The Celtics have spent the last few days trying to keep the Jaylen Brown trade conversation from swallowing everything else whole. Fair enough. That kind of noise tends to do that.
But buried under all of it is a move that may end up mattering just as much for Boston: Mitchell Robinson.
Robinson gives the Celtics a fix for the big-man issues that showed up in the playoffs, and there’s another layer here too. He also lands in Boston with the added sting of knowing the role he played in the Knicks’ title run. And if Celtics fans want a reason to feel even better about it, the team’s recent track record with former Knicks bigs is about as encouraging as it gets.
Kristaps Porzingis is the obvious headliner. The Knicks once viewed him as the future, but in Boston he became the kind of weapon that helped turn the Celtics into a team that was nearly impossible to deal with on the way to Banner 18.
He never became the franchise cornerstone New York hoped for, but he fit perfectly next to the Jays, bringing floor spacing, post scoring, and rim protection that gave Boston a different gear. The injuries never disappeared, but the impact was real.
His first season in Boston summed that up well. The second was less smooth, with an ankle injury and a battle with POTS keeping him from finding the same rhythm.
Even so, Boston has no reason to regret making that move when it had the chance.
Luke Kornet followed a very different path, but the Celtics got value out of him too. He arrived with far less fanfare than Porzingis, having been a second-round Knicks pick who spent two years in New York before becoming a throw-in in the Daniel Theis trade.
A year after Boston acquired him, his NBA future was hanging by a thread. Then the Celtics brought him back, and Kornet went from fringe big man to emergency option to key backup.
By the end of his run, he had earned a big payday with San Antonio. Boston helped reshape him, too, turning a player known more as a stretch big into a lob threat and rim protector.
That kind of transformation made him one of the least likely fan favorites in the city.
Then there was Enes Freedom - yes, the first time. After an uneventful year-and-a-half with the Knicks, he became Boston’s best free-agent option once Al Horford left.
Plenty of people doubted what he could offer, and he certainly didn’t replace Horford, but he still gave the Celtics useful minutes as a post scorer and rebounder. Boston worked around his limitations as well as it could, and while his second stint didn’t go nearly as well, his time there still ended up more memorable than many expected.
He embraced the backup role and gave the second unit a scoring boost.
Not every former Knicks big has worked out in Boston. David Lee came before Freedom and never really got going, eventually ending up on the bench for the final months of his Celtics stint before the team moved on.
Still, the larger pattern is hard to ignore. Boston has done well with this type of player, and that makes Robinson’s arrival feel even more promising.
Even without the Knicks connection, he looks like a natural fit. Add in what the Celtics have done with ex-Knicks bigs before him, and there’s plenty of reason for Boston fans to be fired up about what Robinson might bring when he debuts.
In Other News...
Celtics Already Linked To Another Young Piece After Brown Shock
Bostons roster picture is still shifting after the Jaylen Brown trade, and the front office may not be done looking for ways to plug holes with younger, more versatile pieces. One area that stands out is power forward, where the Celtics are thin enough that Jayson Tatum and Sam Hauser are projected to soak up most of those minutes, with Paul George at the 4 also part of the conversation.
That has naturally pushed Boston toward the market for young wings and forwards who can help right away without boxing the team into a long-term mistake. The challenge is that some of the names floating around are not exactly easy gets, and the clubs holding them are in no rush to move them unless the return is right. [Read more 🡒]
Brad Stevens May Have Quietly Solved A Celtics Problem Nobody Saw
Brad Stevens spent the offseason quietly reshaping the Celtics frontcourt, and the moves have a chance to matter more than they looked at first glance. Boston brought in Mitchell Robinson, kept Neemias Queta on a new extension and gave Ron Harper Jr. a fresh deal after he broke through late last season, all while trying to keep the roster flexible and the costs manageable.
The appeal is in the math as much as the fit. A salary model from Steph Noh suggests Queta alone could provide far more value than his contract implies, and Harpers new four-year deal comes in at a team-friendly level for a player who earned his way into the conversation. Put together, the Celtics may have done more than add depth, they may have locked down an immediate frontcourt solution without paying anywhere near market price. [Read more 🡒]
Jayson Tatum Finally Addressed The End Of The Two Jays
For years, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were the Celtics defining partnership, the Two Jays who carried Boston to the NBA Finals twice and finally broke through together in 2024, with Brown taking home Finals MVP honors. So when the franchise split the pair, it marked the end of one of the leagues most recognizable duos and one of the most successful stretches in recent Celtics history.
Tatum addressed the change publicly for the first time at an event for his childrens book, and he made clear the transition has not been easy on a personal level. Even with Boston always moving forward, the emotional weight of seeing a longtime teammate and co-star gone is part of the story now, and it is the kind of development that changes not just the roster, but the entire feel of what comes next. [Read more 🡒]