Knicks linked to trade for $54 million Mavericks center as potential Mitchell Robinson replacement originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.. The New York Knicks have finally returned to the top of the NBA world, defeating the San Antonio Spurs in five NBA Finals contests to snap a 53-year championship drought.. Advertisement. Advertisement. Advertisement. Entering the season, many believed the franchise would struggle to win a title without Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo on its roster. Antetokounmpo was believed to be the missing piece to the puzzle for a Knicks squad that appeared to be in need of the 10-time All-Star’s services to finally get over the bump.. Impressively, New York proved that to be nothing but a myth, allowing them to remove themselves from the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes. However, the Knicks may soon need a backup center, as Mitchell Robinson is expected to be a hot commodity on the free agent market.. If the 2026 NBA champions are unable to retain the prolific 7-foot rebounder, Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley thinks they should set their sights on an energetic Dallas Mavericks center.. “The Knicks will likely give some attention to the center spot this summer,” Buckley wrote Sunday. “Unrestricted free agency awaits Mitchell Robinson, and Karl-Anthony Towns previously popped up in trade talks. If Robinson winds up walking, New York will need someone to assume his rim-running role. (Daniel) Gafford has long thrived in that exact role.”. Advertisement. Advertisement. Advertisement. “He’s a tireless worker on the interior. He rebounds. He challenges shots. He sets solid screens. And he’s smart enough to recognize his offensive limitations, so he’ll sprint into the scoring chances others create for him, either diving to the rim off pick-and-rolls or even motoring ahead in transition.”. “He isn’t quite as freakish in his size-plus-hops blend as Robinson, but the impact could feel pretty similar.”. It isn’t preposterous to suggest Gafford played the best basketball of his career when he received a career-altering opportunity to compete alongside Luka Doncic in Dallas. Doncic’s high-level instincts, ambidextrous passing chops, and elite ball placement made it easy for the Arkansas product to feast on the offensive end.. Defensively, Gafford has always been a natural shot blocker, born to protect the rim at all costs. The 27-year-old was solid on the Doncic-less 2025-26 Mavericks squad, averaging 9.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game, connecting on 65.5% of his field goals in 55 outings.. Advertisement. Advertisement. Advertisement. Of course, the main goal is to keep Robinson on the roster after his valuable second-unit contributions as a respected glue guy who’s always committed to crashing the glass. However, having Gafford as a backup option would be far from the worst-case scenario.. More NBA news:. Warriors named landing spot for disrespected $186 million ex-Lakers superstar. Lakers rumor is good news for Luka Doncic, bad news for LeBron James. Lakers predicted to cut ties with Dalton Knecht, acquire $175 million two-time MVP