Celtics have finally addressed their center needs, and they upset a big-time rival in the process (so they really won in two ways, if you think about it).
According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Boston has signed former New York Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson to a three-year, $47.4 million contract that includes a player option in the third season.
Robinson had spent his entire eight-year NBA career with the Knicks up to this point, and he played a big role in their recent championship victory. But now, he and the Celtics will hope that he can bring that championship experience and help them get back to the title picture.
Mitchell Robinson will greatly elevate Boston's frontcourt
There were a few things the Celtics desperately needed out of whoever their new big man was going to be: rim protection, physicality, and vertical spacing. Robinson provides all three of those things (not to mention he is also a strong rebounder, and he led all postseason teams with 5 offensive rebounds per game this past season).
To be clear, if you had told me heading into the offseason that Robinson was going to be the Celtics' move at center, I wouldn't have been jumping for joy and looking into Morgan Wallen's discography (if you know, you know). He is not a floor-spacer at all (and as we all know, he pretty notoriously can't shoot free throws - he shot 14-for-31 from the line during the Celtics-Knicks playoff series in 2025), which could be a big problem in Joe Mazzulla's offense.
And if you were just going to sign Robinson and commit to him as your starting center (which seems likely), then you might as well have just saved the money and signed a cheaper option, committed to Neemias Queta and his development for another season, and tried again next summer or during the next season.
But given the circumstances (i.e., Robert Williams III, Kristaps Porzingis, and Isaiah Hartenstein all re-signing with their teams as part of an already slim free agency class), signing Robinson was probably the best realistic move Boston could have made at this point. And that's especially true since he didn't break the bank for the Celtics.
Plus, Knicks fans seem to be genuinely upset about the 28-year-old's departure. And anytime Boston can get a one-up over a New York team, regardless of the sport, that's always a win.
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