Karl-Anthony Towns is already bracing for one of the strangest sights of the new season: Mitchell Robinson in a Celtics uniform.
That’s the kind of roster twist that can make even a championship hangover feel a little surreal. The Knicks are still riding the high of winning the NBA championship in June, but the offseason has already started reshaping the team around Towns. New York lost both Robinson and Ariel Hukporti in free agency, then moved quickly to bring in Andre Drummond as the new primary backup behind Towns.
The Robinson departure is the one that really lands differently. Hukporti and Drummond essentially changed places between the Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers, but Robinson’s move to Boston came as the bigger shock. The Celtics have been searching for a center, and Robinson steps into that role as their starter, giving him another shot to begin games for a contender with Jayson Tatum at the center of it all.
For Towns, the odd part isn’t just the jersey. It’s the relationship. The two big men spent so much time matched up against each other in practice that they built a real friendship, which makes the idea of seeing Robinson on the other side feel especially strange.
“I don’t even know if I could look at Mitch with a Celtics jersey on after everything, so I’ll just have to start laughing at Mitch when we see each other. He owes me a pickup truck," Towns said on The New York Times' The Interview about playing against Robinson.
It’s a weird ending to Robinson’s long run with the Knicks, but it also looks like a landing spot where he’ll be valued. And even as the separation stings a little, it’s clear he left New York with strong ties to the people he played alongside.
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