The Celtics signed veteran guard Mike Conley Jr. on Wednesday morning, but that wasn't the only big move they made.
The Boston Celtics signed free agent guard Mike Conley Jr. to a one-year deal on Wednesday morning, but that wasn't the only deal the organization made.
As noted by Shams Charania of ESPN, the Celtics also poached big man Mitchell Robinson away from the rival New York Knicks, inking him to a three-year deal worth $47.4 million. The third year contains a player option.
There's a lot of moving parts in all this, so here's what you need to know:
About Robinson
The 28-year-old Florida native is an eight-year veteran of the Knicks, where he's blossomed into a very solid player. He appeared in 60 games this season, starting 16 of them. He averaged 5.7 ppg in just over 19 minutes, finishing eighth in the Sixth Man of the Year voting.
He played in all 18 Knicks playoff games, averaging 4.8 ppg as the Knicks won the title against the San Antonio Spurs.
What does this mean for Boston?
A bunch of things, actually:
1) Are the Celtics content to have a big man rotation of four players, including Robinson, Neemias Queta, Luka Garza and first round draft pick Chris Cenac Jr.? Or, are the Celtics going to look to move someone in an offseason trade? They just recently picked up the team option on Queta.
2) If the Celtics are content to have a big man by committee, does that mean that they are out on trading for a big man this offseason? Do they no longer need a guy like Evan Mobley, who was floated as a possible trade piece on Tuesday?
3) If the Celtics no longer need to trade for a big, does that mean that they want to keep Jaylen Brown? Or does it mean that they could still trade Brown, but only they'd target another wing player to replace him?
New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson (23) jumps to catch a pass and dunk the ball against San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) during game four of the 2026 NBA Finals in the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. Vincent Carchietta-Imagn ImagesWhat does it mean for New York?
Well, it means that they are getting worse on the heels of winning a championship. For a C's team that hopes to dethrone the Knicks in the Eastern Conference, that's a welcome development.
The Knicks will now have a hole at center behind Karl-Anthony Towns.
What's next for Boston?
Decision time on Brown. If they are willing to trade him still, then a deal could materialize quickly as other teams want to know how their rosters and budgets stand as free agency continues.
Beyond roster building, the Celtics are getting ready for the NBA Summer League, which has their schedule kicking off on July 10.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Remember to join our CELTICS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Celtics fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
