Robinson agrees to 3-year deal with Celtics
New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson (23) and guard Josh Hart (3) celebrate after Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs in New York. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Celtics have agreed to a $47.4 million, three-year deal with veteran center Mitchell Robinson, who is fresh off winning an NBA title with the New York Knicks, a person with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal cannot be signed until July 6. The deal also includes a third-year player option. The 7-foot Robinson has spent his entire eight-year career with the Knicks since being selected by them in the second round of the 2018 draft. Boston, which was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs after winning 56 games and earning the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, entered the offseason looking for help protecting the rim. Robinson played a big role for New York during its championship run, averaging 4.8 points and 5.5 rebounds in 13.9 minutes per game. In the regular season, he averaged 5.7 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 19.6 minutes per game in 60 appearances as a backup to Karl-Anthony Towns. It’s unclear if Robinson is being brought in to move into a starting role for the Celtics or to back up Neemias Queta, who started 75 games for Boston this past season. But Robinson’s addition is a signal that the Celtics are prioritizing frontcourt depth. The move comes after Nikola Vucevic re-signed with Orlando following his trade from Chicago to Boston last season that was stunted by injury. Cavs’ Wade headed to Philly PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers made their first two free-agent moves under new team president Mike Gansey, agreeing to a deal with Knicks center Ariel Hukporti on Wednesday after reaching a deal with veteran forward Dean Wade a night earlier, a person with knowledge of the agreements told The Associated Press. The 76ers added frontcourt depth by picking up Hukporti from the NBA champion New York Knicks, agreeing to a $3.4 million, one-year deal. They agreed to a $39 million, four-year deal with Wade, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deals cannot be signed until the league’s offseason moratorium is lifted on July 6. Hukporti averaged just 2.2 points in 54 games with the Knicks and will add some frontcourt depth behind two-time NBA scoring champion Joel Embiid and Adem Bona. The 24-year-old Hukporti, who is from Germany, was the final pick of the 2024 draft by Dallas and had his rights traded that night to the Knicks. Wade was the first big offseason deal made by new 76ers president of basketball operations Gansey. Gansey joined the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2011 and worked as their general manager since 2022 before he left for Philadelphia and long championed Wade, who went undrafted in 2019 out of Kansas State. The 6-foot-9 Wade spent his entire seven-year NBA career with the Cavaliers. He never has averaged more than 6.0 points in a season and is expected to become a key rotation player in Philadelphia. The 29-year-old Wade has played 32 career playoff games. He could slot in at forward and join a starting rotation that includes the aging Embiid and Paul George while the Sixers try to build around Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. The Sixers went 45-37 last season and were swept in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs by the Knicks. Daryl Morey was fired in the aftermath of the sweep and replaced by Gansey — who now made his stamp on the Sixers by bringing in a familiar face from Cleveland. Leonard going back to Toronto Kawhi Leonard is headed back to the Toronto Raptors, after they struck a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers to reunite with the player who led their run to the 2019 NBA championship, a person with knowledge of the talks said Tuesday. The Raptors are sending Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round draft picks, two second-round picks and pick swap to the Clippers for Leonard, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade has not received the required league approval. Leonard spent one season in Toronto, and that was the year the Raptors won their lone title. He turned 35 on Monday but is coming off the highest-scoring season of his career, averaging 27.9 points for the Clippers in 65 games. Leonard is a seven-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, a two-time NBA champion (also winning in 2014 with San Antonio) and is generally considered one of the game’s top defensive players. The trade is the latest in what’s becoming a long line of huge deals getting made between clubs already this summer, one that has seen Giannis Antetokounmpo getting traded by Milwaukee to Miami, Ja Morant getting moved to Portland by Memphis and now this — one where the Raptors will hope that Leonard can weave his title magic one more time. Toronto agreeing to make this deal suggests that it isn’t worried about the ongoing probe into an endorsement deal that Leonard had with a California-based sustainability services company. The NBA opened an investigation back in September into whether a $28 million endorsement contract between Leonard and Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC — a company that filed for bankruptcy earlier this year — broke league rules, following a report by journalist Pablo Torre. The primary issue for the NBA to decide is if the deal allowed the Clippers to circumvent league salary cap rules. Suns agree to 2-year deal with Kennard PHOENIX (AP) — The Phoenix Suns have agreed to a $13 million, two-year deal with veteran guard Luke Kennard, a person with knowledge of the deal said on Tuesday night. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal — which includes a player option for the second season — cannot be signed yet. The 6-foot-5 guard has consistently been one of the most accurate 3-point shooters in the NBA, hitting 44.2% of his attempts over a nine-year career. He spent time between the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Lakers last season, averaging 8.4 points. Kennard replenishes some of the outside shooting the Suns lost over the weekend when they dealt Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale to the Charlotte Hornets for forward Miles Bridges. The Suns finished with a 45-37 record last season and were the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference for the playoffs before getting swept in the opening round by the Oklahoma City Thunder.