Knicks’ Tom Thibodeau says to ask Mitchell Robinson about his own tweets
Tom Thibodeau said he hasn’t talked to Mitchell Robinson about his deleted tweet and doesn’t seem interested in addressing it with his center.
“I’ve never coached through the media or social media or whatever that is,” Thibodeau said. “My conversations with him, that’s never come up.”
Thibodeau added that it’s better to ask Robinson about his tweet, but the 22-year-old wasn’t made available to the media Thursday by the Knicks. Two days prior, Robinson tweeted — and immediately deleted — “One day they’ll let me play.” It was widely interpreted as a gripe about offensive opportunities after he took just four shots in 31 minutes that same night against Utah.
Robinson has a history of touting his versatility despite the one-dimensional scoring. The 7-footer has long teased an outside shot, claiming on multiple occasions he’s ready to unleash a 3-pointer. His offseason training videos, conducted at gyms in Louisiana, have fed into that desire. There’s Instagram evidence, for instance, of Robinson nailing 10 straight from beyond the arc with his personal trainer.
But Robinson’s still exclusively used by the Knicks as a pick-and-roll rim runner who scores in the restricted area. All but three of his 120 shot attempts this season were dunks or lay-ups, according to Basketball Reference. Robinson gets no plays called for post-ups or isolation. For his career, 689 of his 752 are at the rim (an astounding 92%). The benefit is efficiency. Robinson already broke the NBA’s single-season record for field-goal percentage.
Thibodeau said before the season that Robinson should improve his free throws before venturing further out. That hasn’t happened. Robinson is shooting just 44% from the charity stripe, a steep drop from last season. The Knicks’ offense, meanwhile, mostly runs through Julius Randle, with RJ Barrett sprinkled in.
“I don’t know what you guys are talking about (with the tweet). I guess you have to ask him,” Thibodeau said Thursday. “But I talk to Mitch every day. He gets here early, stays late. Work in practice. I have a number of meetings with him. So I’m talking to him a lot about what he has to do to help our team win. And he’s done a lot of good things for us in terms of anchoring the defense, rim protection, putting pressure on the rim offensively. I know where he’s most efficient in all areas. The thing I focus on is our team and everyone doing what’s best for the team. And that’s where that lies.”
Although probably best suited for Robinson’s skillset and NBA career, there are monetary limitations attached to Robinson’s style of play. It’s easily replaced, as evidenced by Nerlens Noel’s backup contributions this season. Robinson and Noel are the same type of player, and the gap between the two isn’t always noticeable. Robinson is taller and more athletic, which gives him the edge. But Noel is also averaging more rebounds and blocks per 36 minutes.
It’s more relevant because Robinson is eligible for a contract extension and could become a free agent after the season. In this NBA age of pace and space, an offensively versatile center would command more money than the younger and skinnier version of DeAndre Jordan. Robinson can be maxed out at around four years, $56 million but there were no discussions about before the season, according to a source. If Robinson does not sign an extension, he’d likely become a restricted free agent in July, meaning the Knicks can match any offer. The Knicks can also opt into Robinson’s $1.8 million deal for the 2021-22 season, but that would make him an unrestricted free agent in 2022.
Robinson is averaging a career-high in minutes at 29.6 but he’s scoring less than last season and has fewer blocks. Most encouraging is Robinson’s availability. He was a foul machine in the first two seasons, but has managed to defend with discipline under Thibodeau.
Still, Robinson hasn’t given up on the idea of expanding his offensive game. Just two weeks ago, Robinson posted a photo of him shooting a jumper with the caption, “F--- it. …it’s time to bring it out.”
