The New York Knicks wasted little time in finding backup center Mitchell Robinson’s replacement.
After seeing the defensive menace leave for Boston on a three-year, $47.4 million deal, the NBA champions have reportedly agreed to a one-year, $3.6 million pact with former Philadelphia 76ers center, Andre Drummond. That deal cannot be officially completed until Monday at noon.
ESPN’s Shams Charania was the first to report Friday’s news. Neither Drummond’s agents nor Knicks spokespeople immediately responded to The Daily Mail’s request for confirmation.
This is something of a homecoming for Drummond, who was born in Mount Vernon, New York and moved to nearby Connecticut at age 7. The 32-year-old is a former All-Star and four-time NBA rebounding leader but has aged into a backup role and hasn’t averaged more than 20 mph since 2020-21.
Of course, that’s fine for New York, where All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns helped win the Knicks’ first title in 53 years.
Along with teammates Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart, Towns was reportedly expected to be at Friday’s Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce wedding at Madison Square Garden, where the pop star watched the Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the NBA Finals only weeks earlier.
The NBA champs have reportedly agreed to a one-year, $3.6 million pact with former 76ers center, Andre Drummond. The deal cannot be officially completed until Monday at noon
(From left to right) Mitchell Robinson, James Dolan, Mikal Bridges, Mike Brown, OG Anunoby, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are seen outside City Hall after the victory parade
Vehicles enter Madison Square Garden ahead of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding
As reported by Page Six, the Knicks starters were all set to be there for the ceremony and party in the heart of Manhattan.
Brunson, for one, has made no secret about being a Swiftie. And as Daily Mail reported at the time, the Knicks stars were happier with Swift attending their game than Donald Trump, when he turned up for Game 3.
The quintet ironically downed Kelce’s beloved Cleveland Cavaliers, his hometown team, en route to their first Finals win. The Chiefs star did not join Swift at Madison Square Garden for Game 4 of the Finals due to the team’s minicamp back in Kansas City.
Previously, Kelce and Swift sat courtside for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Cavs and the Knicks in Cleveland, where New York cruised to a 121-108 win over Donovan Mitchell & Co.
A passionate fan of all Cleveland teams, not to mention his own University of Cincinnati Bearcats, Kelce was naturally cheering on the Cavs during the Eastern Conference Finals.
Swift wasn’t seen wearing Knicks gear in Cleveland, but did sport a custom Knicks-inspired t-shirt while sitting courtside for New York’s historic 29-point comeback over the Spurs in Game 4 of the finals.
Drummond was an obvious choice for the Knicks, who solved perhaps their biggest offseason need without taking on salary or luxury taxes. However, he does arrive after a difficult departure by the popular Robinson, who claimed online that he never wanted to leave New York.
Swift smiles during Game 4 of the NBA Finals as the Knicks came back from 29 down
Taylor Swift pictured with Travis Kelce at a Knicks-Cavaliers playoff game in late May
OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson are pictured with the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy
When news of Robinson’s three-year, $47.4 million agreement hit Instagram, Anunoby reacted with a frowning emoji, which prompted a heartfelt response from Boston’s new big man.
‘I tried brother I didn’t want this to happen,’ Robinson responded to Anunoby’s emoji. ‘Hopefully the truth comes out at some point.’
Robinson added a few words of encouragement (‘Keep being great’), but the focus among fans was on the first portion of his message.
‘Dolan is such a cheapskate,’ one fan wrote on Instagram, referring to Knicks owner James Dolan. ‘[Robinson wanted] to work it out but Dolan tied everyone’s hands in the deal.’
Dolan is relinquishing control of Madison Square Garden, the NBA-champion Knicks and the NHL’s New York Rangers to his son, Quentin, as the team announced Friday. But prior to that decision, the 71-year-old son of Cablevision founder Charles Dolan made it clear that the Knicks would not incur added NBA luxury taxes in order to re-sign Robinson.
‘We cannot go into the second apron,’ Dolan said on WFAN radio in New York this week, indicating his desire to see the team keep its payroll below $222 million for the upcoming season.
Mitchell Robinson wanted to remain with the New York Knicks rather than join the Boston Celtics , according to an online response he shared with a now-former teammate
Dolan vowed to keep the Knicks out of the second apron to avoid massive luxury-tax issues
In addition to the NBA’s soft salary cap, which is set at $165 million for next season and permits a number of exceptions, the league also has a highly punitive luxury tax structure that comes with additional tiers or aprons.
So, when teams exceed the soft salary cap and move beyond the $201 million luxury tax threshold, they can also face increasing penalties for spending above $209 million (first apron) or $222 million (second apron).
Only a handful of NBA teams have ever gone into the second apron, which limits both free-agent opportunities and trades. There is also a dreaded ‘repeater’ tax penalizing teams for remaining above the luxury tax threshold for consecutive seasons.
Some fans were sympathetic about the Knicks’ position on the subject.
‘Y’all need to look up the rules of the second apron,’ one fan wrote on Instagram. ‘It’s not something you wanna do as a team it makes no sense to do it.’
Others attacked Robinson’s offensive deficiencies.
While he ranks among the game’s best post defenders, Robinson made less than 41 percent of his free throws in 2025-26, allowing opponents to foul him with minimal consequences. As a result, he’d often find himself on coach Mike Brown’s bench in critical situations.
Mitchell Robinson rides in a hometown community parade honoring him as a member of the NBA champion New York Knicks on June 25. He has since agreed to join the rival Celtics
‘The truth is they didn’t want to overpay for a guy that is only a threat on one side of the ball and I don’t blame the Knicks for their decision,’ another fan added. ‘He will be missed but he’s the one that wanted the payday not like [captain Jalen Brunson] who turned down millions to stay in NY.’
Brunson’s decision to sign for $113 million less than a full max contract extension in 2024 helped the Knicks end their 53-year title drought with last month’s NBA Finals win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Robinson is now joining a Celtics team that has agreed to re-sign another center, Neemias Queta, to a four-year, $56 million extension.
But Boston will be without 2024 NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown, who was sent to the rival Philadelphia 76ers in a controversial trade that returned just two future first-round picks and two second rounders, as well as 36-year-old Paul George.
