The New York Knicks got themselves a talented young center in this year’s draft in Mitchell Robinson and they could really thank the kid’s agent… Well, I mean, ex-agent! He fired him after signing the 6.4 Million deal.
What happened? Glad you asked.
The Knicks rookie fired his agent Raymond Brothers and inked a new deal with John Spencer, a former Knicks scout under Ernier Grunfeld, right after the 6.4 Million agreement with the Knickerbockers.
Why? According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, Mitchell fired Raymond Brothers due to his handling to the pre-draft process. The day before the Draft Combine, Robinson’s representatives decided to “pull him out.” Robinson, according to Berman’s sources, believed that was a mistake.
“He had trained two months just for the combine and he was ready for it’’ the source told Berman.
Before the Draft Combine the Los Angeles Lakers were considering him at the No. 25 and were ready to still pick him at the No. 39 if he had dropped. But by not attending the Draft Combine, teams started looking at Mitchell Robinson with a red flag on.
As we all know now, Mitchell was selected at the No. 36 position of the draft by the New York Knicks, after being projected as a mid or late first round pick at worse before the Draft Combine soap opera.
Then the Summer League came and suddenly there was a second round pick averaging equal numbers as the Phoenix Suns 1st overall pick and rookie of the year candidate Deandre Ayton.
Robinson’s Summer League numbers: 13 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4 blocks and 67% from the field.
Ayton’s Summer League Numbers: 14.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1 blocks and 60% from the field.
The Knicks have two centers on Enes Kanter and Luke Kornet none has more upside or athleticism than Robinson.
“He’s very talented at what he does,’’ Fizdale, New York Knicks head coach, said. “I didn’t know what to expect. I watched those [high-school] All-Star games but those games you don’t know. I had no idea what I was going to see. Once we got to practice, it’s the timing that stands out and how he get lobs and his motor was great. I knew the 5-on-5 would catch up on his body after a year away but his rhythm and timing to be this good, that was really impressive.”
Mitchell had his NBA Pre Season debut last Monday (October 1st) against the Washington Wizards and so he had his “Welcome to the NBA” moment when scuffle broke between him and veteran Markieff Morris. The rookie kept his cool, on the other side, the veteran got himself ejected from the game.
The rookie scored 6 points (3/4 from the field) and had 6 rebounds in 16 minutes.
“A kid that hasn’t played on the big stage, those were excellent minutes,’’ Fizdale said after the game. “We’ll clean up the free throws. He’s got a good shot. He was just off balance leaning to his left a lot. His follow-through is fine. I like that he was in there getting those boards and putbacks and the activity level was fantastic.’’
It’s still very early in the season to jump into conclusions but it sure looks like the Knicks got themselves a promising young talent in Mitchell Robinson. One thing is certain: he’s not a true second a round pick. You read it first.