Jason Burgos
A new rumor suggests a perfect replacement for Mitchell Robinson could fall to the New York Knicks when they are on the clock with the 24th pick in Tuesday’s NBA Draft.
A week ago, the Knicks achieved a feat many of their long-time fans feared they would never see. The team brought an NBA championship back to New York for the first time since 1973, when they defeated the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals. While the players and coaches will still be celebrating for the next few weeks, new work is just beginning for the front office.
The team’s top decision-makers won’t get much time to enjoy the fruits of their labors because the NBA Draft and then free agency are right around the corner. While much of their championship roster will be back in 2026-27, valuable center Mitchell Robinson is an impending free agent and surely got the attention of teams around the league with his performance during the playoffs and Finals.
There is a very real possibility that the longest tenured player on the team gets an offer the Knicks are unwilling to match. So they must prepare to possibly replace him this summer, and the draft offers some potential options. In a perfect world, Kentucky big man Jayden Quaintance. However, the teenager has been projected to go well before the Knicks are on the clock. Or maybe not.
Could the NY Knicks replace Mitchell Robinson with Jayden Quaintaince?
According to NBA Draft expert Jonathan Givony, due to some issues with his medicals after tearing his ACL and suffering meniscus damage after only four games at Kentucky, he is sliding down draft boards, and there is a good chance he could fall into the early 20s. With the Knicks picking at 24, they are now in range to get a player once seen as a top 10 prospect.
However, there have also been reports in recent days that the Knicks might use their picks at 24 and 31 to move up in Round 1. They could certainly do that and land Quaintance if he is high on their current draft board.
Quaintance hardly played at Kentucky this season. However, during his freshman year at Arizona State, he was impressive as a 17-year-old. He averaged over 9 points a game, 8 boards (3 offensive), and over 2.5 blocks a night. It was why he was seen as a top-10 prospect at the start of the 2025-26 season.
He is a fantastic athlete and would be able to do many of the same things that Robinson does, but at a fraction of the cost. Which will matter to Knicks executives since they already have a very expensive roster.
