The New York Knicks expect big man Mitchell Robinson to miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury he suffered earlier this month and are applying for a $7.8-million disabled player exception, sources told The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Robinson was originally slated to be re-evaluated in eight-to-10 weeks after undergoing surgery.
Teams are only able to apply for the exception if they project their player to be sidelined through June 15, according to Charania. NBA doctors are slated to review the request.
Robinson injured his ankle on Dec. 8 against the Boston Celtics. He originally left the game but returned to play five minutes after X-rays came back negative before ultimately sitting out the remainder of the contest.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said Robinson was “fine” after the game, according to the New York Post’s Mark W. Sanchez.
Robinson was a key cog at the center position for the Knicks this season, starting all 21 games he played in and averaging a career-high 29.2 minutes per game. Though he only averaged 6.2 points, he contributed 10.3 boards and 1.3 blocks per contest.
