The Celtics addressed their center and guard positions in free agency by signing veterans Mitchell Robinson and Mike Conley Jr. on Wednesday into the second day of free agency. Boston used the mid-level exception on Robinson, who will make just north of $15-million to begin a three-year deal, a move that hard-caps the Celtics at the first apron. Conley joins on a veteran’s minimum deal after spending four seasons in Minnesota, where he played alongside Celtics center Luka Garza. Robinson spent the first eight years of his NBA career with the Knicks, culminating in a key role in their 2026 championship.
Boston benefited doubly from adding Robinson, an offensive rebounding force who averaged 4.2 per game in only 19.6 minutes as a reserve, which would translate to 7.7 per 36 minutes as part of 16.1 total rebounds. Robinson mostly filled a reserve role since 2023, due to Isaiah Hartenstein and Karl-Anthony Towns’ arrivals, and his own injury issues. A significant foot injury limited Robinson to 31 games in 2024 and 17 late in 2024-25 before joining their Eastern Conference Finals run. He played 60 games in 2026, sustaining through the championship run by playing in the NBA Finals with a broken hand.
Robinson projects to start for a Celtics team that includes Neemias Queta, a successful starter in 2025-26 who could receive a contract extension this month, Garza and recent draft selections Chris Cenac Jr. and Amari Williams, who will reportedly sign a two-way contract to return to Boston. The Celtics needed a proven playoff contributor after Queta and Garza struggled to avoid foul trouble against the 76ers in April’s first round loss. Nikola Vučević, who joined Boston in February for added depth, also struggled in the series before not appearing in Game 7. He departed the Celtics for his former Magic team on Monday.
Robinson also struggles immensely at the free throw line, shooting 50.8% for his career and regularly receiving intentional fouls from opponents, including infamously the Celtics throughout their 2025 second round playoff series. Joe Mazzulla touted Robinson’s immense impact on the game as a reason for needing to foul him in certain bonus situations. If Robinson starts, that could help him avoid those later in quarters, and that intentional fouling is not allowed in late, crunch time situations.
As for Conley, whose production dipped at age 38, he’ll join the Celtics for his 20th NBA season in a veteran mentorship role. He could provide some spot minutes behind Derrick White and Payton Pritchard, but his role diminished to 18.4 minutes per game in 2026 before leaving the Timberwolves. He shot 33.5% from the field and 33.7% from three.
Boston now sits roughly $5 beneath their hard cap at the first apron, a line they cannot cross until next summer. They’re hair over the luxury tax line, something to watch as they could potentially shed repeater tax status this season. They don’t need to slide below the tax threshold until the trade deadline, as they did last summer. Outgoing salary in a trade can offset money they may take into a trade exception, their largest worth around $27 million and remaining following Wednesday’s moves.
Jaylen Brown still remains in trade talks, according to Shams Charania, with Boston’s roster now full at 15 players. They’ll inevitably sign rookie Dillon Mitchell and Williams to two of their three-way deals.
