Nets Interested In Mitchell Robinson

The Nets have “legitimate” interest in signing free agent center Mitchell Robinson away from their cross-town rivals in New York, according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).

Stein and Fischer say that Brooklyn’s reported interest in guard Austin Reaves was “overhyped,” but suggest that the Nets want to be competitive next season, given that they won’t control their 2027 first-round pick (Houston has swap rights).

Nic Claxton has been the full-time starting center in Brooklyn for the past four seasons, but the Nets reached a trade agreement earlier this week to send Claxton to Chicago. While the team reportedly wants backup center Day’Ron Sharpe to play a bigger role next season, acquiring Robinson wouldn’t necessarily prevent that from happening, since the longtime Knicks center has never averaged more than 27.5 minutes per game over the course of his eight-year NBA career.

Swapping out Claxton for Julius Randle will add some salary to the Nets’ books for 2026/27, but the club still has plenty of projected cap room to make a play in free agency for someone like Robinson, who is also expected to draw interest from teams with the non-taxpayer mid-level exception available. That MLE projects to start around $15MM.

The Lakers, who have been previously connected to Robinson, are still viewed as a likely suitor too, Stein and Fischer confirm.

Of course, re-signing with the champion Knicks remains a possibility for Robinson, but team owner James Dolan has insisted that New York wants to keep its team salary below the second tax apron, which will make it very difficult to make a competitive offer for the 28-year-old. He’s regarded as increasingly likely to change teams unless he’s willing to take a team-friendly deal or the Knicks have a change of heart about the second apron.