Lakers prepared to steal beloved $60 million NBA champion center from Knicks, per report originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Deandre Ayton has opted in to his $8.1 million player option for the 2026-27 campaign.
What does that mean for the Los Angeles Lakers going forward? It indicates that unless the franchise elects to trade the up-and-down 7-foot center this summer, they’ll be stuck with him for at least one more season.
That shouldn’t stop Los Angeles from attempting to bolster its frontcourt, and according to Stein Line’s Jake Fischer and Marc Stein, the Lakers are prepared to do so by stealing a beloved NBA champion center from the New York Knicks.
“The Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson obviously bills as the top rim-running center on the board among unrestricted free agents,” Stein and Fischer wrote last Sunday. “We’ve already reported here that both the (Brooklyn) Nets and the Lakers are expected to try to pry Robinson away from the Knicks.”
Robinson showed just how valuable he is to the Knicks this past season. For starters, the former second-round pick appeared in at least 60 regular-season games for the first time since 2021-22, showing that he might be turning the corner health-wise.
Additionally, Robinson was a monster on the boards, recording 17.9 rebounds per 40 minutes and solidifying himself as a premier glass-crasher in the big leagues. It’s also worth mentioning that the 28-year-old was highly efficient around the rim in pick-and-roll and back-to-the-basket situations, shooting 72.3% from the field.
It appears the Lakers are ready to take their pursuit of Mitchell to the next level, which is the best-case scenario for an organization that needs more low-post/rebounding help.
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