Barbara Barker: Knicks' Mitchell Robinson is too valuable to trade
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson gestures against the Kings in the first half of an NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Imagine if Mitchell Robinson could play every night.
Imagine if the Knicks had a player available for every game who was both an offensive rebounding machine and an elite defender. Imagine if Mitchell Robinson could play back-to-backs, and if the words “load management” weren’t automatically attached to his name like it was his hometown.
If the Knicks could rely on Robinson on a regular basis, he likely wouldn’t be playing in the last year of his contract without an extension. He wouldn’t constantly be mentioned in trade deadline rumors and, most notably, the Knicks would be a top-10 defense instead of being ranked a middling 18th at a 114.9 rating.
As it stands, Robinson’s name is a mainstay of trade chatter as the league nears the Feb. 5 trading deadline, which is a pity considering the way he has been playing lately.
Robinson turned in another strong performance on Tuesday when the Knicks needed it most, holding Domantas Sabonis to two late points on 1-for-4 shooting in the final quarter as the Knicks beat the Sacramento Kings, 103-87.
Robinson entered the fourth quarter with 9:24 left in the game and the Knicks hanging on to a 75-74 lead. With Robinson on the floor, they outscored the Kings 28-13 to avoid what would have been an embarrassing loss.
Robinson finished the game with seven points, 13 rebounds and a team-leading plus-25.
“He’s a difference maker on both sides of the ball,” Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson said on the court after finishing the game with 28 points. “That’s just who he is.”
Though not a starter, Robinson was a finisher in this game. The Knicks closed out the game with the rarely used lineup of Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Robinson and Deuce McBride on the floor.
Knicks coach Mike Brown said he decided to stick with the group that was going well, and he credited Robinson for playing the kind of defense the team needed to get what was their third straight win. “It was huge. He brought a level of energy especially defensively to the table that helped us get over the hump,” Brown said of Robinson. “They shot 40% from the field and 17% from the three-point line [for the game]. Mitch was a big part of that.”
As we inch closer and closer to the deadline, Robinson is looking healthier and healthier.
Tuesday night marked the 33rd time he has played in a possible 46 games. Though Mike Brown did not rule out Robinson playing Wednesday night in Toronto, it would be big news if he did. In the Knicks’ six previous back-to-back sets this season, he has yet to play both nights.
Robinson is working his way back from an ankle injury that limited him to only 17 regular-season games last season. Robinson has made it clear from his social media posts that he would like to stay in New York. He said it hasn’t always been easy working with the team’s time management program, but he plans to stick with it.
“It was rough at first. I want to play every game,” Robinson said. “This plan we have in place for me. I just kind of embrace it and roll with it. I put my pride and ego to the side and just stick with the plan and it’s working out. Why fix something that’s not broken?”
Robinson has always been an elite offensive rebounder, so it’s no surprise that he entered Tuesday night’s game leading the league with an average of 4.9. offensive boards per game.
Robinson, who former GM Scott Perry took with a second-round pick in 2018, is the only player on the Knicks’ roster who wasn’t drafted or signed by this current regime.
It’s clear from his post and previous comments that he wants to remain a Knick. In past years, however, the current Knicks management has had no trouble dealing players in the final years of their contracts. They sent Julius Randle to Minnesota. They sent Immanuel Quickley to Toronto.
Those trades became the building blocks of this team, a team that many thought was good enough at the beginning of the season to get to the NBA Finals. Yet Knicks president Leon Rose shouldn’t be thinking about going the same route with Robinson.
Anyone who has watched him in the games where he’s been available this season can see that the upside is just so tantalizing. Robinson’s skill set allows the Knicks to play in different ways, making up for the defensive deficiencies of their more offensive oriented players.
The point of load management isn’t to keep Robinson healthy so he can go play for another team. Nor is it to have him playing every game at this point of the season for the Knicks.
The goal is to have Robinson hauling down offensive rebound after rebound in the playoffs — preferably for the Knicks.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
