![\"Jalen](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790735417_87_GettyImages-2245227530-e1788557608606.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks <\/p>\n
Less than a month after winning the NBA Finals, the New York Knicks<\/a> learned that Mitchell Robinson would be departing for the Boston Celtics.<\/p>\n The news was a gut punch to a team tightly bonded with \u201cBig Country\u201d \u2014 the longest-tenured Knick on the roster, whose tenure in New York predated the arrivals of Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Co.<\/p>\n On Media Day, the Knicks didn\u2019t hold back on their true feelings about Robinson\u2019s exit.<\/p>\n \u201cThat hurt,\u201d Towns said, via the New York Post.<\/a> \u201cI was very surprised, very surprised that Mitch wasn\u2019t gonna be back here with us. I think all of us were, so it was a surprise to everybody. I thought something would get done there.\u201d<\/p>\n The Celtics signed Robinson to a three-year, $47M contract, outbidding a financially constrained Knicks. Bound by owner James Dolan\u2019s mandate to stay under the second apron, New York simply couldn\u2019t afford to keep the veteran center.<\/p>\n Josh Hart \u2018Heartbroken\u2019 by Knicks News<\/p>\n \u201cI was heartbroken with that one. That\u2019s one of my guys,\u201d Josh Hart said of Robinson.<\/p>\n \u201cI love him,\u201d Hart continued. \u201cObviously, he was drafted here, gave his heart to the city. That\u2019s why people haven\u2019t repeated [as champions] for the last eight years because of that second apron and that CBA. Obviously, extremely gutted when he left, but I wish him well all but the four times that we play them.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I got love for him. He helped us win a championship, and he should always be loved and shown love in the city and in the arena.\u201d<\/p>\n The Knicks are expected to face similar situation next year when impending free agent Miles McBride gets ready for a pay day. Some insiders have suggested that the Knicks may move the veteran guard by the deadline since they wouldn\u2019t be able to afford him next summer, when the likes of Hart and Towns are also in line for new contracts.<\/p>\n Jalen Brunson Has Mixed Emotions<\/p>\n While Knicks captain Jalen Brunson was disappointed to see Robinson leave, he was genuinely thrilled to see his former teammate secure a well-earned payday.<\/p>\n \u201cDefinitely tough,\u201d Brunson said of Robinson\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s my guy, and it just \u2014 I think, no matter what, I feel I\u2019m happy for him. Obviously, it\u2019s another opportunity. He got paid, as well. It\u2019s definitely difficult, but you love to see someone advance their generational wealth, so it\u2019s cool to see from that aspect,\u201d added Brunson, who won NBA Finals MVP earlier this year.<\/p>\n Brunson expressed confidence that Andre Drummond, brought in to replace Robinson, would effectively fill the void in the frontcourt.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd just getting Andre, we\u2019re excited. I think he could be a big key to this team. I\u2019ve known him from afar, but getting to know him now, it\u2019s gonna be great.\u201d<\/p>\n The Knicks begin their NBA title defense against the Philadelphia 76ers<\/a> on Oct. 20.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tSai Mohan<\/a> covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sportswriter with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit and more. More about Sai Mohan<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks Less than a month after winning the NBA Finals,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":828290,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3766],"tags":[7,45,75,3798,46,6],"class_list":["post-847151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boston-celtics","tag-basketball","tag-boston","tag-boston-celtics","tag-bostonceltics","tag-celtics","tag-nba"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/117357643590135956","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=847151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/828290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=847151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=847151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=847151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}