For quite some time, the Los Angeles Lakers have been in the market for a center. Despite the fact that the Lakers signed Deandre Ayton in early July, that hasn’t stopped the rumors. While Ayton has a ton of upside, he’s far from a sure thing. For that reason, there’s been talk of the Lakers trading for another center among NBA fans.
Arkay of TWSN believes that the Lakers will trade for Mitchell Robinson from the New York Knicks.
In Arkay’s article, he explains, “Mitchell Robinson’s future with the Knicks is up in the air…questions about his durability and limited offensive game still linger…The Lakers traded Anthony Davis in the Luka Dončić deal and now find themselves without a true interior presence. Their early playoff exit made it clear they lacked rim protection.”
While the article gives a solid foundation for why this deal could make sense, we’ll break down the full mock trade below. That will allow us to determine if it’s realistic for the Lakers and Knicks to come to an agreement.
New York Knicks Trading Mitchell Robinson to the Los Angeles Lakers
The mock trade that Arkay proposes can be found right here.
“Lakers Receive: Mitchell Robinson
Knicks Receive: Jarred Vanderbilt, 2026 first-round pick”
Overall, this seems fair from a value perspective. Robinson is a good player, but due to the flaws on the offensive side of his game, he lacks versatility. Jarred Vanderbilt and a first-rounder should be more than enough to land Robinson. As for the Knicks, this move gives them extra capital in a tier down that they likely wouldn’t mind doing.
Does Mitchell Robinson Fit in Los Angeles?
There are two sides to this argument. One is that Robinson would be a great depth player who could come off the bench and provide the Lakers with fantastic defense. On the other side of the coin, Robinson hasn’t played in more than 35 games in either of the last two years. Ayton is a bit more dependable, but he hasn’t played in more than 60 games in either of the last two years.
Overall, when you consider what the Lakers would need to give up in this mock trade, it seems worth it. At the same time, there’s absolutely an argument to be made against this kind of trade as well.
Los Angeles Lakers 2025-2026 Outlook
The Lakers are on the outside looking in this year, according to FanDuel. Per FanDeuel, the Lakers have +1700 odds to win the NBA Finals this year, which is tied with the Los Angeles Clippers. One thing is for sure: the Lakers need to give LeBron James and Luka Doncic some more help. While they’ve already done so, making a move in the frontcourt like this should only benefit their team and the goal of winning a championship in the next few years.
Mitchell Robinson Stats
Robinson has now been in the NBA for seven years and has some solid stats. Over Robinson’s career, he has 7.8 PPG, 1.8 BLK, and 7.8 REB in just 24.1 MPG. To give a better picture of how Robinson has been playing as of late, let’s take a look at his stats during the 2022-2023 season when he played 59 games. Robinson had 7.4 PPG, 1.8 BLK, and 9.4 REB.
Again, this is just a trade prediction about the New York Knicks Trading Mitchell Robinson to the Los Angeles Lakers, not a report.
