The New York Knicks’ application for a $7.8 million Disabled Player Exception has been denied by the NBA, according to ESPN, as there is optimism that Mitchell Robinson could return late this regular season.
Robinson was originally projected to miss 8-to-10 weeks after ankle surgery, but later it was determined he would likely miss the rest of the season. The Knicks applied for the DPE about a week before Christmas after Robinson was originally injured on Dec. 8 against Boston.
Obviously, the Knicks would rather have Robinson back for a playoff push than whatever they might’ve been able to get with the DPE. They have looked terrific after trading for OG Anunoby. Jalen Brunson has been a superstar all season. Robinson, in addition to being an absolute monster on the glass, was on his way to an All-Defense nod.
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Isaiah Hartenstein has been terrific in Robinson’s absence, providing much of what Robinson did on the glass and serving as even more of an offensive threat. With those two together, the Knicks arguably have the best center rotation in the league.
Come playoff time, Mitchell’s second-chance creation and rim protection would take New York to another level in terms of being a conference-finals contender in what feels like a pretty open East playoff picture beneath the top-seeded Celtics.
Robinson, whom the Knicks signed to a steal of a deal last summer (four years, $60M), was leading the league with 5.3 offensive rebounds per game when he went out. He was scooping up over 17% of New York’s misses, per Cleaning the Glass, when he was on the floor — which goes a long way for a Knicks team whose collective shooting percentage still ranks in the bottom 10 league-wide.
There’s still a long way to go for the Knicks, but entering play on Thursday they have won five straight since the Anunoby trade and are 22-15 overall — tied in the loss column for a top-four seed. If they can hold down the fort for a few more months, perhaps they can look forward to getting Robinson back for a postseason push. If they do, they will be a tough matchup for anyone.