The New York Knicks travel to face the Indiana Pacers in tonight's Game 3, a pivotal point in these Eastern Conference Finals. It is historically difficult to recover from two straight losses at home to open a series. The Knicks need to win Game 3 to have any historical precedent for a comeback victory.
Neither of the games in Madison Square Garden were blowouts, but Indiana has just been a relentless force in these playoffs. Rick Carlisle has his finger on the pulse, and he appeared to outclass Tom Thibodeau across the board in Game 2. Every little misstep from the Knicks is thoroughly exploited by the Pacers. New York needs to flip that script tonight, lest we start writing the obituary for this Knicks season.
Should the Knicks end up dropping this series, there is one fan favorite who's bound to hit the trade market in the offseason, whether fans want him to or not: Mitchell Robinson.
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Knicks could look to flip Mitchell Robinson elsewhere if Pacers win ECF
Robinson appeared in 17 regular season games for the Knicks (including three starts) before the playoffs got underway. That makes it three straight campaigns with fewer than 60 appearances for Robinson, who at 27 years old has struggled to keep his knees and ankles at full strength. It's not an uncommon issue for rangy 7-footers with Robinson's unique mobility and explosiveness.
The health concerns alone are enough for New York to consider moving on. But Robinson is also approaching the final year of his contract, worth $12.9 million. For a team with extremely limited cap flexibility, it seems unlikely that New York will pay Robinson his full worth come the summer of 2026. Despite the injuries, Robinson has proven to be a winning-impact player. He's an effective shot-blocker with the agility to navigate various matchups and schemes. He's also an explosive lob threat (lookin' at you, Rob Pelinka).
New York desperately needs depth on the wing behind its core cadre of Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart. While Robinson has actually moved ahead Hart in the pecking order for Game 3, from the sound of it, Hart is still the more integral player long term. Precious Achiuwa and Ariel Hukporti should be able to muster serviceable backup center minutes. Decent backup bigs are also a dime a dozen, so New York can rebuild its frontcourt depth on the fly.
Robinson's contract situation and injury history make flipping him for value a no-brainer proposition. He was a popular name in trade rumors before the deadline this season. That will only pick back up once New York is officially eliminated and the new league year begins. Robinson should still have plenty of value on the trade front, so ideally he can net New York another contributor or help restore their barren draft stores — or maybe a bit of both. Just don't be shocked when he's in new threads once October 2025 rolls around.