The New York Knicks are NBA champions. That means they spent the offseason watching their players get poached, and the front office had to scramble to fill gaps. Between free agency and the draft, the roster took some hits. Mitchell Robinson left. Ariel Hukporti is gone. The Knicks brought back most of their core, sure, but the depth chart at center suddenly looks thin.
That’s where the NBA Summer League comes in. Not just for the guys the Knicks drafted — Jack Kayil and Tyler Nickel got plenty of run — but for the undrafted players trying to force their way onto a roster. One of them might have done exactly that.
Liam Robbins made the most of limited minutes
The Knicks prioritized their rookies in Vegas. Kayil and Nickel led the team in minutes per game. Pacome Dadiet, their first-round pick, led them in scoring at 15.3 points per game. That left Liam Robbins averaging just 18.5 minutes a night, but the 7-footer out of Vanderbilt made every second count.
Robbins put up 9.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 2.0 blocks per game. Nothing flashy, but solid across the board. The blocks are the headline here. Robbins was a elite rim protector in college — two-time conference leader in blocks per game, SEC Defensive Player of the Year as a super senior at Vanderbilt. He averaged as many as 3.2 blocks a game that season.
The Knicks just lost their best shot blocker in Robinson, who signed with the Boston Celtics. Right now, Karl-Anthony Towns is the starter at center and Andre Drummond is the only real backup. Drummond still has the size and the name, but his game has slipped the last couple years. New York needs another big who can protect the rim.
Robbins started his pro career with the Milwaukee Bucks — 13 games, mostly garbage time. He won an NBA Cup there, which is something. He also bounced around the G-League, showing shooting range with the Wisconsin Herd and efficient inside scoring with Rip City Remix last season. But the Summer League is where he turned heads.
The Knicks don’t have to give Robbins a guaranteed deal. But a two-way contract? That’s the floor for what he earned in Vegas. He fills a need and brings a skill — rim protection — that the roster doesn’t have much of right now. The front office has open two-way slots. It’s hard to imagine they let him walk.
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