The New York Knicks’ application for a $7.8 million disabled player exception has been rejected by the NBA, according to ESPN, as there are hopes Mitchell Robinson could return late in the regular season.
It was originally estimated that Robinson would miss 8 to 10 weeks after undergoing ankle surgery, but it was later determined that he would likely miss the remainder of the season. The Knicks applied for the DPE about a week before Christmas, after Robinson was originally injured on December 8 against Boston.
Obviously, the Knicks would rather bring Robinson back for a playoff push than what they might have been able to get with DPE. They look great after trading for OG Anunoby. Jalen Brunson has been a superstar all season long. Robinson, in addition to being an absolute monster on the glass, was on his way to All-Defense.
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Isaiah Hartenstein has been terrific in Robinson’s absence, providing much of what Robinson did on the glass and serving as an offensive threat as well. With those two, the Knicks have arguably the best center rotation in the league.
Come playoff time, Mitchell’s second-chance creation and rim protection will take New York to another level in terms of being a conference-final contender in what feels like a very open pre-playoff picture below the top-seeded Celtics.
Robinson, whom the Knicks signed to a deal last summer (four years, $60 million), was leading the league with 5.3 offensive rebounds per game when he left. According to Cleaning the Glass, he was catching more than 17% of New York’s misses when he was on the floor — which goes a long way for a Knicks team whose collective shooting percentage is still in the bottom 10 in the entire league. Is in.
There’s still a long way to go for the Knicks, but entering Thursday’s game they have won five in a row since the Anunoby trade and are 22-15 overall – tying a top-four seed in the loss column. Are on. If they can hold down the fort for a few more months, perhaps they can hope to bring Robinson back for a postseason push. If they do that, they’ll be a tough matchup for anyone.
