NBA Rumors: New York Knicks star big man growing upset with his role?

NBA Rumors: New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson may be growing upset with his current role on the team. 

With just a handful of games remaining in the regular season, it seems as if the New York Knicks are going to enter the NBA Playoffs as the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. It’s looking more and more as if they’re going to have a first-round matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers. All in all, it’s been a pretty successful season for the Knicks overall.

RJ Barrett has continued to make strides for the team. Jalen Brunson has been better than advertised. Even Julius Randle has had a huge bounce-back year in which he’s in the midst of the best season of his career thus far. However, it doesn’t seem as if the good vibes are all throughout the roster.

After last night’s win over the Portland Trail Blazers, Knicks starting center Mitchell Robinson went on social media and appeared to vent about his current role with the team.

Robinson has struggled recently with the Knicks this season and has seen a slight downtick in production and minutes this year. He’s been really hit or miss for New York this year. There are times when he looks really good and he’ll put up 20 points and 16 rebounds. Then, there are times when he goes scoreless on two shot attempts in nearly 30 minutes of action.

Could this just be the dog days of March?

You have to wonder whether Robinson is truly upset about his role with the team, which his social media post would indicate, or if this is more about the dog days of March (before the playoffs). However, it’s not like the Knicks are in the “dog days.” New York is battling for playoff positioning and is playing meaningful games right now.

What makes this all the more confusing is the fact that New York signed Robinson to a four-year, $60 million extension during the offseason.

It’s clear that Robinson is an important piece of the Knicks’ build. Especially on the defensive end. When he doesn’t play, their defense kind of falls apart. If New York is going to make any type of run in the postseason, they’re going to need a healthy dose of Robinson.

But it also wouldn’t be outrageous if Robinson wanted to play a bigger role, perhaps on the offensive end of the floor. Robinson believes he’s one of the best centers in the league and maybe he wants the opportunity to prove that.

And maybe in his mind, he doesn’t believe he’s getting that opportunity with the Knicks. If so, it could make for another interesting offseason for the team. Maybe winning cures all?