Mike Brown revealed last week that Mitchell Robinson’s agent is part of the group dictating the fiscal management program, which is aimed at maintaining the center’s long-term health but was also shrouded in mystery to start this season with four straight DNPs.
“[Knicks VP of Sports Medicine Casey Smith] is the one dictating it, along with Mitch and the doctors and Mitch’s agent,” Brown said before Wednesday’s win over the Mavericks. “So whatever they tell me, I just recycle what Casey says to Mitch, but I try to communicate with Mitch as much as I can.”
Brown has publicly deferred to Smith on Robinson’s minutes restriction for some time, but the agent reference was a new wrinkle. It’s also interesting because Robinson, 27, is a free agent after the season and the only Knicks starter on an expiring contract.
His next deal will be contingent on his health, and it’s telling and wise that the Knicks aren’t aggressively pursuing an extension as Robinson moves closer to hitting the unrestricted market.
Robinson’s agents are listed as Thad Foucher and Joe Smith.
Foucher, a veteran who also represents Knicks backup center Ariel Hukporti, did not respond to a request for comment.
Robinson, who was ruled out of Monday’s game due to illness, had fired five agents in two years before hiring Foucher and Smith in 2020. They negotiated his four-year, $60 million contract in 2021, which was alternately a bargain and a bad contract for the Knicks — depending on Robinson’s health and his bouts of poor conditioning and unavailability.
For example, in May 2024, Robinson underwent a procedure on his ankle that was initially described as mild. He would return for the start of the 2024-2025 season. Instead, he missed the first four months with no explanation other than a reference to a plan that prioritized long-term health.
This season, Robinson played in the preseason, but was suspended for the first four games of the regular season. Again, there were only denials of a setback. Since then, he has been working on a minutes restriction plan – which Brown would not identify as a minutes restriction, just a load management plan – and recently increased it to more than 20 minutes per game.
Still, Robinson, who is coy and revealing nothing about his injuries and limitations, has yet to play in both games of a back-to-back set and only logged more than 20 minutes once this season ahead of Monday’s game against the Nets. He had been used in short bursts while rebounding both his elite offense and his biggest flaw: poor free throw shooting.
After the close win in Dallas — where Robinson made two foul shots down the stretch — Brown said the center was not part of the regular crunch-time rotation.
“Obviously he has to make free throws. We have a rotation and most times in the rotation at the end of the game, Josh [Hart] will be out there [at power forward with Karl-Anthony Towns at center]Brown said. “So [Robinson] He won’t be there much, but if we need a rebound, he’ll be there.”
None of this seems conducive to a lucrative long-term free agency deal. But if Robinson’s agent is involved in whether or not the center plays, the next contract will likely factor into the decisions.
As Robinson has reiterated, the goal is to be healthy when it really matters — in the playoffs and beyond, including during summer negotiations.
“That’s it [frustrating] Initially, but after thinking about it a lot, obviously I don’t want to miss the playoffs or later in the future,” Robinson said. “Whatever is best, I’m just going to stick with it.”
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